Personal Training Programming Basics

When I started personal training in 2006, I made a mistake I still see trainers making today.

I thought a good workout needed to be different every time.

New exercises. New combinations. Something difficult enough to make the client feel they'd gotten their money's worth.

The problem was that I didn't always have a clear short term or long term plan.

I was giving clients workouts. I wasn't necessarily building a program.

There's a difference.

Over the years, working at NYSC, Equinox, and Sports Club LA in New York, I learned a lot from more experienced trainers. I read books like Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. I went back through my NASM material.

But the biggest lessons came from coaching actual people.

You eventually realize that the exercises aren't supposed to impress the client.

They're supposed to make the client better.

And good programming needs to survive something textbooks rarely prepare you for.

Real life.

Why do trainers keep changing exercises?

I understand the temptation.

You've got a paying client standing in front of you. They've been doing squats for three weeks. You start wondering whether they're getting bored.

So you introduce something new.

A different squat variation. A complicated circuit. Maybe an exercise you saw another trainer doing yesterday.

Now the session feels fresh.

But what happened to the original plan?

One of the most important things I learned about programming was the value of repeating movements long enough for clients to improve.

Take a squat or a lunge.

A beginner might look terrible during the first session. Their balance is off. Their knees are moving everywhere. They can't figure out where their hips should go.

Keep working on the same movement for four to six weeks, with appropriate coaching and progression, and the improvement can be remarkable.

Their coordination improves.

Their confidence improves.

The weight they can handle improves.

That's progress you can actually see.

If you're constantly replacing exercises, you lose some of that opportunity.

Sometimes your job is to make the boring stuff enjoyable.

Not to replace it with something entertaining.

How do you program when clients have lives outside the gym?

Periodization changed the way I thought about training.

Having a short term goal, a long term goal, and a plan for getting there makes a lot more sense than choosing random exercises every Monday.

But there's a problem with the perfect program.

It assumes the client lives in a perfect world.

Textbooks can lay out beautiful 12 week training cycles. Exact percentages. Specific loading targets. Planned progression from one week to the next.

Then your client comes back from a ten day vacation.

Or they've spent the last three nights working late.

Or their kid is sick.

Or the dumbbells you need have mysteriously disappeared into somebody else's circuit.

This is where experience matters.

Regular people have lives to live. Work, family, vacations, and responsibilities don't disappear because you've written a training program.

You still need a plan.

You just can't become a prisoner of it.

If a client misses a week, assess where they are when they return. Adjust the load or volume if necessary. Continue working toward the goal.

If somebody walks in exhausted after a ten hour workday, that may not be the day to chase a personal record.

And if the equipment you need is occupied, choose a reasonable substitute that accomplishes the same purpose.

The program gives you direction.

Your judgment keeps it useful.

What should every personal training session look like?

Over the years, I've settled into a structure that works for how I like to train clients.

Three phases.

1. Warm up and corrective work.
2. Main movements and accessory work.
3. A finisher.

The personal training exercises change depending on the individual.

The structure stays familiar.

For a typical 60 minute session, I want the client prepared to move, enough time for meaningful strength work, and an ending that makes sense for their goals and energy that day.

I also prefer clients to train at least three times per week when their schedule allows it, especially when they're trying to lose fat and build muscle.

But frequency alone doesn't determine the program.

You have to look at the person standing in front of you.

What should a client's warm up include?

I prefer a dynamic warm up built around the individual.

Not the same five exercises for everybody.

If somebody has limited ankle mobility, that needs attention.

If their shoulders are stiff, we work on movements that prepare them for the upper body exercises they're about to perform.

If they have a history of low back problems, I want to understand what aggravates the issue and what movements they can perform comfortably.

I don't pretend to know everything.

Sometimes I'll research a movement, talk to other trainers, or try an exercise myself before introducing it.

And if a client has been seeing a physical therapist, I want to know what they've been told and whether they've been given specific exercises.

There's no prize for pretending you're a physical therapist.

For most clients, I try to teach a short warm up with three to five movements.

Something easy enough to remember and repeat.

Ideally, they learn to do it before our session begins.

That way, we're not spending the first ten minutes of their paid hour going through the same routine they've already learned.

And no, walking on a treadmill isn't my idea of a complete warm up.

It raises your heart rate and gets you moving. That's fine.

But it doesn't necessarily prepare your ankles for squats, your shoulders for pressing, or your hips for lunges.

Prepare the movements you're actually going to train.

Which exercises belong at the beginning of the workout?

The toughest movements go first.

By toughest, I mean exercises that require the most coordination, strength, attention, or technical control.

Squats.

Deadlifts.

Lunges.

Heavy presses.

Rows and pulls.

These are the foundation of most of my strength sessions.

A heavy deadlift, for example, isn't something I want a client attempting at the end of a long workout when they're exhausted and their technique is falling apart.

Put demanding movements where the client can perform them well.

For somebody trying to build muscle and lose fat, I like organizing the main session into circuits of two or three exercises.

Something like a lower body movement, a push, and a pull.

I usually aim for four sets when appropriate.

That gives us enough work without spending half the session sitting around waiting for the next exercise.

Here's an example of how I might organize the main portion of a workout.

Circuit A, 4 sets

• Goblet squat, 8 to 10 reps
• Dumbbell bench press, 8 to 12 reps
• Seated cable row, 10 to 12 reps

Circuit B, 4 sets

• Reverse lunges, 8 reps per leg
• Dumbbell shoulder press, 8 to 10 reps
• Lat pulldown, 10 to 12 reps

That isn't a prescription for every client.

It's an example of the structure.

Lower body. Push. Pull.

Keep the exercise selection appropriate for the person, allow enough recovery to maintain technique, and adjust the number of sets to fit the session.

You don't need to cram every movement pattern into every workout.

Where do curls, triceps, and smaller exercises fit?

After the main work.

Biceps curls, triceps extensions, lateral raises, chest flys, and hamstring curls all have their place.

But I generally don't want those exercises tiring out muscles needed for the bigger lifts.

If somebody is training for strength, the demanding compound movements take priority.

If we're focusing on hypertrophy, the accessory exercises can get more attention.

The order depends on the goal.

That's one of the workout basics worth remembering.

Every exercise should have a reason for being there.

How do you know when to increase the weight?

This depends on where the client is in their program.

Strength, hypertrophy, and muscular endurance call for different loading and rep ranges.

But regardless of the phase, I watch how the client moves.

Are they controlling the weight?

Is their technique holding up?

How difficult did the last few reps look?

Sometimes the weight looks suspiciously easy.

I'll ask the client whether they think they could have lifted more.

Occasionally, I'll catch them before they've had time to think too hard about it.

Jajaja. Sometimes they catch on.

The point is that the numbers alone don't tell you everything.

A useful approach is to give a rep range and increase the weight once the client can consistently reach the top of it with good technique.

Say you've programmed 8 to 10 reps.

When the client can complete the prescribed sets at 10 reps without their form breaking down, consider a small increase.

Then work back toward the top of the range.

It's not complicated.

But it only works if you're paying attention to what they did last session.

How long should a client repeat the same exercises?

Long enough to improve.

That might mean four to six weeks of practicing the same important movements. Sometimes longer.

There's no magic expiration date on a squat.

I look at their progress and how they're responding to the program.

Are they getting stronger?

Is their technique improving?

Are they enjoying the sessions?

Are they still working toward the same goal?

You can keep the important exercises consistent while making smaller changes elsewhere.

Change an accessory movement. Adjust the reps. Introduce a different finisher.

You don't need to throw out the entire workout because the calendar says it's a new month.

Why do I like finishing sessions with conditioning?

Because I want the client to leave feeling like they've worked.

That doesn't mean destroying them.

There's a difference between a productive session and leaving somebody so exhausted that they can barely get down the stairs.

Depending on their goals and how they're feeling, I might finish with a short HIIT circuit or some abdominal work.

Intervals, boxing, bike sprints, or a short EMOM can all fit.

The finisher isn't mandatory, and I won't sacrifice good strength work just to make somebody sweat.

But there's something to be said for ending a session with energy.

Clients aren't reading your programming spreadsheet.

They're experiencing the workout.

You want them to recognize the progress they're making and enjoy the process enough to keep coming back.

Why should you program before the client arrives?

You can have twenty years of coaching experience and still look unprepared if your client walks in while you're figuring out the workout.

It's a bad look.

Your client has probably rearranged their day to be there.

They're paying for your attention.

They shouldn't have to stand around while you scroll through notes trying to remember which dumbbells they used last week.

I've been building The Training Notebook since 2012, and today I use The Training Notebook One to build client workouts.

But the tool isn't the lesson here.

The lesson is having a plan.

Know what you're training.

Know where the client left off.

Have the exercises ready.

Then, if something changes, use your experience to adjust.

That's coaching.

Questions trainers ask

How many exercises should be in a personal training session?

There's no magic number. I generally build around the main compound movements, organize complementary exercises into circuits, and add accessory work or a finisher when appropriate. The number matters less than whether the exercises serve the client's goal and fit the available time.

Should personal trainers change exercises every week?

Generally, no. Clients need repetition to improve their movement and strength. I like giving important exercises enough time to produce progress, often four to six weeks or longer, while adjusting other parts of the workout as needed.

Is periodization necessary for regular personal training clients?

Having a short term and long term plan is valuable, but the program needs flexibility. Most clients aren't professional athletes. Work, family, vacations, illness, and inconsistent schedules happen. Periodization should guide your decisions rather than prevent you from adapting.

How do you make repetitive workouts enjoyable?

Coach the movement. Show clients how their technique has improved, point out when they're lifting more weight, and explain why you're repeating an exercise. Progress itself becomes motivating when clients recognize it. You don't need a new exercise every week to keep someone interested.

What's the biggest mistake trainers make when programming workouts?

Confusing a collection of exercises with a training program. A good session should connect to what the client did previously and where you want them to go next. Without that direction, you're giving somebody a workout without necessarily helping them make meaningful progress.

Build your next client's workout before they walk in. Try TTN One free for 7 days on the App Store, on Google Play, or in your browser.