Program Design
Domain 3: Program Design
This domain tests whether you can build a safe, progressive plan using the OPT model and the client's goals, equipment, schedule, and readiness.
Core rules
- Use the OPT model's phases and acute variables deliberately: sets, reps, tempo, rest, intensity, and exercise selection should match the phase.
- Include a warm-up (SMR, static stretching for tight areas, cardiorespiratory work, activation, dynamic movements), the conditioning segment, and a cool-down.
- Apply progressive overload, individualization, and reversibility. Progress one variable at a time - load, reps, sets, tempo, or range - and only when form holds.
- For virtual clients, design around available equipment (body weight, bands, dumbbells, a sturdy chair) and clear floor space; provide a regression and a progression for every main lift.
- Plan weekly frequency and recovery around sleep, stress, and sport demands.
Worked example
A beginner with no equipment trains three days per week. Weeks 1–4 use Phase 1: five basic patterns (squat, hinge, push, pull, core), 1–2 sets of 12–20 reps at a 4/2/1 tempo, 0–60 s rest, plus a short walk-run interval. Week 5 adds a set only after the client reports RPE ≤7 and shows controlled reps on video. Reasoning: the phase dictates the variables; the progression is earned, not scheduled by ego.
Traps
Random daily workouts; too many exercises; skipping the warm-up; adding load before control; programming maximal lifts for a client training alone at home; ignoring the client's calendar and recovery.