One goal of a trainer is to simplify the training process for your clients.

This shit ain’t rocket science. 

It’s pretty self-indulgent to think you’ve discovered the secret rep range that guarantees results or the training split that is going to revolutionize your client’s training.

Time is a great teacher.  Things that have stood the test of time and persevered must still be showing value or they would have fallen by the wayside. 

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just know how and where to get it rolling.

Enter my favorite rep scheme for clients: the double progression method.

It’s pretty simple: pick a rep range to start. 

My favorite is 8-12 but you could literally use any rep range you want.  8-12, 10-15, 3-6, would all work here – although moderate rep ranges tend to work the best as opposed to low or high.

Start your client doing 3 sets with a weight that is moderately challenging for the bottom end of the rep range.

So in the 8-12 rep range example that would be 8 reps.

Start by doing sets of 8 reps for the 3 sets with a reasonable RIR (reps in reserve) number, maybe 1-2 RIR.

As the training cycle progresses the goal is to keep the weight the same but add reps every week.

Once the client can hit the high end of the rep range, in this case 12 reps, on all 3 sets then it’s time to up the weight.

A training cycle might look like this:

• Week 1 – 8, 8, 8
• Week 2 – 9, 9, 8
• Week 3 – 9, 9, 9
• Week 4 – 11, 9, 9
• Week 5 – 12, 10, 10
• Week 6 – 12, 12, 12

Boom, after Week 6 up the weight and start the process again.

This is an awesome way to build progression into every workout and to keep clients motivated. 

Training is always going to be repetitive to some degree – that’s why you do something called repetitions right?

The key to keeping training fun and engaging is to constantly show your clients that they are making process.

This isn’t the only way to make training fun – a lot of trainers try to do it by constantly changing exercises, protocols, or methods in an attempt to keep things fresh and new and keep the clients attention.

But I’ve found this is usually just a way for the trainer to keep themselves from getting bored.

They are the ones that need the new stimulation, not their clients.

Don’t get caught in this trap.

Buy into your clients’ progression just as much as they do. 

That’s what keeps me engaged as a trainer.  When clients are hitting PR’s and building week over week that’s fun as shit for me.

The clients I’ve always struggles with are the ones who are inconsistent and therefore aren’t really on a plan at all. 

They just come in when they come in, we chat and it’s fine, but there’s no real progression.

That’s not training.  That’s just working out with a buddy.

Be a trainer. 

Get your clients to fall in love with the training process and they will never leave you.