The Perfect Exercise Program Myth (And What To Do Instead)

The myth of the perfect exercise program

I’ve spent countless hours, more than I care to admit, trying to craft ‘the perfect program’.

I would test them on my own, and if the results were promising, I would run clients through them and track their results.

And after trying dozens of variations, tweaking every possible variable, I came to the conclusion (that I knew all along):

There is no perfect exercise program.

But I hear it all the time…

“The best exercise program is one that you can follow consistently.”

This just isn’t true, and here’s why this is terrible advice.

There are bad programs.
There are dangerous programs.
There are decent programs.
There are good programs.
And there are very good programs.

So even if the perfect exercise program doesn’t exist, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be following a pretty dang good program.

A decent program, followed consistently, will get you ‘more decent’ results than a great exercise program that you can’t stick to.

While that’s true…

Why not follow a great program consistently?

If you’re after ‘more decent’ results — decent programs will do.

If you want great results, you’ll have to do better.

The anxiety of the perfect exercise program

If you’re following a pretty good program, you don’t have to keep making it better.

The trap of chasing the perfect brought me a lot of anxiety.

I would find a pretty good program, but I’d want to make it better.

I’d change around a few sets and reps here and there
I’d start out with heavier weights than recommended (“does this program think I’m soft?!”)
I’d swap some exercises out, or add some extra ones at the end
I’d add some extra cardio in
I’d add more curls (which is proven to never be a bad idea…)

After tweaking things, I’d be confident it was perfect.

Until…

A new study came out.
A new program came out.
I talked to someone who was getting great results doing _____

I’d be back to the drawing board, and the cycle would continue.

The health and fitness industry, social media, and the facade of perfection are great ways to make you feel like you’re always falling short.

If an anxious mind isn’t bad enough, your physical results will suffer too if you keep changing things in hopes of finding the perfect program.

The distraction of the perfect exercise program

Chasing the perfect program will hurt your mind and your body.

It’s easy to see how this can lead to anxiety, but it can also stall your physical transformation too.

I’m convinced I would have more muscle and better overall fitness if I didn’t spend the majority of my late 20s and early 30s looking for the perfect program.

This led to two primary problems that slowed my progress:

Good programs are designed the way that they are for a reason.

Here’s one piece of advice I learned the hard way: if you find a program that looks promising, don’t change it. At least not at first.

Try it for 6 weeks, and then feel free to tweak something. If you knew how much effort, experience, and hours went into designing a great program — you wouldn’t be so quick to put your own flare on it.

I understand if you have to swap something out for logistics (don’t have equipment available, etc) — but most of the time you can do more harm by changing a program than by leaving it as is.

Believe it or not, it’s possible to take a great program, and make it good (or bad) based on what you add to it.

Just follow the program. If you want to make it harder…well try harder by lifting more weight or with better form.

Which leads me to problem number two.

The temptation to ‘switch things up’ always comes when your progress stalls.

Most guys I know use making changes to their program as an excuse.

An excuse from doing the hard work that comes with progress slowing down.

There is both art and science in knowing when to change up your program and breakthrough plateaus.

The majority of men I talk to change their program up too much, and it’s usually a distraction from doing the hard work that actually leads to long-term progress.

If you’re always switching your program up, you have the illusion of progress. It makes you ‘feel’ like you’re making progress when you start something new — but that rarely means actual progress. And more often than not, you’re actually taking steps backwards when you don’t push through the grind of a plateau in your program — especially the longer you’ve been working out.

Finding ‘the perfect’ exercise program

There are tons of bad exercise programs out there, but thankfully there are many great ones too.

I’ve gotten great results on doing 3x/week workouts for 45 minutes, and I’ve gotten great results on 5-6x/week workouts.

I’ve gotten great results on straight lifting programs, cardio heavy programs, and combinations of the two.

There is no one size fits all approach, which gives some freedom in choosing a program you enjoy.

If you’re unsure if the program you’re following is a good one, send it to me.

For real.

Reply here, or to any email, and send me your program.

I’ll look it over and let you know if it’s worth following.

If you’re shy or stubborn, and you want to do it on your own, here is what you should look for when searching for a good program:

It should have the right amount of volume for your goals (here’s the optimal training volume for muscle growth)
It should involve some ‘near failure’ training. At the very least it’s probably a good idea to take some of your sets close to failure (0-3 reps in reserve)
It should emphasize progressive overload, which basically means you should be adding more weight, more sets, more reps over time.
It should either include deload weeks, or you should have a process for allowing your body to recover (assuming you’re following the first 3 requirements above)

If you want me to make it even easier here, just download and make a copy of this free training template I put together.

You’ll find 3, 4, and 5 day training templates there that check all the requirements of a great muscle building program.

If you want to build muscle, just do that for 6-12 weeks at a minimum. And then keep going for 10 more years.

If you want to burn fat with it, then you should check out the whole Body [re]Building Playbook where I’ll walk you through everything you need to burn fat and build muscle.

Reply right here if you need me to look over your program.

If you find yourself switching things up too much — this is your reminder to get back on track.

Set the standard,

Dave

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