The Evolution of Training

So how do you get started, or change your current programme to suit your goals and lifestyle?

Here is how it started for me.

I heard a story from my grandparents about my great-grandfather. A doctor had told him to start doing sit-ups. I never found out why, but he fashioned a bar that attached to the bottom of a door to anchor his feet and completed 100 sit-ups every single day.

Maybe Grandad was secretly training to become a Chuck Norris-style ninja, just in case another world war started...

That story inspired me.

I decided to be like Grandad.

What started as 100 sit-ups a day gradually increased over the months to 500–600 every day, plus 100 leg raises. Then I experimented with different variations, including extreme back arching to place as much tension on my abs as possible.

Before long, I added press-ups, and those numbers became pretty ridiculous too.

Then I started running.

It was a natural evolution, fuelled by watching the numbers improve and seeing the changes in my physique.

Fast forward 41 years.

About a year ago, I almost completely stopped using dumbbells and barbells. I realised they weren’t helping my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and I suspected they were contributing to my tennis elbow.

These days I mainly train with bodyweight exercises, add a kettlebell session here and there and occasionally lift weights depending on how I’m feeling.

This approach gets me much closer to my goals. It doesn’t confine me to a rigid programme that I can’t complete or one that no longer suits my lifestyle or hobbies.

The strongest person I’ve ever grappled with (shout out to Lewis!) only does bodyweight training and Jiu-Jitsu.

He is scarily strong.

Try something for me.

Go to a chair or even the toilet and slowly sit down and stand back up with control.

Well done. You’ve just performed a squat.

Now try doing it without using your hands.

If that’s awkward, painful or difficult, maybe that’s exactly where you should start.

Or try this,

From standing, lie down on the floor, then stand back up again.

Take your time so you don’t get dizzy.

If you struggle, perhaps your training should focus on improving the movements you need every single day.

For those of you who are more athletic or have trained for years, ask yourself:

What’s the movement you haven’t done for ages and what movement do you avoid because it’s difficult?

The other day I was walking the dog through her favourite field.

To get in, I normally jump over a fence using my hands.

This time I tried it without using them.

I made it...

But it felt awkward.

Then it hit me.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d sprinted and jumped over something higher than my waist.

We lose these abilities as we get older if we never practise them.

Guess what my training is going to include over the next few weeks...

Your training should evolve to meet the demands of your lifestyle and your goals.

Don’t become attached to a specific programme.

Become attached to becoming more capable.

Have a goal, but stay flexible enough to adapt your training as your body, interests and life change.

And ask yourself one final question:

Can I realistically fit this into my daily routine?

Because if you can’t, the programme isn’t the problem, it’s simply not the right fit for your life.

Try something different.

Review it.

Adjust it.

Keep the parts that help and change the parts that don’t.

After all, the best training programme isn’t the one that looks the most impressive on paper.

It’s the one you can stay consistent with, that keeps you progressing and prepares you for the life you actually live.