7 Necessities to any Program Design - Intention
With this series of writings I want to share my 7 must-haves for any fitness program I create. I want to thank OPEX and CCP for helping organize my thoughts around this topic and helping me better define what Individual Fitness Design is. Every individualized program needs these components and is incomplete without them. I will also share the ways that I create and uncover these components through the coach-client relationship.
Intentions - What’s your why?
Lifestyle/Nutrition Habits - BLGs or Basic Lifestyle Guidelines
Alignment - Does this align with your Values/Priorities/Goals?
Tough Muscle Contractions - The Strength training
Breathing and Sweating - The Conditioning training
Progress Monitoring - Are you improving? What are the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?
Fun! - Is this enjoyable and fulfilling?
You may notice that only 2 of the 7 are the actual exercise pieces, but they can not exist without the rest of the other components. With this first part, we need to discuss Intentions.
On January 1st every gym is full of new members seeking health and fitness for the new year, but statistics show upwards of 88% of New Year’s resolutions fail. Why is this? Mostly because the intentions were not clear to the person.
One may say they want to improve their health through fitness, but they need to discover their true intentions or the Why to their goal. A client may want to use exercise to lose 10 pounds, but why do they want to lose 10 pounds? To look better in a bathing suit? To play with their children more easily? To climb Half Dome? To lower blood pressure and lower dependence on medication? There is no right or wrong here, but there needs to be clear intentions and proper alignment with those intentions.
At Sunset Strength and Conditioning we always start with intentions. Through the initial consult we strive to unpack the why before we even prescribe the how. When your intentions and your sets and reps are aligned you begin to move away from just moving around towards true fitness, health and longevity.