6 Reasons Why You Should Follow A Sweat Program

Any movement you do is such an incredible gift to your body, whether you’re a fan of walking, running, yoga flows in your lounge room, HIIT sessions in your garage or lifting weights in the gym. 

If you’re someone who tends to choose workouts at random, jump between training styles or cycle through the same exercises over and over, you might be wondering why there is so much hype around following a workout program. Why does the Sweat Community get so excited when we release new programs or extend existing ones?

From the importance of structure and variety, to progressive overload and purpose, let's break it down. 

Workout structure matters

When you’re working out on your own without a plan, you’re still going to reap so many of the benefits of exercise, but the structure of a program designed by an exercise professional will take those benefits to another level by making every Sweat session and week of training more effective. 

Not only do you immediately eliminate all the time spent preparing your workout or wondering mid-workout what to do next, but you also elevate every moment of the workout itself. When we talk about workout structure, we’re talking about the order of the exercises, number of reps, tempo and rest times between sets. It all matters and is done for a reason to help you have the most effective and efficient workout possible.

If you’re new to fitness lingo like supersets, pyramid training or hypertrophy, we recommend you check out this helpful guide!

Progressive overload

Like any healthy habit, consistency is key, and we applaud everyone who has made exercise part of their routine. However, if you want to continue to push yourself and make progress with your strength and fitness, you’re going to be doing yourself a serious favour by following a program.

Most Sweat programs, especially those with a focus on strength training and weight lifting, are designed according to the training principle of progressive overload. Progressive overload is a way of gradually dialling up the stress you put on your body while exercising over time, or “overloading” to grow your muscles and become stronger. Over the course of a fitness program, your workouts will steadily increase in terms of frequency, intensity, volume (reps), or density (weight), allowing your body to adapt and improve.

Haphazardly doing workouts or a random collection of exercises is still great for your general health, but if you’re after noticeable and sustainable results? Not so much. Some Sweat programs encourage you to use the weight-logging feature and increase your weights over time, while others introduce additional workouts, more complex exercises, higher reps or longer circuits to challenge you progressively throughout the program.

Variety and a well-rounded approach

Just like a random collection of workouts is an inefficient way to make progress, it can also mean you’re missing out on a balanced muscle group split within each workout or a balanced split of exercise sessions across your week.

A workout program takes into consideration the balance of muscle groups targeted in each individual session and each week by including a variety of exercises, while also encouraging a well-rounded routine with the inclusion of low-intensity cardio, stretching and recovery sessions, and dedicated rest days. In every Sweat program, all of these elements are served up each week on your app dashboard, with no guesswork required on your part.

The number of weekly workouts and rest days is also crucial to ensure you’re doing enough exercise to make progress, but not overtraining and on a path to exhaustion and burnout. Variety isn’t just good for balance and bypassing burnout - it keeps boredom at bay, too. There’s nothing like fresh exercises, equipment, workout structure or heavier weights to prevent your workout routine from feeling stale.

Purpose and motivation

Something we love about following a program is that it immediately creates a clearly defined goal, a sense of purpose and something to feel motivated to achieve. When you commit to a program, you know you’re working towards completing each set of weekly workouts and ultimately finishing the entire program - a monumental accomplishment in itself.

Giving your training routine a strong sense of purpose can work wonders for your motivation and discipline. It’s not just a random workout or week - you’re on the path you need to be on to achieve your goals.

Depending on the program you’re following, you might have other goals baked into the program. Programs like Kelsey Wells’ PWR Strength or Lift with Laura are geared towards lifting heavier weights over time, with OG Kayla you might increase how many laps you can get through before the time is up, or your flexibility might stretch further with Kelly MacDonald’s Mobility & Strength in Motion program.

If your training isn’t currently guided by a goal, the structure of a program can create one for you, or if you already have a goal in mind, choosing a program that aligns with your ambitions can set you on the right path to achieve it.

Connect with like-minded women 

Sweat is so much more than just a fitness app - it’s a community of women from across the world who will be cheering you on every rep of the way. Once you’ve chosen your Sweat program (there are over 50 to choose from!) you can instantly connect with the Sweat Community on our Forum - finding women from every corner of the globe with the same goals and training program as you. 

Build your skills and confidence

While any workout you do can definitely level up your mood, athleticism and confidence, a well-designed program can really take things up another notch in a way that a random collection of workouts might not. The element of progressive overload that’s built into a workout program is great for making progress and seeing results, as well as increasing your overall athleticism and confidence with a range of exercises, equipment or training techniques. 

Feeling more confident is a blessing in your workouts - allowing you to try new things and push yourself a little harder - and one of our favourite exercise benefits that carries into everyday life, too.

Find your perfect fit 

Ready to take the plunge and start your first Sweat program or start one you’ve never tried before? Make today your day one!