How to design a workout within a small space: Cables, Squat Rack & Landmine program

There will be numerous times when your program that you spent hours developing won't pan out due to the environment that you are training in. Imagine 5pm at an Equinox on Sunset Blvd? You won't be able to do a bench press, back squat and cable row by placing your gym towel at each station. You need to be able to think on the fly as a trainer and that's what Show Up Fitness teaches our interns (online, in-person and at our weekend seminars – see our schedule here.)

Here is how we program for beginners which will work for a boutique gym like the ones we have in Santa Monica, West Hollywood & La Jolla OR in a confined space:

1- Core pattern, Core pattern, accessory.

2- Core pattern, Core pattern, accessory.

3- Core pattern, Core pattern, accessory.

4- GAME / Personal Record / Favorite Exercises / Cardio / Stretch

A core pattern of movement would be: a Squat, Hinge, Unilateral, Push (vertical & horizontal) Pull (vertical & horizontal) and transitional (movement i.e. jumping, farmers carry's, crawling, breathing.) A great trainer can program for ANY client based off of their goals (if you want to become a GREAT trainer, the worlds best personal training internship programs are in San Diego, Los Angeles, Austin & ONLINE.) For example, a client wants to lose 5-lbs, build a booty & tone up their arms. The movement patterns that the trainer would want to focus on would be lower specific: Hinge, Squat & Uni lateral. Most of our clients want to train 2-3x per week so the workout would look like this (also can be seen in THE BOOK How to Become A Successful Personal Trainer pg. 138 & 150):

1- Hip Thrust, Push-Up, Planks- Rest 1-2 minutes, until they are ready for the next round in which we add weight & get engaged during the last exercise (planks) or push-ups with a spot.

2- Goblet Squat, Pull-ups, Side Planks Rest 1-2 minutes, until they are ready for the next round in which we add weight & get engaged during the last exercise (side planks) or pull-ups with a spot.

3- Step-ups, Landmine Press, Landmine Ab rotations- Rest 1-2 minutes, until they are ready for the next round in which we add weight & get engaged during the last exercise (landmine rotations) or landmine press with a spot.

4- RDL's into lateral band walks, 30-seconds of cardio, wall sits x 2-3 rounds as a finisher& IF TIME PERMITS. USE Auditory cues to make this engaging & FUN!

AT SHOW UP FITNESS, WE FOCUS ON THE CORE MOVEMENT PATTERNS, PROGRESSIVELY OVERLOAD AND NEVER COMPENSATE WEIGHT FOR FORM OR FUN! The ACCESSORY CATEGORY can be an isolation, favorite exercise, cardio, prehab / rehab, or abs. If you look at our Instagram, the exercises that we highlight are typically the accessory exercises as they get the most attention.

The focus is on lower body for MOST of our female clients, whereas a program for a BRO would be more similar to:

1- Bench Press, Face Pulls, Planks*

2- Dumbbell Rows, Military Press, Bicep curls

3- Goblet Squats, Farmers walks, Bicycle Kicks

*Pending on the assessment, sometimes we may even do core – accessory for guys due to the fact that their cardio sucks and they typically don't train in circuits.

At Show Up Fitness we have a systematic approach that lets new & aspiring trainers design templates that are specific to each client by understanding their goals within the assessment. Here are a few examples of a workout that can be designed within a specific area&

How to design a workout around Cable Machine:

A workout for a hunkette:

1- RDL's, bench press, planks (hinge – push – acc)

2- Goblets, cable rows, bird dogs (squat – pull – acc)

3- Split Stance cable press, Cable pull-throughs, Suitcase walks

A workout for a hunk:

1- Incline Bench Press, Chin-ups, planks (Push – pull – acc)

2- Cable Rows, Split Stance cable press, bird dogs (Pull – Press – acc)

3- Step-Ups, Chest flies, Suitcase walks (Uni-lateral – Acc – Acc)

How to design a workout around a Squat Rack:

A workout for a hunkette:

1- Back Squat , Military Press, abs (Squats – Press – acc)

2- Reverse Lunges, Chin-ups, bicycle kicks (Uni-Lateral – pull – acc)

3- RDL's, Push-ups, band walks w/ med ball throw (Hinge – Push – acc)

A workout for a hunk:

1- Bench Press, DB Row, planks (Push – pull – acc)

2- Pull-ups, Military Press, Farmers Walks (Pull – Press – acc)

3- Back Squat, Push-Ups, Planks (Squat – Push – Acc)

As long as we are hitting each pattern once for their given goals (girls lower body patterns per week, guys upper body patterns per week. Notice how we don't program as many legs? It's due to the fact that the legs take up 40% of our mass and for the most part, guys are cardiovascularly challenged. Guys are more prone to coronary artery disease (android obesity & visceral fat), the last thing you want is a guy to have a heart attack while you are training him (usually because of their ego.) That's why we always have glucose tablets on hand just in case a client gets a little woozy.

How to design a workout for a client only using a Landmine:

A workout for a hunkette:

1- Landmine Squats, Landmine Press, abs (Squats – Press – acc)

2- Reverse Lunges, Bent over rows, Ab roll-outs (Uni-Lateral – pull – acc)

3- RDL's, hallow press, Anti-rotation (Hinge – press – acc)

A workout for a hunk:

1- Landmine Press, DB Row, planks (Press – pull – acc)

2- Clean & Press, Hallow Press, anti-rotation (Pull – Press – acc)

3- Landmine Squat, Iso biceps hold, an roll-outs (Squat – Acc – Acc)

If you want to turn your passion for fitness into a career, you need to have a firm grasp on functional anatomy and how to program. Show Up Fitness teaches you everything on top of this from social media, assessments, sales, and how to scale a gym (as we have 3-brick and mortar gyms!) There is NO best personal training certification, there are only internships that challenge trainers to think for themselves. If you want to become the best personal trainer, you need to become a Show Up Fitness Level 1,2,3 & 4 Coach. Email us today to learn more about out Personal Training coaching program to become an elite personal trainer.

Written by: Chris Hitchko – Your Favorite Trainer with a belt buckle