Read up, train better

I talk to a lot of people every day who are frustrated because they can't seem to make progress in the pursuit of their fitness goals. When I examine their current regimen, I often find they are using a program that looks like it was designed for a completely different person.

Whether they got the program from the latest edition of their favorite fitness magazine, or from a friend who got it from the Internet, it's just not the right program for their level of experience or current goals.


While there are a few magazines and websites who put out some decent training programs, most of what you'll find from these sources are designed for a fictional client who may or may not look anything like you or have the same goals and lifestyle.

I've known guys who put themselves on the Mr. Olympia 26-set bench-press program and got nothing but injured during the program. This program might work for a professional bodybuilder who uses steroids, but for the average Joe, it's just a bad idea.

If you really want to get consistent results from a training program, you have to gain an understanding of basic exercise science. I know that studying exercise and fitness doesn't sound really sexy, but you'll find that the more you understand, the more empowered you'll be to get the results you want whenever you want to.

There are a number of resources that will get you on the road to an understanding for what you want to accomplish.

1. "Essentials of Personal Fitness Training" from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (www.nasm.org) is one of the most complete and up-to-date PT courses available today. At the end of the course, you will have gained a thorough understanding of the NASM's proprietary "Optimum Performance Training" method, or OPT for short. Even if you never go into the personal training field, you will know what kind of programs to draw up for your personal goals and, most importantly, why each program works. Plus you can impress your friends with all kinds of new vocabulary.

2. "New Rules Of Lifting" by Alwyn Cosgrove. In my industry, Alwyn Cosgrove is the undisputed heavyweight champion of program design. I've had the opportunity to participate in some his workshops, and I ended up getting all of his books and DVDs. You can find this book on www.humankinetics.com, or Amazon.com.

3. "Essence of Program Design" by J.C. Santana. Santana was one of my early influences and an innovator of what we call functional strength training. He lays out the training methods used at his famous Institute of Human Performance training center in Florida. I've adapted some of his methods and systems into my own with outstanding results. This book is especially useful for athletes looking for a competitive edge in their sport. You can get it at www.performbetter.com, or on J.C.'s site www.ihpfit.com.

Get one or all of these resources, study up and start getting the results you want faster than ever, and with fewer training hiccups along the way.

The more you know, the easier it gets to make things happen. So get reading, and get results.



Chad Smith is a Hagerstown personal trainer and co-owner of Home Team Fitness LLC. Go to www.hometeamfitness.net for more information.