Programming for the all-rounders and drop it like a squat 🏋🏻‍♂️

---

💡 How to programme for all around fitness?

Over the years i've spent countless hours trying to create the "ultimate fitness programme". My goal was to strike the perfect balance between strength, mobility, and cardiovascular health. A harmonious blend that allows progress in all areas at the same time.

As I touched on last week, most of us are aiming to be solid all-rounders! We want to be strong, lean and have some muscles to show for it, have the stamina to run, play sports, and keep up with the kids, all while moving well and steering clear of pesky injuries. So, it makes sense that our programme should reflect this, right?

Now, I'll spare you the tedious details and the countless methods I've trialed. After all, you're not interested in what didn't work, are you?

You know the saying, "chase two rabbits catch none"? Well, it turns out adding a third rabbit into the mix doesn't exactly up your chances. Who knew?

Take it from me, I've learned the hard way so you don't have to. It's a bit like trying to learn French, Spanish, and German all at once. Yes, it's possible, but for those of us with limited time, it usually results in feeling super busy but with little meaningful progress to show for it — you’re not training to be busy; it’s to get results.

So, instead of cramming everything into one programme, I invite you to pick a priority for a certain period and dive right in.

I like to break it down into three categories:

• What's your main dish? This is the primary focus of your training programme - the lion's share of your effort goes here.

• What's your side dish? Once you've covered your main dish, you can dedicate extra time here.

• What's going on the back burner? Everything else falls into this category and gets less attention.

• 
  

Instead of spreading ourselves thin trying to improve every area of fitness, we narrow our focus to make meaningful progress.

For instance, you might spend the next 8 weeks working on building your strength. This could look like a 3-day strength programme. Your side dish might be one challenging interval session to boost conditioning. That means any long cardio sessions and extensive mobility training like yoga get put on the back burner.

When the next training block arrives, you switch things around for a different focus.

This method makes the most of your training time. With more time spent in one area, you can make solid progress. Rotating your main dish also helps avoid overuse injuries and overexertion in just one area. It's a win-win.

Of course, it's not without its trade-offs. We all have our preferences. Those who love lifting heavy may not want to cut back, and the running enthusiasts among us may not want to run less. But remember, if we want to be all-rounders, we can't just play to our strengths, we have to work on all areas.

Ever since I embraced this new perspective on my training, I've not only seen fantastic progress, but I also find myself getting excited for the next block where I get to mix things up a bit!

---

🎥 Double Kettlebell Squat

So you've been trying out the goblet squat and you're finding that your legs could push a bit more, but you're a tad limited by how well you can hold onto the kettlebell.

It seems like your grip might be holding you back from really challenging your legs. It might be time for a bit of an upgrade. Enter the double kettlebell squat!

🤔 A game of choices

If you could only making meaning progress in one area of your life over the next 6-weeks what would it be?

With that in mind, what's the one thing you'd need to say yes to? And on the flip side, what's one thing you'd need to turn down?

---

P.S. If you enjoyed this week's Thursday Two, please share it with a friend.

Thanks,

Jamie