Why is following an exercise training programme so important?

Exercise is the greatest medicine, as you’re probably aware. Staying motivated to keep active can be challenging, particularly if you’re not seeing the results from all your hard work. This is one of the reasons I believe following an exercise programme is very important. A good exercise programme is tailored to your specific goals and will help manage your expectations i.e. how long it will take to achieve your goal. This will enable you to remain focus and trust the process, despite not seeing significant improvement to your weight, muscle tone, strength etc. It takes time to see any major change associated with exercising, so having a realistic and long-term goal is key.

The first key ingredient to achieving your health and fitness goals is to be consistent. Second to that you need a training programme tailored to your goals. The body needs to be challenged in a certain manner, for a particular time period to achieve the desired adaptations. For instance, it takes approximately 3 months to see reasonable structural changes within your muscle fibres, with resistance training. This is depending on working within specific training parameters such as repetition ranges, time under tension and overall training volume. Training outside of the specific training parameters in relation to your goal will prevent you from seeing the results that you want. So having guidance from a fitness professional to help set out a tailored training programme is valuable.

Simply coming to the gym and training has many short-term benefits from stress relief, to feeling generally fit and well, and some strength benefits. Most of these benefits are attributed to a neurophysiological response, and therefore easily reversible. However, the reason for having a training programme is to enable you to achieve more sustainable adaptations.

Below are some key reasons you should have and always follow a training programme on your fitness journey.

1. Enables to work towards a specific goal Fitness training needs to be specific to a particular goal in order to be more effective, unless the goal is for general wellbeing and health benefits. For example, someone training for strength will need a completely different training programme to someone training for weight loss. The body needs to be exposed to similar stress or demands, generally for 3 to 6 months to notice a significant difference i.e. in muscle definition or strength. Having a training plan allows to set long-term, realistic and sustainable goals. For instance, it has been shown that aiming for weight loss of 5-10% of your body weight within 6 months is a more realistic and sustainable way. Whereas more than 50% of dieters regain most of their weight loss within 12 months Koliaki et al. (2018). Long-term goal and steady approach, with a clear training programme is key for more sustainable results.

2. Injury prevention and optimising recovery Longevity is key. Having a training programme allows the body to be gradually loaded, in a way that minimises overloading your muscles, tendons and joints and reduce risks of injuries. A smart training plan will optimise between session recovery for your major joints, such as your spine, shoulders etc. Failing to do so can results in repetitive strain type of injuries, tendon related pain etc. If you have any question regarding training programme or any health and fitness questions please feel free to contact me.

We also offer a fantastic club app to follow and track our personalised workout programs which is accessible by all members of the club.

For more info or help please contact

Gracy BIlolo, Personal Trainer

Tel: 07805673863 or Instagram: athleticapproach_cr

Reference list Koliaki et al. (2018) Defining the optimal dietary approach for safe, effective and sustainable weight loss in overweight and obese adults.