Should you Program for Yourself?

Should you program for yourself? This is a question that many probably know the answer to. In my opinion, I say no. Some people may say otherwise but, I believe that you'll have more success following someone else's programming.

First and foremost, what are your goals? What are you looking to get out of your program? How serious are you? These are all questions that need to be considered prior to decide your plan of action. 99.9% of the time, you'll have more success obtaining a program from another individual rather than following your own.

Secondly, creating your own workout regime is a tedious process. It takes a good amount of time to create a workout program, just ask Coach Tom. He spends an entire day programming for the gym. So, how much time and energy are you willing to put into your own programming? How much time and energy can you put in the gym? Furthermore, your program needs to make sense for your goals. Doing a bunch of random, thrown together things for hours probably won't get you to where you want to go. Therefore, find someone to program for you. Take all that guesswork and frustration out of your workouts.

Unless you understand how to program and the magnitude of things that come with it-it's nearly impossible to create a genuinely good program. No matter how much you deny it, there will always be a bias in your individual program. This prejudice will lead to a lack of exposure to movements and stimuli. For example, you hate the assault bike (honestly, who doesn't?). So, you'll probably program around it in your training or greatly underestimate the amount of volume and sets that you need to improve. This bias will create weaknesses in your overall performance. It may not seem like it at the moment because it's programmed but, there will always be bias and this is the trap that can be avoided with a coach.

You'll be more focused on following another's programming. Think about it. How many of you can stick with your New Year's Resolution? Many are not able to stick with their goal through February. That's only a month. With a gym program, you have to be all in for the entire time. Can you trust yourself to stick with your own program through its entirety? Can you be your own coach and an athlete at the same time? Think about these questions. If you can't, don't program for yourself.

Finally, a coach will correct those unknown flaws in movement. Yes, you may understand the exercise but, you might not be performing it correctly. The coach can see and critique your movement and provide feedback. Likewise, the coach can also take your fails or frustrations and help you fix them. They can help to get you into the headspace that you need to be in to perform. They'll tell you when you should take a rest and when to push it so that way, you can just focus on your workout.

Overall, these thoughts stem from previous experiences. I've tried developing my own workout regimes, I've followed the programs of others, and now I've been doing CrossFit. I have seen the most success with CrossFit for various reasons. All of the above reasons are true but moreover, working out with others and in a community has been another huge contributing factor to my success. So to conclude, let someone else do your programming and find other like-minded people. Build your tribe to get that motivation and lessen any psychological burdens that you may have trying to do everything alone. The gym is meant to be fun and to get better. Let other's handle the programming and focus on what's written.

~Coach Karina, CF-L1 Trainer, USAW Sports Performance Coach