Secrets of Successful Program Design

Your success as a fitness professional depends on your ability to reliably deliver results to clients. In Secrets of Successful Program Design: A How-To Guide for Busy Fitness Professionals, noted fitness and program design expert Alwyn Cosgrove and his director of programming, Craig Rasmussen, share Alwyn’s proven system for creating programs that take clients from where they are to where they want to be.

You’ll learn how to properly assess a client and design the most effective program based on their individual goal—whether that is fat loss, muscle and strength building, or improved overall conditioning. You’ll also learn how to customize the training experience of your client on the fly, effectively progressing and regressing exercises according to day-to-day fluctuations in abilities and needs. This will ensure you are delivering the best results possible for each client every time they train.

This guide to building training programs is supplemented with a selection of predesigned workouts that will draw on your skills for progressing and regressing exercises, saving you valuable time and energy while still allowing you to produce a personalized experience for your client.

A reliable system-based approach to program design that consistently delivers results to every client—regardless of demographic profile, ability, or goals—will set your training business up for success in the incredibly competitive fitness market.

Earn continuing education credits/units! A continuing education exam that uses this book is also available. It may be purchased separately or as part of a package that includes both the book and exam.

Audience

Personal trainers with clients whose goals range from fat loss to muscle building to improved strength and better overall conditioning.

Part I. Programming: Going Beyond the Basics
Chapter 1. Programmed Response
Chapter 2. Accurately Assessing Current Training Status
Chapter 3. Progressing and Regressing Exercises on the Fly

Part II. The Training Programs
Chapter 4. Fat-Loss Programs
Chapter 5. Muscle-Building Programs
Chapter 6. Strength-Building Programs
Chapter 7. General Fitness Programs
Chapter 8. Semiprivate and Group Training Programs
Chapter 9. The Fitness Coach’s Toolbox of Workouts

Part III. Evaluation and Progression
Chapter 10. Ongoing Program Design
Chapter 11. Tracking Results

Appendix: Basic Training Cycle Process With Progression

 

Alwyn Cosgrove, CSCS, is co-owner (with his wife, Rachel) of Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, California—twice named one of the top 10 gyms in America by Men’s Health and Women’s Health magazines. Alwyn and Rachel are also owners of a fitness professional consulting company, Results Fitness University.

Cosgrove studied sports performance at West Lothian College and then went on to receive a sports science degree with honors from Chester, a college of the University of Liverpool. During his career as a fitness coach, Cosgrove has studied under top fitness professionals and coaches in the world and has worked with a wide variety of clientele, from the general population to top-level athletes and world champions in a multitude of sports.

A nationally known speaker, Cosgrove has coauthored nine best-selling fitness books, is a member of the Nike Performance Council, and has been a presenter on the Perform Better tour for more than a decade.

Craig Rasmussen, CSCS, is the director of coaching and programming at Results Fitness in Newhall, California. He has more than 18 years of experience in the fitness industry and has worked with all levels, ages, and types of clientele—including professional athletes and general population clients with a wide variety of goals. Previously, he worked as a credentialed physical education teacher at the middle school level in Santa Monica, California.

Rasmussen is certified as a strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He received his bachelor of arts degree in physical education from California State University at Chico. With an unquenchable thirst for learning and sharing what he has learned with others, he also holds coaching and programming certifications from several top-level organizations in the fitness industry. He has been featured in numerous magazines, including Muscle & Fitness, Men’s Fitness, Men’s Health, and T Nation.

"Program design is one of the most complex topics in the strength and conditioning field, but, luckily, Alwyn and Craig are two of the best teachers in the fitness industry. Their insights are invaluable, having been built upon decades of experience in evaluating and coaching individuals from all walks of life. I only wish I'd had this resource years ago when first starting out in my career!"
—Eric Cressey, President of Cressey Sports Performance

"Alwyn and Craig have written something that is much more than another fitness book. This book is the state of the art in training. Whether you are a personal trainer, a sport coach, or just a fitness enthusiast, you will be happy you picked this book up."
—Michael Boyle, Owner of Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning

"If you want the best knife, go to Japan; if you want the best watch, go to Switzerland; and if you want the best training system, read Secrets of Successful Program Design."
—Nick Winkelman, PhD, Head of Athletic Performance for Irish Rugby and Author of The Language of Coaching

How to determine where a client falls on the training age continuum
Increasing metabolism in your clients
Nine principles of designing exercise progressions and regressions
 Classifying core exercisesClassifying strength and resistance exercisesCore antiextension progressionsFigure 3.4