Sample Workout

The following is a sample workout I did with one of my clients yesterday. This was a female client in her mid 40's who's pretty lean. She does not need to lose any weight, but she does need to get stronger. She suffers from some chronic knee pain which I attribute to her lack of hip mobility. So I have to be a bit careful about prescribing lunge and squat variations. I can prescribe them, but I have to use a variation that is not going to cause her any more pain the next day. So I'll show we what we did yesterday and then explain some of the reasons why the workout was set up this way.

Foam Roller (5 min)
IT Band
Quads
Glutes
Thoracic Spine

Partner Assisted Static Stretching (5 min)
Piriformis 1x20 sec
Glute Medius 1x20 sec
Hamstrings 1x20 sec
Psoas 1x20 sec

Dynamic Mobility/Flexibility (5-8 min)
Side Lying Thoracic Rotation 1x10 each side
Supine Hip Extension 1x12
Scapular Wall Slide 1x12
Split Squat 1x10 each side
Lateral Split Squat 1x10 each side
Rotational Split Squat 1x10 each side

Strength Training (25-30 minutes)
A1) High Pulley X-Row, 12 reps
A2) Shoulder Elevated Swiss Ball Hip Extension, 15 reps
A3) Side Plank, 30 second hold each side
A4) Half kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch, 15 seconds each side
*Rest for 60-90 seconds after rotation is done and then repeat twice more

B1)DB Incline Press, 10 reps
B2) Val Slide Reverse Lunge, 12 reps each leg
B3) Straight Leg Sit Up, 10 reps
B4) Upper Trap Stretch, 15 seconds each side
*Rest for 60-90 seconds and then repeated twice more

Conditioning (5min)
Medicine Ball Circuit
1) Forward Side Throws, 15 each side
2) Lateral Side Throws, 15 each side
3) Scoop Throws, 15
*Rest for 60-90 seconds and then repeated one more time

So why was the workout set up this way? I just didn't pick things out of a hat and decide to throw them in any order, though many people believe that is what I do . There was a thought process here.

First, I prescribe foam rolling for 5-10 minutes for most of my clients. I know they are not doing it on their own even though I try to pound it into their brains that it's a must. Tissue density is just as important as tissue length.

From there we moved onto to some static stretching because this is a client who is really tight through the hip complex. If a client is overly tight in any area, we'll try to address that area through some static stretching early on in the workout.

Then it was time for some dynamic mobility/flexibility work. Another staple that you'll find in most of my clients workouts. This part of the workout is really where the wheels get put in motion. Here's where the client's heart rate picks up a bit, the nervous system starts to rev up a bit and the client starts to mentally prepare themselves for what lies ahead...I hope. Again, I'll prescribe drills or exercises that will take a clients mobility or flexibility issues into concern.

From there, my favorite part of the workout, the strength portion. Most of my clients are going to perform some type of full body strength workout. I'm not a huge fan of body part splits. And each full body workout is going to consist of at least one upper body pushing and pulling exercise, at least one hip dominant and quad dominant exercise and some core stability work. Then with this client I added in some stretching at the end of each mini-circuit, because I know this is a client who does not do any stretching on her own. The more flexibility work I can sneak into her routine, the better off she'll be.

And then with most clients I'll end with some type of conditioning routine or "finisher " exercise. People want to feel that they've worked. I know they've worked up to this point, but in some people's mind they feel they haven't because their heart rate might not be up or they're not gasping for air at the end of the strength portion. So, you got yo give them what they want...some of the time. I'll use med ball circuits, body weight circuits, timed sets or maybe some type of competition if I'm working with more than one client at a time.

That's it. Basic workout programming. Nothing fancy, but nothing fancy seems to work.