Training Programs: Generalized vs. Customized vs. Personalized

Generalized- 

Including main features and elements of a workout program, but disregards exceptions.

What do you get from a general fitness routine?

This can be good for someone, starting from a healthy and balanced place to maintain their fitness. Fitness is grown over a longer period of time with generalized routines. This approach will keep this person healthy and able, slowly adding on greater skills or feats of fitness. 

What is needed to get the most out of a general fitness routine?

This approach assumes a baseline knowledge of movements and skills, body awareness, desired stimulus, lack of injury/mobility issues, and solid nutrition practices. 

Accessibility:

While this is a very common approach thanks to its accessibility (think, any workout routine published on the internet)  it is an approach that in fact most people aren’t prepared to start with. It is the least efficient program in terms of reaching a specific goal on a timeline. 

Obstacles to Success with Generalized Fitness:

Preventing someone from making consistent gains with a generalized workout program is an imbalance in lifestyle (nutrition, sleep, recovery, stress) and/or in movement  (mobility, stabilization, flexibility, strength, and/or coordination). 

How coaching can help:

A coach can easily facilitate a generalized fitness class. The coach in this scenario will most likely mention the intended stimuli of the workout and give some high-level tips for any movements with skill involved. 

Reasonable goals to attain through a general fitness routine:

• Maintain Health and ability
• Maintain weight or grow muscle/fat loss
• Improve health biomarkers
• Build strength, flexibility, mobility, coordination, and stabilization to avoid injury
• Become more proficient in training all three energy systems; Phosphagen, Glycolytic, and Oxidative.  (basically working longer and/or faster at higher levels, more efficiently with shorter recovery times) 

Customized- 

Modified to suit an individual or task. 

What do you get from a customized fitness routine?

This can be good for someone who may be dealing with some unknowns or inconsistencies in their lifestyle and routines. Perhaps they have not been exercising consistently, they are clinically sedentary (less than 150 minutes of moderate movement a day), their sleep or nutrition is inconsistent. 

What is needed to get the most out of a customized fitness routine?

With a customized fitness routine, you are receiving coaching that will help you complete consistent general workouts customized to your needs and current abilities. You are able to show up to workout on a regular basis, you have a general understanding of movements, as well as your limitations. The program can be adjusted to accommodate your current abilities or limitations to help you get the most out of the workout. 

Customization for your nutrition plan is just as valuable. There is a lot of nutrition guidance, advice, programs, meal plans, etc out there for you but customizing it to your lifestyle will make your results easier to adhere to as well as benefiting from results quicker.  

Accessibility:

Without some knowledge of energy systems and how to test them, intended stimuli,  movements, and modifications, this approach gets a little harder to do by simply pulling a workout from your favorite programming source and customizing it to your needs. It is hard to customize personally and not “cherry-pick” or miss the blind spots. A coach is great for help anywhere between, the person who doesn’t want to put much thought into getting a well-rounded workout routine all the way to an enthusiast. 

Obstacles to success:

Preventing someone from making gains efficiently in a customized program would be a lack of consistency and adherence to the program. Occasionally greater imbalances in lifestyle (nutrition, sleep, recovery, stress) and/or in movement  (mobility, stabilization, flexibility, strength, and/or coordination) as well as any injuries that need to be rehabilitated and focused on specifically. 

How coaching can help:

A coach will be able to see the bigger picture in programming as well as spot your patterns, strengths, and imbalances. They will be able to program the workouts for you to build up from a foundation. They will help guide you in your movement and weight choices so you are not floundering to complete a  movement with more skill or keep up. A coach that helps you customize your program helps you succeed in every workout by building it to your abilities, making it easier to stay consistent and get efficient results. The same is true for a nutrition program. 

Reasonable goals to attain through a customized fitness and nutrition routine:

• Maintain Health and Ability
• Grow Muscle/Lose Fat efficiently
• Improve Health biomarkers 
• Build strength, flexibility, mobility, coordination, and stabilization to avoid injury
• Continue to workout with injury/restrictions with modifications
• Create and Build foundational habits for your lifestyle
• Become more proficient in training all three energy systems; Phosphagen, Glycolytic, and Oxidative.  (Working longer and/or faster at higher levels, more efficiently with shorter recovery times). 

Personalized- 

Designed to meet someone’s individual requirements. 

What do you get from a personalized fitness and nutrition routine?

Personalized programs are great for everyone for a variety of reasons. People choose personalized fitness for efficiency. Efficiency in time and results are important to this person. They could be looking to reach a specific performance, body composition, health-related, or event goal within a certain timeline. Others seek out personal training for the specific individualization and focus on them and their lifestyles. 

What is needed to get the most out of a personal fitness and nutrition routine?

The main resources a person needs for a personal fitness routine is the time to consistently work on their exercise and nutrition daily. This could be as little as 5 minutes a day to see improvements! Any other aspect of the training program will be created from the personal trainer. 

Accessibility:

This is the least common service chosen for starting a new fitness routine, generally because it is the most expensive. It can require that a person analyzes where and how they are currently using resources. For example, time and money, and if they are ready to re-allocate those resources to their health.  

Obstacles to success:

Preventing someone from making gains efficiently in a personalized program would be a lack of consistency and adherence to the program. Occasionally obstacles come from greater imbalances in lifestyle (nutrition, sleep, recovery, stress) and/or in movement  (mobility, stabilization, flexibility, strength, and/or coordination). In these instances, your coach may need to work with your health team to help you. For example; doctor, physical therapist, chiropractor, registered dietician, etc.  The same is true for an injury that needs to be rehabilitated and focused on specifically. 

How coaching can help:

Your coach in personal training will put together each aspect for exercise, nutrition, and lifestyle helping you create a lasting routine. Your coach will learn where you are currently relative to your maximum physical potential and build a program specifically for you to get you there.  With finely focused attention to your individual requirements, goals, etc you will see results quickly allowing for a continued build on foundational habits. 

Reasonable goals to attain through a general fitness routine:

• Gain and maintain health and ability
• Body composition maintenance or change
• Improve and maintain health biomarkers
• Avoid injury
• Aid in the rehabilitation of an Injury
• Become more proficient in training all three energy systems; Phosphagen, Glycolytic, and Oxidative.  (Work longer and/or faster at higher levels, more efficiently with shorter recovery times) 
• Achieve high-skill techniques in a shorter amount of time

Curious what path is best for you? Book a session with a coach to learn what fits your lifestyle!