In this episode Gerry discusses a hot topic in strength and conditioning, individualized programming.
The idea of changing or altering aspects of a program for the needs of an individual athlete has slowly turned into a token/novel idea, sometimes geared at boosting the perceived value of training.
The conversation starts with the inspiration for the discussion and the idea of token individualization and how many have the misconception that every exercise of aspect of a program needs to be changed for each individual. Gerry explains how to look at the general aspects of athletes (age and training age) and how experience can show what things are steadfast for athletes and need not be changed. It is not variations that make a program individualized, but rather load and how we determine what loading they need.
From there, the discussion turns to assessments (actually using them) and how you should combine assessments and general knowledge about athletes and their age range to make decisions on what specific needs they have. Then, to finish up, Gerry discusses tracking loads for individual athletes and assessing progress as programming continues.
All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!