Writing programmes that clients actually follow

There is a programme that is theoretically optimal for your client, and there is a programme they will actually do this week. The first one impresses other coaches. The second one is the one that produces results. Most of the time these are not the same programme.

Length: shorter than you think

If your average session takes a serious adult 75 minutes to complete properly, almost no one will do it three times a week. Aim for 45–55 minute sessions that include warm-up and cool-down. If you can't fit it, the right answer is fewer exercises, not less rest. Adherence quietly destroys volume; volume rarely survives a missed week.

Format: written for a tired human

Your client will open this programme on their phone, at 6am, in a busy gym. They are not reading carefully. The format must survive that: large heading per session, exercise name as a bold first line, sets and reps unmistakable, every cue under five words, video link tap-friendly. If your programme requires a key or a legend, you've already lost.

• One session per screen — never scroll within a session.
• Bold the exercise; sub-text the sets/reps in plain language ('3 sets of 8, leave 2 in the tank').
• Video link on every movement, not just the new ones — they forget.
• Replace 'AMRAP', 'EMOM' and other jargon with one-line plain-English instructions.
• Include a 'if you only have 30 minutes' shorter version of each session.

Language: directive, not optional

Compare two cues. 'Aim for around 8–10 reps if it feels okay' versus 'Do 8 reps. The last 2 should be hard but clean — stop if form breaks.' The second one is a coaching decision the client can execute. The first is a vague suggestion they'll silently misinterpret. Write programmes the way you'd talk to a client in the room: with authority, with a single clear instruction, and with permission to bail if needed.

Buffer: build in failure-tolerant weeks

Every four weeks should include a planned lighter week — not a deload disguised as a holiday, an actual lighter week the client sees on the calendar. Adherence improves when the client knows there's a breather coming. The coaches with the highest 12-week completion rates are almost universally the ones who programme in less, not more.

"The best programme on paper is worthless. The second-best programme done four days a week is everything."