Keys To Progression
By Steve Nagle
EliteFTS.com

What are the reason workout plans don’t yield results? You could think of as many reasons as there are people. Maybe your caloric intake needs to be reviewed, or the manipulation of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats isn’t the correct percent. There could be emotional, psychological, and physiological reasons as well. Although these are some factors, let’s look at the four keys that may yield results. 

Specificity in training is one area. This basically means train your weak link. If you’re slow, spend more time on speed work. If you need to lose weight, make sure you’re doing cardiovascular exercise. If you want to improve your golf swing, a proportionate amount of time needs to be spent doing so. These are all basic analogies. Your goals may differ, but specifically why you are exercising is a factor that can improve or impede progress.

Frequency can be a huge factor to lack of progress. For many, lack of frequency is their retardant. On the other hand, some people are hindered by too frequent workouts. Whatever the pit fall, too much or too few, yields little results. How do you know where you stand? Are you achieving the results you intended to when you started exercising? It could be you need a little more or a little less.

Intensity. To some exercisers intensity is a feeling. You often hear the saying, “He was intense,” or “You could see their intensity in their eyes.” Another way of looking at intensity is a percentage of 100 or a 1 rep max. Someone may lift 90% of his or her maximum. Others may train their heart rate between 60 and 85%. There isn’t only one correct training method, nor is there a correct percentage to always use. To point, besides showing you that intensity isn’t a feeling, but a percentage of your maximum effort, is to give you examples of why your training progress may be lacking. 

Duration of time spent exercising. This is the last variable that you can manipulate to keep progress in the right direction. Someone once told me you can workout long, but you can’t workout hard. Think about this statement in logical terms. If you choose to ignore it, you may pull up lame in as short amount of time as 3 to 6 weeks. From what you have read, you can deduct that if the training session is going to be a long one, the intensity needs to be lower.

What is the ideal training program? There isn’t one, but I can tell you that any good training program is comprised of these principles.



Steve Nagle has been a professional in the fitness community since 1991. During that time, Steve has had the opportunity to work with hundreds of individuals from various backgrounds and numerous settings. Steve’s self-motivation plays a vital role in the success of many of his clients as he competes in powerlifting. His competitive best includes a 505 squat, 425 bench press, and a 545 deadlift.