Intuitive workouts: A flexible approach

I don’t know about you but sometimes I overthink things.

That can be the case for me when planning weeks of workouts ahead of time.

I’ll be sitting there tweaking exercises, sets and reps. I’ll be studying programs that others have written for inspiration.

All of this is in an attempt to make the perfect combination.

Writing things down is easy. But what about actually following the plan? With my current lifestyle, anything more than five weeks is too long.

Something always happens that disrupts training.

It gets boring.

I want to try something different.

Enter intuitive workouts. Instead of planning every detail too far ahead, I’ll have a loose plan. This could be three or four weeks. This could be the next workout. The main difference is that I’m expecting the plan to change. If the day is busy, I’ll cut the workout short. If feeling motivated, I’ll push it harder or do more sets.

It’s a simple concept that has helped my mind deal with perfectionism and overthinking workouts.

Who is this for?

• Anyone who wants a break from a strict workout
• Anyone who has trouble sticking to a strict workout plan
• Has previous experience following programs

Another way to look at this is to compare it with diets. Do you prefer meal plans (strict programs) or flexible dieting (intuitive workouts)? Choose the method that works for you.

Set some ground rules

Intuitive workouts are great and are meant to be freeing and flexible. A word of warning though. Without some structure, it could do the opposite. That is why setting some ground rules can help. These are personal to you and can change over time. Here are some of my ones.

Set a short-term priority

I like to reflect on how things went last week. I ask myself “What do I want to work on?”. It could be as simple as this:

• “I want to prioritize bench over press”
  • Now I know I will bench more sets than press
• “I want to focus on higher reps for the next couple of weeks”
  • Now I know I will swing to the higher rep range
• “My squat has been clunky I want to improve my movement quality”
  • Now I know I can include tempo or pause squats.
• “I’m feeling exhausted I want to feel fresh again”
  • Now I know I want to cut back on intensity and/or volume.

Keep it simple. This doesn’t need to be an elaborate exercise.

Choose one to commit to. How long should you stay on the same priority? It doesn’t matter, each week you ask yourself the same question. From there you choose if you want to change your priority.

Have an intended weekly structure

The first thing is knowing how many days you want to train for the week. Next, I decide on a workout out split for the week/s.

For example, right now I am doing 4 sessions per week following an upper/lower split. I have an intention of what days they should be but I’m not stressed if that doesn’t happen. I know each of those sessions will be about an hour long.

Here is the pattern:

Workouts 1 and 3: Squat 3-5 sets / Hinge pattern 3-5 sets / Optional Single leg or Core 2-4 sets
Workouts 2 and 4: Push 3-5 sets / Pull 3-5 sets/ Choice 3-5 sets / Optional Arms (2-4 sets)

I make a point of keeping this structure easy to remember.

Have a pool of exercises at hand

Create a short list of exercises by category that you like to use. It’s simply a matter of choosing the ones that matter.

Squat category

• Back Squat
• Tempo Back Squat
• Pause/Pin Back Squat
• Front Squat
• Bulgarian Split Squat
• Lunges

Have progression schemes

Same as above but now I’ll have a list of progressions and set/rep schemes.

• 3-5×5
• Build to heavy 3, then 2 backoff sets
• 3×8-12
• 10,10,8,6 increasing weight each time
• Etc

Have a plan B

Training is going to get disrupted at some point. Put in some pre-made decisions.

When I’m short on time, not motivated or burnt out I can

• Reduce all exercises to 3 sets
• Skip the optional exercise
• If I have a deadlift planned for the workout I can switch it to a lighter variation like the Romanian deadlift. This is because deadlifts take longer to warm up and complete.
• Switch to pyramid sets (eg 10,8,6 reps)
• Switch to ascending sets (eg. 3×7 where the first set is the lightest )
• Keep everything light but get it done

Now you have a set of interventions. Just choose the right one.

These are examples. Create your own!

Putting it all together

Now it’s simply a matter of arranging all the pieces above together.

With the priorities and weekly structure in place. Loosely plan the week by plugging in exercise and reps schemes that support your short-term priorities.

Finally, make a note of the intended difficulty for the week. Just jot down easy, moderate, hard. Easy means you’ll lift a little lighter or do fewer sets this is to help recovery. Moderate is the standard difficulty. Hard is when you will push yourself but this type of effort is not sustainable.

On the day of the workout

Decide what you are doing in 3 minutes. It will most likely be one of these options:
In most cases, you can follow the weekly plan you set
However, sometimes life gets in the way and that is when you go with plan B. Choose one of the tweaks from your plan B list.

When plan B is still not going to work or you’re not motivated. Just rock up to the gym and improvise. You have the structure and rep schemes to fall back on. Just modify it on the fly to suit your needs.

This whole process may seem convoluted and certainly isn’t for everyone. This way of training shifts your focus away from outcomes to more towards the process. Only try this method if you want a change from a strict program with freedom and flexibility.

Add a comment to this post if you have tried something like this. I’d love to hear about your experience.