3 PROGRAMMING TIPS FOR BUSY CLIENTS

Creating Efficiency for Busy Clients

Every coach wants to ensure their clients can commit to an efficient number of training sessions and achieve tangible results. But creating an effective program can become a daunting task when clients have limited time.

The goal of this article is to provide you with some basic tips to improve efficiency within training programs for busy clients. Ideally, every human being should move every day, but in today’s world that is easier said than done. These basic principles are a great starting point for clients who may have a hard time establishing a base of consistency, when it comes to hitting the gym. This can be applied to any type of client looking to improve their overall health and fitness. 

Three Programming Tips for Busy Clients

Tip 1: Train every other day 

Initially, training every other day may not seem like enough, but clients can still make great progress on this schedule. The key here is balancing fitness with the high stressors of life. Busy lifestyles bring a lot of demand for individuals. On any given day clients fill their stress bucket with things like work, finances, children, diet, relationships, etc. The amount of room left at the top of the bucket represents the client’s resilience, in other words, their buffer between wellness and sickness. 

When you add a training regimen to the mix, that bucket has the potential to fill to the top. The goal of the coach is to keep that bucket from overflowing and leading to burnout. For a majority of the busy population, alternating between training and recovery is manageable and simple to implement. 

Example:

Monday – Train

Tuesday- Off

Wednesday – Train

Thursday – Off 

Friday – Train 

Saturday – Off 

Sunday – Train 

Monday – Off

The following Tuesday will now be a training day. 

This cycle creates a simple pattern of rhythm for a client. The non-training days work as small de-loads. This allows a client’s immune system, endocrine system, and nervous system to recover, and creates an opportunity for them to come back stronger every single training session. 

Tip 2: Alternate Between Resistance and Aerobic Training

We segment principles of strength and conditioning through the lens of Gain, Pain, and Sustain. For busy individuals, apply Gain and Sustain to ensure consistent progression and training benefits, while steering clear of Pain.

What is OPEX Gain?

Gain is synonymous with alactic energy system training, otherwise known as creatine phosphate and adenosine triphosphate (CP-ATP) training, weight training, or in simple terms, resistance training. 

A large benefit of performing resistance training is mechanical adaptation, meaning tissue breakdown to which the client adapts. Improvements in muscle cross-sectional characteristics lead to increase in hypertrophy and movement efficiency. Other benefits include improved immune function, balance, and metabolism. 

What is OPEX Sustain?  

The intention of Sustain is to build the cardiovascular system, the lungs, and the muscles through aerobic training.

Aerobic training for sustainability is a good way for clients to use oxygen as a fuel source, develop patience, and provide a foundation for movement efficiency.   

OPEX Gain and Sustain function well together when implemented properly. This polarized system of training will ensure that a client has a balance of specific muscle contractions and low intensity aerobic work throughout a week. 

Tip 3: Create 60 Minute Running Clocks 

The best way to create a highly effective training session with limited time is to place boundaries on the workout duration. This will guide a client to complete all of the work necessary in stages. This format is beneficial as it promotes a sense of urgency while presenting a client with a structure to follow to maximize every second they have available inside or outside of the gym. 

Example Of A Running Clock Session:

0:00 – 10:00 Minutes 

Warm-Up:

3 Sets of:

10 forward/back single leg swing

10 cross body single leg swings

10 plank walk outs

10 push ups

10:00 – 50:00 Minutes

A. Box Squat; @20X1; 5-5-5; rest 2 min

B. Weighted Pronated Pull-Up; @2211; 3-5 x 3; rest 2 min 

C1. Dumbbell Alternating Step-Up; 16 alt reps x 4 sets; rest 30 sec 

C2. Single Arm Dumbbell Press; @20X1; 9-12 reps/arm x 4 sets; rest 90 sec

50:00-55:00 Minutes 

Cool Down

Easy Assault Bike 

55:00-60:00 Minutes 

Equipment Clean Up 

These 3 tips will improve your writing effectiveness when designing programs for busy clients. 

It’s not only clients that need efficiency, coaches do too. The best way to enhance your program design efficiency is by having a solid foundation of fitness principles. Start with our free course on principle-based programming, The Professional Coaching Blueprint.