There are various levels of physical fitness. Age, gender, experience, how long an individual has been working out (training age), conditioning, athletic ability, etc. all play a role in establishing one’s current level of fitness.
Simply put, not everyone is at the same starting point in their fitness journey and training plans/programs must be tailored to meet the demands of an individual’s needs, goals, and fitness level in order to effectively account for this.
Even if an online training plan has been customized for the individual athlete unless they are being trained in person by a trainer who can make the necessary adjustments in real-time, they may still need to tweak the prescribed training session to accommodate their current level of fitness. This is especially true according to how they may respond to training on a particular day.
There are a number of ways to do this effectively and below are tips to make any customized physical training plan work best for you.
Scaling DOWN to lower intensity:
Cut down the prescribed number of reps for the exercise(s) and gradually work your way up to the prescribed number over time.
Cut down the total number of sets or rounds to be performed in the training session.
Allow yourself more rest between sets or rounds. Adding more rest time between exercises is a good way to ensure that you accomplish the desired amount of volume without burning out and hitting muscular failure. This ultimately helps make the training session easier to manage by decreasing the intensity due to the added rest period between exercises when performing circuits or supersets.
Replace a more difficult exercise with an easier variation of that same exercise you may be struggling with. For example, Shoulder Push-ups w/ feet elevated can be replaced with Shoulder Push-ups w/ feet on the deck. Likewise, Triceps Push-ups can be made easier by performing them with hands elevated up onto a bench. V-ups can be replaced with Leg Levers or Leg Extended Crunches (toe touches), etc. This protocol can be used for virtually any exercise.
Never begin the training session with more than you can manage safely. Ease into training. The volume and intensity will eventually come. The overall intensity of each individual session should feel like a 7 or 8 out of 10 unless otherwise directed.
Similarly, some athletes may wish to make their training sessions more of a challenge. This can be accomplished by using the same principles as stated above but in reverse.
Scaling UP to increase intensity:
Add more reps to the prescribed exercise(s).
Add more sets or rounds. This will increase the volume of the workout/training session.
Cut down the amount of rest time between exercises, sets, or rounds.
Choose a harder variation to the prescribed exercise(s). For example, full range of motion Triceps Push-ups with both hands and feet on the deck, Split Squats w/ rear foot elevated instead of standard Split Squats, etc.
Spend more time under tension for the prescribed exercise(s). This is a great technique for developing strength and hypertrophy (muscle size). You can do this by incorporating pauses at varying degrees/points within the range of motion throughout each repetition, spending more time in the negative or eccentric phase of the movement, and slowing down the rep tempo in both the positive or concentric and negative phases of the movement each rep.
Add weight via a weighted vest, backpack, military pack, dumbbells, etc. to the prescribed exercise(s). Adding a load to bodyweight movements is a safe and effective way to increase the intensity of the training session for a particular adaptation.
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