So, you signed up with the latest cool app that claims to deliver personalized workouts and promises results. You have been diligently following along for two months but are growing bored and skeptical because you do not see the expected results.
So, you signed up with the latest cool app that claims to deliver personalized workouts and promises results. You have been diligently following along for two months but are growing bored and skeptical because you do not see the expected results.
Or, maybe you have been attending boot camp three days a week for the last six months. They’re social, challenging, and leave you feeling like you had a good sweat, but you now have some chronic pain in your shoulder that’s affecting your life.
The Advantages of a Personalized Training Plan
Chances are, if your fitness program isn’t personalized, you’re going to run into problems either with the lack of results or, worse still, injuries.
An individualized plan created by a professional coach should consider:
- Your age (both training age and biological)
- Training history
- Injury history
- Current fitness and skill level
- Your schedule
- Your priorities and goals
Here are four reasons to start a personalized fitness plan designed by a professional coach.
1. We’re Like Snowflakes – Consider Our Differences
You probably learned in kindergarten that we’re like snowflakes—We’re all different. We have different DNA, backgrounds, skills, health, injury histories, and on and on.
Chances are you have noticed that your body responds differently to certain foods.
You know the whole, “Why can he eat an entire ring of Brie cheese and feel great, and I find myself bloated with a crippling belly ache?”
The point is: We’re not all created equal. Why would a fitness program be any different?
“Health and wellness must be personalized (and) fitness sits here,” explained OPEX Fitness CEO Carl Hardwick. “People’s circumstances are unique, and an individually designed program meets them exactly where they are.”
This is why OPEX coaches put their clients through a thorough assessment first, which considers their body composition, the way their body moves, and their current abilities.
This provides a framework for the coach to build a program that considers all facets of the unique individual.
As a result, the program can offer appropriate volume and appropriate movements at appropriate intensities for that person.
“Individualization sets people up for success as it works within their capabilities,” Hardwick added.
Or, as OPEX coach Henry Torano explained, “The entire point of fitness is for it to improve.”
And the best way to help clients improve and reach their goals is to “meet them where they’re at” and adjust their training program accordingly.
This flexibility is something a fitness app or a group fitness class can’t provide.
2. Consider Reality and Your True Intention
One of the biggest and most frequently overlooked keys to sticking with a fitness routine long-term comes down to whether or not it’s realistic physically and practically.
This means it needs to consider an individual’s goals, schedule, priorities, and what they’re willing to do.
OPEX coaches work with the clients to figure out their true intention. Not their superficial, “I want to lose weight.” reason, but the deeper reason behind why they want to improve their fitness.
Frequently, people assume they’re supposed to work out five days a week for 90 minutes a day because that’s what their super fit friend does, but this might not be realistic, nor is it something they’re willing to make a priority. So trying to follow their friend blindly sets them up for quick failure.
“Once people realize what their actual goals and intentions are, and that they’re different from others, and most importantly that that’s okay, they will inherently realize their fitness and lifestyle routine will need to be, as well,” Hardwick said.
3. Consider Sustainability
Chances are you have been marketed by the 6-week diet and fitness challenge folks, who promise quick results in a hurry.
Is it possible to see results in six weeks? Absolutely, but it has repeatedly been proven that the strict diet or the overnight overhaul of your life mentality doesn’t last much beyond the six-week challenge.
Hard reality moment: “Individualized fitness is not always the fastest way to results, but it is the most sustainable,” Hardwick explained.
Bottom line: When we push too hard too soon because we’re fixed on seeing quick results, we don’t stick with it for long.
An individualized plan that is carefully progressive, on the other hand, allows you to hop on a path to long-term, sustained results.
4. Consider That Life Is Dynamic
Our lives, from our goals to our priorities to our schedules, change, and you’re going to be the most successful if your training program takes this into account.
What you want from fitness at 30 is likely different than what you’ll be after at 60, so it makes little to no sense to try to ignore this reality and keep doing what you did 30 years ago.
“We change jobs, move to new a place, have kids, etc. All of these could dramatically change your fitness needs, hence your fitness program needs to adapt to that, not the other way around,” Torano said.
Final Thought: Though we rely on technology and apps for so many things in our lives today, something like our health will always benefit from the human touch.
“In a world that relies so much on technology and automatization, I believe people appreciating what’s left of genuine human connection and service offerings,” Torano said. “That is what individualized training is all about.”
