First and foremost, have a goal. Decide what you are trying to achieve before you set out. Once you’ve got that under your belt, there are the 3 key variables to consider. These are fundamental to every single person who is trying to progress, no matter what their fitness related goal may be. Anyone who says differently is telling porkies. These variables are as follows:
1. Training
2. Nutrition
3. Recovery
That’s it, it’s not complicated. However, as I said, these are variables, which means they differ from person to person (and again, anyone who says differently is talking bollocks). The key is to find out what ratio works for you. So, here are some pointers to set you on the right path.
1. Organise your training schedule.
There are guidelines to try and adhere to in order to achieve your goals. That being said, there is no magic formula when it comes to training. Whatever your goal, the best way of approaching it is to lift what you can (with good form), not what you feel you should (that’s called ‘ego lifting’). If you cannot finish a rep with good form, then you should not be lifting that weight.
· Training goal. You need to decide what your primary objective is. Are you looking to build muscle, build strength, lose body fat or increase mobility and flexibility? Whichever goal you choose will impact the following two points [1].
· Training style. Different goals require different training styles [2]. For example, if you’re looking to put on some muscle mass, you would opt for a certain rep/set/recovery structure. If you are looking to lose fat, then you’d need a different approach, so make sure you are using the training principal that is going to get you the desired result.
· Training split. Simply put, a split is how many times a week you are going to train, which body part you are going to train, or what movement pattern you are going to follow. For example, if you wanted to do a full body workout on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, this would be a ‘3-day full body split’.
2. Plan your recovery schedule.
Let’s get one thing straight right from the start. RESPECT YOUR RECOVERY. Your recovery is just as important as your training, and, in fact, over-training can be detrimental to your progress (hard gainers, read that last part again). After quite some time, I have learned this lesson the hard way, so take my advice and plan your rest. You’ll come back stronger and more focused than you think.
· Off day. The maximum you really want to train would be 3 days in a row before having a rest day. When you train, you are literally ripping your muscles [3], so you need to allow them time to repair. The sooner you can accept that, the better your results will be.
· Rest period. Otherwise known as the down time between working sets. This is an underutilised tool. If you are truly pushing yourself in your working set, you’ll need to take every second of your rest period. For example, if you are doing pure strength training, you might be going for heavy sets of 5 reps. You could then have anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes rest before completing your next set [4]. If you don’t take that rest, the chances are you will not finish the next set (or perhaps you will, but not without injuring yourself). So again, respect your rest period, it will pay dividends.
· Sleep. It’s no secret that the body needs sleep to recover. That’s why we do it. It increases muscle recovery through protein synthesis and the release of human growth hormone, which stimulates muscle growth and repair [5]. If you are truly looking to enhance your body composition, you’re gonna need around 8 hours of good quality sleep a night [6]. So, if you are going to go to the effort of beasting yourself in the gym, don’t feel guilty about getting some shut eye.
3. Sort out your nutritional intake.
News flash: body re-composition is not 80% nutrition and 20% training. I hear people come out with this ‘stat’ all the time. They are both an equal part of the balance. Nutrition may feel like it’s 80% of the battle because, granted, it can be the hardest part of the equation to get your head around.
· Training goal. Your nutrition stems back to that all-important question – what are you trying to achieve? This will play a role in determining what your caloric intake should be. If you are looking to put on size, your calories go up [7]. If you are looking to lose some body fat, then they may need to come down [8].
· Macro split. Once you have decided what you are trying to achieve, you can then allocate your total calorie allowance to suit. This allowance will then be broken into macros (carbs/protein/fat).
· Meal timings. Some people may think that meal timings are only for the more advanced trainer, but every little helps. In fact, just having the right pre- and post-training meal or snack can have a huge impact on performance, recovery and results [9,10,11,12].
References.
1. Fleck, S. J., & Kraemer, W. (2014). Designing resistance training programs, 4E. Human Kinetics.
2. Kraemer, W. J., & Ratamess, N. A. (2004). Fundamentals of resistance training: progression and exercise prescription. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 36(4), 674-688.
3. Nosaka, K., Lavender, A., Newton, M., & Sacco, P. (2003). Muscle damage in resistance training. International Journal of Sport and Health Science, 1(1), 1-8
4. Schoenfeld, B. (2016). Home The Case for Resting Longer and Lifting Heavier.
5. Dattilo, M., Antunes, H. K. M., Medeiros, A., Neto, M. M., Souza, H. S. D., Tufik, S., & De Mello, M. T. (2011). Sleep and muscle recovery: endocrinological and molecular basis for a new and promising hypothesis. Medical hypotheses, 77(2), 220-222.
6. Chen, Y., Cui, Y., Chen, S., & Wu, Z. (2017). Relationship between sleep and muscle strength among Chinese university students: a cross-sectional study. Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions, 17(4), 327.
7. Ladon, J. (2017). Nutrition Tips for Intelligent Muscle Growth. POWER, 30(2018).
8. Strasser, B., Spreitzer, A., & Haber, P. (2007). Fat loss depends on energy deficit only, independently of the method for weight loss. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 51(5), 428-432.
9. Hawley, J. A., & Burke, L. M. (1997). Effect of meal frequency and timing on physical performance. British Journal of Nutrition, 77(S1), S91-S103.
10. Maffucci, D. M., & McMurray, R. G. (2000). Towards optimizing the timing of the pre-exercise meal. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 10(2), 103-113.
11. Mark, K. (2015). Meal and Recovery Drink Timing: Does It Matter?.
12. Ray, T. R., & Fowler, R. (2004). Current issues in sports nutrition in athletes. Southern medical journal, 97(9), 863-867.
