Gabe Mamo - Personal Trainer

Adherence: The Most Important Training Variable For Success.

Strength training is a journey that requires consistency to produce meaningful results. Before diving into more advanced topics of programming, I want to remind you of something more fundamental to your success: It doesn't matter how great your program is if you cannot stick to it.

In this post, I’ll discuss what makes adherence possible. While some of these points may seem obvious, it’s easy to overlook the basics and overcomplicate things.

Three Important Conditions for Training Adherence:

In order to be sustainable and effective, training needs to be:

🟡 Realistic

A training program needs to fit your current lifestyle and circumstances. If it’s not realistic, it won’t last. Ask yourself these key questions:

• How much time do you have to achieve your goal? Are you preparing for a specific goal with a deadline, or are you focusing on gradual progress over months?

• How many days can you reasonably train each week? Be honest about your schedule and other commitments. Can you train 4-5 times per week consistently or does 2-3 times per week seem more realistic?

• How long can each session be? Are shorter, more frequent sessions a better fit, or do longer, less frequent sessions per week make more sense?

Trying to do too much too soon often leads to missed workouts and frustration. Design a plan that fits into your life, not one that requires you to rearrange it. Consistency over time is the true driver of results.

🟡 Enjoyable

If you don’t enjoy your workouts, your chances of staying consistent drop drastically. Building a program you look forward to is essential for long term success.

• Do you enjoy the exercises in your program? If you dread a particular exercise, like squats or deadlifts, find effective alternatives that you’re more comfortable with.

• Do you feel motivated by your progress? Tracking strength gains, endurance improvements, or physique changes can make training more rewarding and exciting.

• Does your program match your preferences? Whether you enjoy structured routines, prefer variety, or enjoy training solo versus in a group, adjusting your plan to your preferences will make it more enjoyable.

An enjoyable program encourages effort, which leads to better results, and that creates a cycle of motivation to keep going.

🟡 Flexible

Even with the best intentions, life can disrupt your training plans. A flexible program ensures you stay consistent, even when things don’t go as expected.

• Can you adjust your sessions based on how you feel? On low-energy days, can you swap a heavy session for something lighter without losing momentum?

• What happens if you miss a session? Can you move workouts around in your week without throwing off your progress?

• Do you have backup options for exercises? If a movement feels uncomfortable or isn’t practical, are there substitutes in place to keep you progressing?

Flexibility isn’t about skipping workouts, it’s about staying adaptable and consistent, even when challenges arise.

Finding a training plan you can stick to is one of the biggest challenges in achieving long term results. If you’re struggling to create a program that fits your lifestyle and keeps you consistent, reach out, and I’ll help you design a progressive plan that works around your goals, schedule, and preferences.

Stop Guessing, Start Progressing.

Understanding Training Volume, Intensity, and Frequency: The Three Pillars of Strength Training Success

When designing an effective strength training program, three key variables need to be considered: volume, intensity, and frequency. These pillars define how much work you do, how hard you push yourself, and how often you train. Striking the right balance between them is crucial for progress, whether your goal is strength, hypertrophy (muscle growth), or overall fitness.

Let’s break them down and explore how to manipulate these variables effectively.

🟡 Training Volume: How Much Work Are You Doing?

Volume is the total amount of work you perform during a workout, typically calculated as:
Volume = Sets x Reps x Weight.

It represents the cumulative stress placed on your muscles and is a primary driver of hypertrophy. However, volume isn’t a "more is better" equation. Your ideal training volume depends on your experience level, recovery capacity, and goals.

• Beginner: 8-10 sets per muscle group per week.

• Intermediate: 10-15 sets per muscle group per week.

• Advanced: 15-20+ sets per muscle group per week (depending on recovery).

Tip: Instead of trying to cram all your volume into a single session, spread it out over the week to optimize recovery and performance.

🟡 Training Intensity: How Hard Are You Pushing?

Intensity refers to the load you're lifting relative to your one-rep max (1RM). It dictates the training stimulus and largely determines the type of adaptation your body makes:

• Strength: High intensity (80-90% of 1RM), low reps (1-5).

• Hypertrophy: Moderate intensity (65-80% of 1RM), moderate reps (6-12).

• Endurance: Low intensity (50-65% of 1RM), high reps (12+).

While intensity is critical for strength gains, remember that it comes at a cost. Higher intensity often requires longer recovery times and can increase the risk of overtraining. Balance is key.

Tip: Use a mix of rep ranges and intensities in your program to build well-rounded strength and muscle.

🟡 Training Frequency: How Often Are You Training?

Frequency refers to how many times you train a muscle group or perform a specific movement pattern each week. While traditional body-part splits often focus on hitting each muscle once per week, research has shown that higher frequencies (2-3 times per week) are generally more effective for most people.

Frequency recommendations by goal and experience level:

• Beginners: Full-body workouts 2-3 times per week.

• Intermediates: Upper-lower or push-pull splits 4-5 times per week.

• Advanced: Tailored splits targeting muscles 2-3 times per week, often 5-6 days total.

Tip: If time is limited, prioritize compound lifts to maximize efficiency and cover multiple muscle groups in fewer sessions.

🟡 How They Work Together:

Volume, intensity, and frequency are interdependent, meaning changes to one will impact the others. For example:

• If you increase volume: You may need to reduce intensity or frequency to recover adequately.

• If you increase intensity: You’ll likely need to reduce volume or frequency to avoid burnout.

• If you increase frequency: You may need to reduce volume per session to manage overall workload.

The balance between these factors will look different for everyone based on their training age, goals, and recovery capacity.

🟡 Practical Application: Structuring Your Program

Choose Your Primary Goal:

• Strength? Prioritize higher intensity.

• Hypertrophy? Focus on moderate intensity and higher volume.

Set Realistic Frequency:

• Beginners: Start with 2-3 full-body sessions per week.

• Intermediates: Use splits to increase weekly volume.

🟡 Distribute Volume Strategically:

Spread volume across the week rather than cramming it into one session.

🟡 Adjust Over Time:

Increase volume or intensity gradually as you adapt, but only change one variable at a time to avoid overwhelming your recovery.

Key Takeaways:

• Volume drives muscle growth, but too much volume can hinder recovery.

• Intensity builds strength but requires careful management to prevent burnout.

• Frequency allows for better distribution of workload and more consistent practice of key lifts.

By understanding how volume, intensity, and frequency interact, you can design a program that aligns with your goals while respecting your body's recovery needs.

Need help figuring out how to structure these variables for your goals? Reach out, and I’ll help you design a plan that works for you.

Stop guessing, start progressing.

Progressive Overload: The key to continuous improvement:

Progressive overload is one of the fundamental principles of strength training and is essential for making consistent gains in muscle size, strength, endurance, and overall fitness. The concept is simple: in order to improve physically, the body must be progressively challenged beyond its current capacity.

What is Progressive Overload?

Progressive overload refers to the practice of gradually increasing the intensity, volume, or difficulty of exercises to force the body to adapt. The principle is based on the idea that in order to grow stronger or more muscular, the body must be exposed to challenges that are beyond what it is accustomed to.

How to Apply Progressive Overload:

There are several ways to apply progressive overload to your training program. Here are the most common methods:

🟡 Increasing the Weight

The most straightforward and common way to apply progressive overload is by increasing the weight lifted. As you become stronger, you can gradually add more resistance to your exercises. For example, if you’re bench pressing 60kg, increasing the weight to 62.5kg in your next workout will force your muscles to adapt to the higher load.

Tip: A good rule of thumb is to increase the load by 2.5–5% once you can complete all sets and reps with proper form. This ensures the increase is manageable and sustainable.

🟡 Increasing Reps or Sets

Another way to apply progressive overload is by increasing the number of repetitions or sets you perform. For example, if you’re performing 3 sets of 8 reps, you might increase to 3 sets of 10 reps after several weeks. Alternatively, you could add another set to your routine.

Tip: Focus on increasing reps before adding sets. Adding too many sets too quickly can lead to overtraining and increase the risk of injury.

🟡 Decreasing Rest Time

Reducing the rest time between sets is a form of progressive overload that increases the intensity of the workout. Shortening the rest period challenges the body’s cardiovascular and muscular endurance, forcing it to adapt to higher-intensity conditions.

Tip: Gradually reduce your rest intervals by 10-15 seconds every few weeks to maintain a progressive challenge to your cardiovascular system.

🟡 Improving Exercise Technique or Range of Motion

Progressive overload doesn’t always have to be about increasing the weight or reps. You can also progress by improving your technique, such as increasing the depth of your squats, the range of motion in a shoulder press, or the quality of your movement patterns. Perfecting technique helps increase muscle activation and reduces the risk of injury.

Tip: Once your form is stable with a certain weight, focus on enhancing the quality of the movement before adding weight.

🟡 Adding Variation

Changing the exercise variation can also be a form of progressive overload. For example, switching from a traditional squat to a Bulgarian split squat or adding pause reps at the bottom of a deadlift will increase the difficulty and challenge muscles in different ways.

Tip: Use variations to target weak points or to focus on specific aspects of strength, such as stability, power, or mobility.

Final Thoughts

Progressive overload doesn’t need to be complicated. It's simply about challenging your muscles little by little. Start small, stay consistent, and watch your strength and muscle grow.

Need help figuring out how to apply progressive overload to your training? Reach out, and I’ll help you design a plan that works for you.

Stop guessing, start progressing.

Understanding Training Terminology: Key Terms You Need to Know

If you're new to strength training, all the different terms and phrases can be a little overwhelming at first. Understanding a few key terms will make your workouts much easier to follow and give you a better idea of how to structure your training.

Here are some of the basics you’ll hear often:

🟡 Reps and Sets

Reps (Repetitions): This is simply the number of times you perform a specific exercise in one go. For example, if you do 10 squats without stopping, that’s 10 reps.

Sets: A set is a group of repetitions. So, if you do 3 sets of 10 reps, that means you perform 10 reps, take a rest, and repeat it two more times.

Why it matters: Knowing your reps and sets helps you plan your workouts and make sure you're challenging yourself enough to make progress.

🟡 Load

Load refers to the weight or resistance you're using during an exercise—whether it’s dumbbells, barbells, resistance bands, or even your own body weight.

Why it matters: The load you use is important because, in strength training, the goal is to gradually increase the load (weight) over time to keep improving. This is known as progressive overload (more on that soon!).

🟡 Rest Period

Rest Period: The amount of time you take to rest between sets or exercises. It could be anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, depending on what you're trying to achieve.

Shorter rest (30-90 seconds) is typically used for endurance and muscle growth.

Longer rest (2-5 minutes) helps with strength training, allowing you to lift heavier weights.

Why it matters: The rest period directly impacts the intensity of your workout, so it’s good to know how long to rest based on your training goals.

🟡 Tempo

Tempo refers to the speed at which you perform each phase of a lift. A common way to think about this is the 4 phases of a rep:

Eccentric: Lowering the weight (controlled and slow).

Pause: The brief stop at the bottom of the movement.

Concentric: Lifting the weight back up.

Pause: A short pause at the top before the next rep.

Why it matters: Adjusting your tempo can change the way a movement feels, making it easier to focus on certain muscle groups or even increase the challenge of an exercise.

🟡 Progressive Overload

Progressive Overload: This is all about gradually increasing the stress on your body so it can adapt and get stronger. It can be done by increasing the weight, adding more reps, doing more sets, or decreasing your rest time.

Why it matters: Progressive overload is how you get stronger, so you always want to aim to challenge yourself a little more each week.

🟡 Volume and Intensity

Volume: The total amount of work you do in a workout—basically, how many reps and sets you perform.

Intensity: How hard you’re working, usually measured by how much weight you’re lifting (as a percentage of your max).

Why it matters: Volume is great for building muscle, while intensity is key for increasing strength. Knowing how to balance these two will help you reach your goals faster.

🟡 One-Rep Max (1RM)

One-Rep Max (1RM): The maximum amount of weight you can lift for one full rep of a given exercise.

Why it matters: Your 1RM is helpful for determining how much weight you should use for your workouts. It’s not something you need to test every day, but it can be useful for strength-based programs.

Final Thoughts:

Learning the lingo of strength training doesn’t have to be stressful. These terms might seem like a lot at first, but once you start using them, they’ll become second nature.

Need help getting started with your training plan? Reach out and let’s make sure you’re on the right track.

Stop guessing, start progressing.

A Parents Guide To Fitness:

Parenting is hard and can sometimes be overwhelming with all of the responsibilities and obligations thrown your way on a daily basis. For many parents, this means that their fitness needs take a back seat.

While it’s important to take care of your parenting obligations, it’s equally important to take care of your health and needs so you can be happy, healthy and there for your kids. As a bonus, when you take good care of yourself, you set a great example for your children to follow.

Having two young children myself, I can relate to other parents and know how hard it can be to get to the gym. While it’s not always easy, there are tips to staying healthy and fit even as a busy parent.

🟡 Tip 1 - Consistency beats perfection: Knowing this often lifts a burden from parents’ shoulders. You do not need to be in the gym 4 days a week to see progress. Committing yourself to 2 days a week is easier to manage and can yield great results if done properly. The key here is consistency.

🟡 Tip 2 - Involve your kids: Depending on the age of your kids, you might be able to involve them as easily as pushing them in the pram while you are walking or jogging. If they are a bit older, get them to exercise with you. They are likely to love playing along and if you can lead by example it’s a win/win situation.

🟡 Tip 3 - Set your priorities: We all have our own reasons (or excuses) for not having time for the gym. Chances are, if training is a priority for you, you’ll find a way to make it work. Making it a priority if you don’t feel naturally inclined to train could be as easy as reassessing your reasons. Do you want to be fit and healthy to be able to play around with your children? This can be your ‘why’ for making fitness a bigger priority if your tendency is to push it aside.

Whatever you choose to do, try to make your nutrition and training goals easier to achieve by taking off the pressure of perfection and finding strategies that work for you.