As a coach, your Training Manifesto is the bedrock of your training and programming approach.

Here is our Training Manifesto here at the IFBA to give you an example:

Our team provides members with high-quality training, based on the following principles.

1.   Quality of movement before quantity of movement

The Modern Training Gym focuses on performing exercises with the correct technique and high-level coaching to deliver quality workouts that are effective for long-term progression. We don’t rush people to progress by increasing the difficulty of the workout at the expense of quality.

2.   Think movements not muscles

When we deliver training to our clients we want to focus on multiple movement patterns that help to develop all round fitness and strength. We don’t follow bodybuilding style programmes where we break training down into muscle groups.

3.   Use a combination of bodyweight and free weights

The combination of these methods allows us to cover multiple movements through a variety of exercises to help build overall strength and fitness. This combination allows the trainee to obtain benefits from both that are proven to be beneficial to general health such as bone density and a reduced risk of cardio vascular disease – to name just a few.

4.   Prioritise multi-joint, full-body movements

Structuring the majority of our training programme around complex multi-joint movements such as squats, push ups, and deadlifts allows the client to recruit multiple muscle groups within one movement and requires more energy: this helps them get the most out of their session.

5.   Focus on time-efficient, quality workouts

The most common reason people cite for not going to the gym is lack of time, so we have to have a system that covers both workout quality and efficiency. For general fitness and fat loss, we get a lot done in a relatively small amount of time. This is the reason we’re advocates of exercises such as squats, lunges, deadlifts, chins ups and interval style training, which are effective and time efficient.

6.   Develop a variety of cardio energy systems

We use a combination of anaerobic and aerobic work to help improve our clients’ overall cardiovascular health.

7.   Strong is for everyone

We believe everyone can benefit from increasing his or her relative strength. Getting stronger is going to help clients feel better, providing them with numerous benefits that go beyond the gym such as walking up stairs and playing with their children.

8.   Your best on that day is good enough

All we can ask for from our clients is that they give their best for the day. Not every session is full of personal bests. External stressors such as work, family and sleep are just some of the factors we need to consider as coaches when establishing what a client can achieve during a session.

9.   Never focus on any one way or tool

Within the fitness industry it isn’t uncommon to hear dogmatic views from coaches declaring you must train ‘X’ way. We are not tied to any one method or approach; rather we like to have an open mind, making use of all the methods available to help the individual get the best results while maintaining our training principles.

10.   Move well and move often

During the course of the week our clients train with us for a small percentage of their overall time. What they do outside of the gym is going to influence their results and health. We encourage all our clients to move often, going for walks, performing mobility routines – any activity that gets them moving and using their bodies.