Hi angels (and men of Own, of course!)
We’re big on doing less, better so sit down, put your feet up and let's get into how you can get the most out of your workouts.
Let's get into it
Tracking your workouts and applying progressive overload is extremely important if you are serious about seeing changes in your physique and performance. By tracking your progress, you can see where you are making gains and identify areas that need improvement.
If you are a coaching client, you can track your training in the app and your coach can make weekly recommendations for you. If you have purchased a program, you will be sent your spreadsheet where you can log your progress each week. Tracking the weight you use each week is vital because it allows you to ensure you are progressing. If you constantly use the same weight for the same exercises, you will see some initial results, but long-term progress will stall.
Let's break it down by week
At Own, we usually write 8-week programs that include two four-week blocks. For each four-week block, we recommend you follow the below:
Week 1: Get to know the program, focus on form and technique, and record anything you're unsure about. Treat Week 1 as an introduction, using about 70% of your maximum effort. This allows you to familiarise yourself with the program and movement patterns while leaving plenty of room for progress in the upcoming weeks.
Week 2: Ramp up the performance as you become more familiar with the exercises. In Week 2, increase your effort to around 80%, ensuring you still have 2 reps left in the tank.
Week 3: Continue to apply progressive overload where applicable and see your strength begin to peak. By Week 3, push your effort to 90%, leaving just 1 rep in reserve.
Week 4: Strength peaks further, evaluate your progress for the month and identify areas for improvement. In Week 4, aim to set a personal best (PB) for that phase by training very close to failure.
Let's break it down by session
Now let's get into the nitty-gritty of what you can focus on each and every training session. Imagine you’re walking into the gym for Week 1 of a new program. Here are our top tips to get more out of your program:
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Before increasing your weights, ensure you have a strong foundation of proper form and technique. This will help prevent injuries and ensure that your muscles are being targeted effectively.
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Keep a detailed log of your workouts, noting the weights, sets, and reps you perform for each exercise. This will allow you to see your progress and identify when it’s time to increase the weight.
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Avoid making large jumps in weight. Instead, increase the weight by small increments, such as 2.5 to 10 percent. This isn't always possible, especially in upper body and lower body strength differences.
Let's get specific
Leg Press:
If you’ve done Week 1 on 70kg, a 10 percent increase would be to add 7kg, which often we can’t add to a leg press. However, if we were to round this up to 10kg, Week 2 could be on 80kg. Since our legs are a large muscle group, we could likely increase another 10 percent, which makes this 8kg, needing to be rounded to 90kg. Since we have rounded up for two weeks, we might feel our max oncoming, and we could drop this back down to 80kg. Week 4 might look like pushing through all on 90kg.
Week 1: 70kg, 70kg, 70kg, 70kg
Week 2: 80kg, 80kg, 80kg, 80kg
Week 3: 90kg, 90kg, 80kg, 80kg
Week 4: 90kg, 90kg, 90kg, 90kg
This is an example and not advice. A lot of the time, we won’t be able to accurately add 2.5 to 10 percent each week due to machine restrictions.
OR
DB Shoulder Press:
If you’ve done Week 1 on 4kg, a 5 percent increase would be to add 4.2kg. I don't know about you, but I’ve never been to a gym with those. With the first method, we could be ‘stuck’ on 4kg dumbbells for five weeks before feeling comfortable moving up to 5kg. However, you could try a more micro approach like the below:
Week 1: 4kg, 4kg, 4kg, 4kg
Week 2: 5kg, 5kg, 4kg, 4kg
Week 3: 5kg, 5kg, 5kg, 4kg
Week 4: 5kg, 5kg, 5kg, 5kg
You’re still progressing by increasing how many sets you complete at the heavier weight. It doesn’t always need to be all or nothing.
Our final thoughts
Remember that increasing weights is a gradual process that requires consistency and won’t always be perfect. Stick to your program, trust the process, and over time, you’ll see the improvements you’re working for.
Now thats a whole lot of information all in one go, so if you have specific questions about your training, let us know by emailing us.
Have fun and train hard xx