I’d like to say this will be the longest blog post title I will ever have… but knowing myself all too well, I can assure you that’s a lie! 

But as the title suggests, this post is all about helping you program. Yes, I’m Nicky and I’m your friend and I want to help you do the very thing that I, a qualified personal trainer, am trained to sell to you! 

I’m giving you a winning formula so take notes! 

FROM THE BEGINNING

Right, so before we get to it, let’s start by actually stating the obvious: What actually is programming? 

It’s basically what it says on the tin: It’s a program. But when it comes to your fitness goals, having a program, a schedule or routine to follow is a bit like having a recipe. 

Nothing is done blindly and there’s always an end product or a final destination. Where that destination is, that’s up to you to decide. But ultimately, your program is a written map on how you will get there.

WHAT DO YOU WANT? 

Maybe your goal is fat reduction (weight loss!) or maybe it’s to prepare for a run you really didn’t want to sign up for but since everyone in the office was doing it…you know the rest!

Or perhaps you really do want to be a powerlifter and the thought of pulling a double decker bus along like it were a new born baby really does turn you on… it happens! 

Whatever your goal is, your programme if followed, should get you there. 

I say should because that’s why we write or buy programmes. 

WHEN REALITY HITS THE…

“Buy my program and you’ll look just like me.” 

“Buy my squat plan and you’ll have an ass like Kim K in 6 weeks!”

It sounds silly but these are some of the things these programmes promise us. So we go along, pay the price and 6 weeks later we are more Kim Jung than Kim K! 

What happened? 

Life happened. 

Because here’s the thing. If you are not realistic where your health (and your wallet!) is concerned, you will end up disappointed and out of pocket. So often, we buy these 6,8 and even 12 week programs without taking into account our lifestyle and our limits and then when we don’t look like what it says on the nicely edited photo that promised you quick results, we’re disheartened. 

But the truth is, it’s not you, it’s the programme. This programme doesn’t know you. It’s never met you. And that secret it promised to reveal about your dream body was never coming to fruition. 

WHAT’S THE SECRET?

The secret to getting your dream body isn’t going to be found in some programme written by someone you have never met or spoken with. The secret to getting your dream body is to learn to love your own body! 

Yep, that’s it. The more you love something, the more care and consideration you have for that thing and your body is no different. That’s what happened to me. The more I got to know my body, the more I fell in love with it. And not in an unhealthy “my body is a goddess” mumbo jumbo type of way either! 

I just started to respect it and treat it with care and before I knew it, the weight started to (slowly) drop off. I started to learn about my body and what it could do and what it wasn’t ready for. I started to learn how my body would respond to things and when it was being pushed way past it’s limits. 

But that happened through trial and error, learning and leaning in to what was happening physically  as I exercised. These things I learnt about my body couldn’t be taught. They had to be experienced. 

LEARN & ADAPT 

When I first started working out, I looked for every programme I could find! Pinterest was my best friend. But what I found was that these programmes were either too difficult or too easy. So I started to write my own programmes that were somewhere in the middle. 

I started mixing things up, learning new terminologies like reps, sets and DOMs. And before I knew it…I was okay at this stuff.

I say okay and not perfect despite my qualification because I am still learning and adapting. 

And that’s totally fine. 

I know in this day and age we love an end product with all it’s bells and whistles but truth be told, you can’t have an end without a beginning and some beginnings take a lot longer to write. 

Much longer. 

So I’m still learning because let’s face it, things are always changing. Don’t believe me, just ask COVID -19! 

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s training schedule has been thrown into disarray by the arrival of this invisible enemy. 

But throwing off doesn’t mean throwing away. It might just mean adjusting times and tailoring locations like swapping the gym for my bedroom and a group class for an instalive! 

YOU CHOOSE 

Maybe it’s just me, but I like to believe that everyone has the ability to write a winning programme. It doesn’t matter if you’re a pro in the fitness field or a semi newbie like me. Each programme, in order for it to be super successful only requires one thing; that you stick with it!