Process vs Program

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*The premise for this entire post comes from material and ideas presented in the RTS courses and through discussions with other exercise professionals.

In yesterday's post I described how MAT is a process, saying that it is a form of exercise. By association, you could then reason that exercise in general is a process. In fact, this is one of the ways exercise is described in the RTS courses (RTSm Science 1 4:4), as a process.

A process denotes some level of trial and error, of figuring out what is appropriate to do at each step in order to reach a specific end goal. A program, on the other hand, may have that same end goal, but each step in getting there is more solidified and the progression in general is less malleable based on ability level. A program is more or less a choreographed routine (idea courtesy of RTS).

One of the issues that arises with the latter is that of appropriateness. Because there is some type of preexisting structure to a program, there are automatically assumptions being made and physical prerequisites that must be met in order to begin and progress through an exercise program. An exercise program therefore cannot be based off of the individual on a moment by moment basis, but rather the individual must fit him or herself within the constraints of the program. This in and of itself may limit the effectiveness of each exercise to stimulate the desired response and adaptation.

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I grew up doing programs. That's how I was first introduced to weight lifting and exercise. Three sets of ten for all of the machines in the circuit at the Y. When I was in college, everything was programs. Post-season, off-season, pre-season, in-season. All programmed. You knew exactly what you would be doing for the next six to eight weeks the moment you were handed those sheets of paper. From a time efficiency standpoint, it seemed like the easier (and more feasible) option when you are talking about one strength coach and hundreds of athletes. The tradeoff to this was undoubtedly sacrificing the appropriateness and effectiveness of each individual's training.

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Then I started writing programs for others. Friends, teammates, coaches, people who would contact me via e-mail--if someone wanted an exercise program, I would write it. Eventually it got to the point where I was spending hours writing programs each week. Additionally, I would write out pages of descriptions for each exercise so the person knew what the names I assigned would denote. Not long after that those written descriptions turned into videos, as did the programs themselves, but I was still spending hours editing and uploading those videos in addition to writing the programs.

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Those videos became the Exercise Index and most of the programs were posted to the Programs page. While both are convenient for others, I have been questioning whether either or both should remain public on this website as they are essentially in direct conflict with the ideas I am trying to promote. If they do, there will undoubtedly be a revamping that takes place to better align them with my current viewpoints and ethics.

There is also the subject of periodized programming or periodization for both those training for sports performance and not. To me, periodization still has its place and makes sense, but I now implement a much looser form of periodization than I would have used in the past. To me, periodization is simply a form of progression, but the question is how constricting is that progression. Do you have to work at those exact percentages, weights, reps, sets, etc this week or is there more wiggle room with what you do?

I can say for certain that I am trying to progress** every client of mine in one form or another, but how this happens makes all the difference in the world. Are your and/or your clients' workouts structured in strict phases or are you allowing what they have available before, during, and after each rep to influence what happens while they are with you? Are you open to changing on a moment by moment basis as well as possibly scrapping all together any predetermined plan you constructed for your client, depending on their abilities and what they have available to give at that moment?

**At some point in our lives, being able to maintain what we are currently physically able to do may be seen as a form of progress. Additionally, slower regression may be seen in a similar or the same light. In the context of this blog post, all of these meanings are to be taken into consideration when I say I am trying to progress every client of mine. I will dive deeper into this subject in a future post.

Do you approach exercise as a process or a program? When you think of your end goal, are there clearly defined steps that are set in stone and must be taken in order to reach that goal or are you open to a myriad of different possible steps that will be determined as you go along?

Your body. Your training.

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