GPP and SPP. What's the difference?

I hope you enjoyed yesterday's email and the breakdown of learning, how we can use that to better ourselves and our training experience so we prevent plateaus.

Today we delve into the programming side of things for a bit and how to identify what sort of program you should be doing to hit your goals.

The system I use along with many other PT’s is identifying the difference between…

GPP training

And

SPP training.

GPP stands for General Physical Preparedness

It references to the general training that will help any athlete or person get to their goal but isn’t specific to their goal.

Let me explain

If I was a professional rugby player, the gym would be my GPP training as it will help me get bigger and stronger

But it has very little carry over to the actual game and the skill set I need for it.

However, if I was a Power Lifter,

the squat, deadlift and bench press are part of my sport which means

This would be SPP training for me, Specific Physical Preparedness instead of GPP training for the rugby playing version of me.

SPP means that the exercise is directly related to the sport and will help me become more dynamic or skilled in that specific area of my trade.

The reason I bring this up

Is because if you want to train through plateaus

You need to understand the craft of your sport in order to do so.

Now I know you’re probably thinking “I don’t need to know this I just want to go to the gym”

If losing weight and getting fitter is your goal, then that’s your sport.

Let me frame it this way, 

If losing 10kgs is your sport (I'm going to refer to your goal as your sport from now on)

Then your nutrition and recovery is your SPP training (because that will take you to your goal a lot faster than what the gym will) and exercising is your GPP training as it will help speed up that process.

Here’s where it gets tricky though,

If you are wanting to tone up and for the blokes, put on a few KGs of muscle

Then exercise and recovery is your SPP and nutrition your GPP.

You still need good nutrition (it will help you get from A to B faster) but the work in the gym is where you will get the results.

Does that make sense?

So in order for us to train through a plateau, we need to first identify what our goal is

Identify what the priority is (what will help me get from where I am to where I want to be fastest)

Then supplement in the remaining factors to assist that priority and speed up the process from A to B.

I’ll leave you with an example as learning this the first time for me, threw my head around.

My current goal is to drop 5kgs, tone up and get fitter.

This looks like a pretty common goal right?

Well if I had to rank them, the weight would be the top priority as that would help with toning up and then with that I’d hit a certain level of fitness.

So if I’m to categorize this and break it down into SPP and GPP

SPP, for me would be my diet and recovery.

Making sure I am rested every night and eat well during the day.

My training will help me burn more calories and if I want to be specific, HIIT would help me to burn calories fast and burn them well after I’ve finished thanks to the EPOC effect (we can discuss this at a later date)

So in terms of my training, if I can eat and recover well, ideally I should be aiming to get in 3 - 4 HIIT based workouts to help me increase my calories burned per day and get me closer to my weight loss goal.

Once I hit that then my focus shifts to toning up, I find someone I want to look like or pick certain areas I want to develop and then train the house down focusing on those areas.

Once I’ve done that I shift to fitness and set myself a base fitness test on areas I want to get fitter in and then go at it again working on those areas.

Can you see how your training will never plateau if you have this sort of approach?

Figure out what you want to achieve, break it right down, chase it, get it and then adjust.

Do this and you’ll never lose that drive to show up to the gym every single day.

Tomorrow I look forward to sharing with you one of my favourite subjects in health and fitness, STRENGTH TRAINING.

I can’t wait and I hope that brings you value as well as today’s one.

Thank you again for your time, enjoy your weekend and chat tomorrow

James