Programming Mastery #4: Managing Load, Intent, and Adjustments
#72 - Strength & Speed Coaching - Pursuing Your Best ⚡️
I hope you had a great Christmas and are heading into the New Year rested, recharged, and ready to keep pursuing your best! ⚡️
The system is almost built. Now comes the hard part.
If you’ve followed this Programming Mastery series, you now have:
A clear Needs Analysis
A defined Exercise Menu
A repeatable Weekly Structure
At this point, most programs don’t fail because of poor planning.
They fail because coaches don’t know how to manage load and intent without breaking the system.
This is where Programming Mastery actually shows up.
What “Adjusting” Actually Means (and What It Doesn’t)
Let’s be clear up front.
Managing load and intent does not mean:
Scrapping the workout
Changing exercises every day
Turning training into guesswork
Letting fatigue excuse poor effort
It means adjusting within the structure you’ve already built.
Same week.
Same menu.
Same rhythm.
Different dose.
All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison.
—Paracelsus, 1538
The 3 Levers You Control Every Day
In a school-based Strength & Speed setting, you don’t control:
Sleep
Sport practice volume
Club schedules
Stress outside the room
You do control three things.
1. Volume
Sets, reps, total work.
This is the first lever to pull.
When athletes are:
In-season
Dragging
Stacked with sport volume
Reduce volume before touching anything else.
2. Intensity
Load, bar speed, sprint quality, intent.
Intensity doesn’t always mean heavy.
It means purposeful.
High intent can show up as:
Fast bar speed
Clean sprint mechanics
Explosive jumps
Sharp execution
You can maintain intensity while reducing volume.
3. Density
How much work fits into the time window.
This is the most overlooked lever.
Adjust density by:
Extending rest
Reducing total stations
Simplifying transitions
Without changing the workout on paper at all.
Intent Is the Non-Negotiable
Here’s the line we don’t cross:
If intent drops, the session loses its purpose.
We will:
Reduce volume
Adjust load
Simplify structure
But we don’t accept:
Lazy reps
Slow movement
Sloppy execution
Low focus
That’s not autoregulation.
That’s avoidance.
Daily Structure: Why Fewer Exercises Win
One of the simplest ways we manage load is by limiting how much fits into a session.
Most days, we run about six exercises.
A typical structure looks like:
1 speed or explosive movement
1 primary strength movement
1 secondary strength or power movement
2 upper-body movements (push + pull)
1 trunk or supplemental movement
This keeps sessions:
Teachable
Efficient
Intent-driven
If the room slows down, there’s probably too much on the menu.
Rep Ranges by Movement Category
Instead of chasing perfect percentages, we anchor rep ranges to movement intent.
General guidelines:
Explosive movements: 1-5 reps
Primary strength movements:
Older athletes 1-8 reps (depending on what APRE variation we are using)
Younger athletes 1-12 reps (depending on what APRE variation we are using)
Secondary strength movements: 5-8 reps
Upper-body accessories: 6-10 reps
Trunk work: 20-40 seconds or 6-15 reps
These ranges:
Support quality execution
Manage fatigue
Make adjustments easier without changing exercises
I’m excited to learn more about this topic in an upcoming Big Time Strength Podcast episode with Coach Zac Goodman.
Using Relative Intensity as Guardrails (Not Handcuffs)
We use relative intensity charts—such as Prilepin-style guidelines—not as rules, but as reference points.
They help answer questions like:
Are we asking for too much volume at this intensity?
Does the rep range match the goal of the movement?
Is fatigue coming from poor alignment of load and reps?
The chart doesn’t tell us what to lift.
It tells us whether what we’re doing makes sense.
Linear Progression: Why It Still Works in Schools
We program with simple linear progressions because they fit the school environment and our training age.
A common cycle might look like:
Week 1: 3×6
Week 2: 3×5
Week 3: 3×4
Week 4: ×6, 5, 4
Then the next cycle drops rep targets by one.
Why this works:
Easy to teach
Easy to track & adjust
Easy to fight for progress
Easy to explain to athletes
Progression should feel predictable—not confusing.
APRE Influence: Autoregulation Inside Structure
We also use an APRE-influenced approach—particularly the Gary Schofield-style logic—where the reps adjusts based on performance inside fixed loads. This is not traditional APRE from Bryan Mann — it’s an adaptation that fits class-based training.
What stays the same:
Exercises
Load
Weekly structure
What adjusts:
Reps
Sets (In-season)
Autoregulation works best when it has boundaries.
Structure gives it teeth.
Teaching Sets vs. Training Sets
Not every set serves the same purpose.
Teaching sets prioritize feedback, tempo, and clarity (normally week 1 of a new cycle)
Training sets prioritize intent, efficiency, and execution (normally week 2-4 of a cycle)
If every set turns into a coaching clinic, intent disappears.
If every set is rushed, learning disappears.
Good programs balance both.
When to Progress — and When to Hold
Simple rules we follow:
Progress when reps are clean, fast, and consistent
Hold when quality starts to slide
Regress when technique breaks down or intent disappears
Progression is earned.
It doesn’t have to be automatic.
What We Rarely Change Mid-Cycle
To protect the system, we are intentionally conservative mid-cycle, we rarely change:
Weekly structure
Exercise selection
Load schemes
What we do change:
Reps
Sets
Density
Intent emphasis (Teaching vs. Training)
This prevents panic-driven programming.
Programming Mastery Takeaway
A good program looks good on paper.
A great program:
Adjusts without chaos
Progresses without burnout
Holds standards without rigidity
Protects athletes without coddling them
The structure stays.
The dose adapts.
The intent never leaves.
That’s Programming Mastery.
Series Wrap-Up
This four-part Programming Mastery series was built to give you:
Clarity – Needs Analysis
Tools – Exercise Selection
Structure – Balancing the Week
Control – Managing Load, Intent, and Adjustments
If you can do these four things well, your program will last.
Looking for meaningful professional development?
Pursuit PE is designed as ongoing, practical professional development for high school Strength & Speed and Physical Education coaches working inside real school constraints.
Many schools and athletic departments cover paid subscriptions as part of their professional learning budgets.
If that’s an option in your setting, upgrading your subscription is a simple, cost-effective way to support long-term program improvement.
Keep pursuing excellence,
Preston ⚡️
★ Paid Subscriber Resources
For paid subscribers, below I’m sharing:
Relative Intensity Reference Chart
Plate Loading Charts
Percentage Charts
Estimated 1RM Charts
APRE Charts
Real-world programming examples (training cards)
These tools are designed to help you adjust with confidence, not guess.
Want the tools behind this system?
Paid subscribers get access to the checklists, charts, templates, and real-world examples we actually use to manage load, intent, and adjustments inside the school day.
If you want help applying these ideas—not just reading about them—consider upgrading your subscription. Upgrade today to unlock this, the complete archive, and all upcoming resources.
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