Fitness Plan: A Systematic Cognitive Engineering
Why is creating a training plan such a simple or complex thing?
I have been doing fitness for 8 years, and I have never written many articles about training plans, nor have I provided specific training plan templates. This is because a training plan is a systematic cognitive engineering.
Now I plan to plan about 20 articles with 150,000 words, to meticulously and rigorously elaborate on the principles of training plan development in the mass fitness field. This series may be a bit dry because it is full of text, it is a systematic content, not fragmented content, I try to make it easier for everyone to understand and accept.
This article is "Quantitative Training Plan". The 1st Article.The article is about 4000 words.
The theme of this article is "Why do we need a systematic cognition of training plans?"
As a fitness enthusiast, you have many channels to obtain plans. You will be attracted by online celebrity trainers' plans, and you will be persuaded by the "senior" trainers in the gym to try various plans.
But only a small number of people can benefit from these plans in the long run.
Because the plans obtained from these channels are often not matched with your actual situation.
Most of the time, fitness enthusiasts make adjustments to the plans, rather than the plans adapt to the fitness enthusiasts.
A training plan is usually designed for a specific purpose, If you want the plan to have a very good effect, the plan will usually have many restrictions, These restrictions include but are not limited to: strict dietary requirements, high training frequency, suitable training level, targeted short-term training, etc.
If you don’t want the plan to have so many restrictions, the plan won’t have the best effect.
And fitness enthusiasts who download plans from the internet often have a delusion that they are unique. Fitness enthusiasts want the "final effect" of the plan, but they always ignore the "limitations of the plan".
So I often see such a situation:
- Overworked and sleepless fitness enthusiasts trying to execute a high-frequency training plan (5-6 workouts per week).
- Beginners trying to execute a trainer's pre-game plan.
- Fitness enthusiasts who want to increase their bench press results are executing a plan that is dominated by squats and deadlifts.
Then they failed, and then they asked me, "What's wrong?"
A suitable plan should face the following four questions:
Can this plan continuously increase the training load?
- Is this plan sufficiently targeted?
- Is this plan suitable for yourself?
- Can this plan be sustained?
- However, most plans do not consider these issues. They are just a "draft". Far from a plan.
If a plan cannot answer these four questions, the plan loses its meaning.
This is why I think most plans are garbage.
Systematic cognition of training plans is a systematic engineering.
We must have this awareness. Unless you can specifically ask a coach to develop a targeted plan for you, don't blindly use a plan.
Let's go back to the beginning.
The four basic plan principles correspond to the four basic plan principles:
Progressive Overload Principle.
- Specificity Principle.
- Individual Difference Principle.
- Sustainability Principle.
- 1. Progressive Overload Principle — implement whether this plan can continuously increase the training load.
Progressive Overload Principle needs to consider whether this plan can ensure continuous increase in training load with an increase in training volume, increase in training intensity, and shortening of the interval between sets. Strength training is usually with an increase in training volume, increasing training intensity, and shortening the interval between sets as overload variables. Running is usually with increasing speed, increasing training frequency, and increasing stride length as overload variables. About this principle, the underlying theoretical principles I will elaborate on in the next article.
2. Specificity Principle — whether this plan has sufficient targeting.
Specificity Principle needs to consider whether the goal of this plan is clear enough. Everyone’s training purpose is not the same: maintain health, gain muscle, lose fat, enhance athletic performance, etc. Everyone's training preferences are also different: some people like bodybuilding systems, some people like powerlifting training methods, and some people like marathons. Before obtaining a training plan, you must confirm that the purpose of the training plan and your purpose are matched. Calorie reducers should not use muscle-building plans.
Let's give two examples. If your
training purpose is to increase your bench press score, and the primary purpose of the training plan is to improve your deadlift ability, you can’t achieve satisfactory results.
Because you have a plan that does not target your bench press.
Let’s say you want to improve your bench press score, and the primary purpose of the training plan is to improve your deadlift ability, then you cannot achieve satisfactory results. Because you have a plan that doesn't target your bench press.
Even if you have a plan for "improving bench press results", you may still not improve. The reason is that your bench press weakness is a weak bottom start ability, and you don’t have a training content in the plan to improve the bottom start ability, after a period of training, you will find that your bench press score has not improved—because your bench press weakness has not been solved in this plan.
3. Individual Difference Principle — whether this plan matches your situation.
In the Individual Difference Principle, we need to consider many things, including the fitness enthusiast’s subjective needs, training level, daily life status, whether nutrition and diet are sufficient, age, athletic injuries, joint activity status, etc. Let’s give a few examples, we will discuss the individual differences in more depth in the following chapters: (1) Execution ability.
For example, if you are asked to do 5 sets of 10 reps of squats with 60% of your maximum squat weight, and then do 150 jump squats, it’s difficult for you to complete this plan in the first week, so you can’t complete this plan. (2) Timing match.
If you are a normal office worker, you need to consider whether you have enough time to complete the plan. If you are not a trainer or athlete, you may not have so much training time, and it’s difficult to maintain regular training. A 5-6 workout per week plan requires you to have at least five free days per week to train, for those who work overtime, this plan is difficult to implement. (3) Nutrition intake.
Whether you can do a good job of diet and rest after training. If you can complete the training, but you don’t have sufficient sleep and sufficient protein intake, you can’t get enough recovery, which will inevitably affect the subsequent training. Then you need to consider reducing the training intensity and training volume, or extending the interval between twice the training to ensure recovery—to ensure that the last training doesn’t affect the next training. (4) Age.
Older fitness enthusiasts have lower recovery ability, bone density, and muscle mass compared to younger people, so they have a lower tolerance for plans. (5) Injury status.
Injury status. (6) Lifestyle.
Lifestyle. The Individual Difference Principle is the foundation of any training plan.
4. Sustainability Principle — can this plan be sustained?
Sustainability Principle means can this plan be sustained in the long term.
Most fitness enthusiasts can complete some well-known training plans for a few weeks, but they can’t continue the training in the following weeks. Many fitness enthusiasts can complete their own plans for the first few times, but they cannot implement the subsequent training. This is because the plan is unsustainable.
Let’s read this far, you probably understand "Why do we need a systematic cognition of training plans?"
Only a conscientious plan publisher will tell you that the plan has many training variables. Most plans don’t have such awareness.
If you don’t want to hire a coach, and you are a person who pursues efficiency and rationality, you need to build this awareness. If you have enough money, then you just need your coach to think about your plan arrangements for you.
(Article finished. To be continued……” )
Author: Chen Bailing.Copyright statement: This article is written by Chen Bailing. Welcome to share and forward. For reprint, please contact the author.
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