Set your programming apart!

How to Break Down a Goal and Build a Program That Works: A Coach’s Guide

One of the most underrated skills a coach can develop is the ability to take a client's goal and reverse-engineer it into a clear, focused training plan. That means knowing what qualities matter most, how to measure them, and how to build a program around them.

This summer, I threw myself into the fire with a new challenge: individualized remote coaching & mentorship for 15 people. I learned a ton and I want to share parts of the process with you so you can skip a few of the rookie mistakes I made.

1. Start With Better Questions

Before any programming happens, you need to deeply understand the person in front of you. That starts with a solid intake process — a survey and an intro call that gets real information, not just fluff.

In my survey, I ask about:

• Their current training

• Their specific goals

• What they don’t want

• Past injuries

• Training preferences and limitations

Then I hop on a call. This is where I really try to understand the nuance: What do they care about? What’s holding them back? What’s their training history actually like? That initial call is crucial. It helps me set aside my coaching bias and listen to what they really need.

2. Test What You Want to Train

Once I have their background, we go into a testing week. This is where I look at where they are now — strength, power, elasticity, and conditioning. I run them through a standard 3-day structure:

• Plyometric component

• Strength and power component

• Conditioning piece

I tailor these slightly if someone has an injury or specific limitation, but the goal is always the same: I want to know their current level so I can define where we need to go.

Here's the key: the testing week isn’t just an evaluation — it’s the start of the program. Most of the exercises I choose for testing are things I believe are directly tied to their performance, so they often become core movements in their first training block.

3. Use Testing to Write the Program

Once I’ve got the testing data, the programming almost writes itself. I’m not reinventing the wheel each time. I already picked exercises during testing that reflect their KPIs (key performance indicators), so now I just adjust for intensity, volume, and frequency.

This saves time, keeps the athlete in familiar territory, and lets me see real progression. If you’re testing wisely, programming becomes a plug-and-play scenario — with a few thoughtful tweaks.

4. Track, Adapt, Repeat

Now, here's the reality check: the first program isn’t going to be perfect. You’re not a wizard, and neither am I. The real trick is in the follow-up.

I put their training in a shared calendar, and we stay in constant communication. I look at:

• RPE (rate of perceived exertion)

• Discomfort notes

• Video feedback

• Performance trends

This allows me to make informed changes week to week. The program evolves with the athlete, and that’s what creates buy-in and long-term progress.

5. Case Study: Soccer Mom With Knee Pain

In the accompanying video (check it out if you haven’t), I walk you through a real client who wanted one thing: to play soccer with her kid without pain. That’s the task. So what does that require?

We broke it down:

• Can she decelerate and cut without pain?

• Does she have the single-leg strength to change direction?

• How’s her joint integrity under fatigue?

We tested these qualities, wrote a simple, direct program, and began tracking KPIs. That’s the whole point: learn how to take a real-life goal and build backwards from it. That’s coaching — not throwing random workouts at people.

Final Thoughts

If you want to become a better coach, start here: Learn how to break a task down. Get specific about testing. Let your testing inform your programming. Stay in the feedback loop and make decisions based on real data.

This is the skill set that separates average programming from impactful coaching. And it’s totally learnable — if you’re willing to pay attention, iterate, and keep the client at the center.

Want to see it all in action? Watch the video and follow along as I walk through the process step by step.