How To Use OsteoFit
This page takes members through the process of using OsteoFit and ensuring you get the most out of it. The platform has been designed to encourage anyone to be able to navigate and utilise it's full potential without any complicated processes.
Scroll through or use this contents list to find what you're looking for
Find Your Programming For The Week
When you become a member, you'll gain access to the 'Members Programmes' page which can be found here on the navigation bar:
Once in the members programme page, you'll then be presented with the option below to choose which programme you'd like to enter. Click either to open up the current week of training. For help with choosing which programme is right for you, visit the Find Your Programme page.
Once you've clicked on a programme, you'll be presented with the screen below. The programme will clearly state the week commencing date to ensure you're on the current week of training. Beneath this will day days 1-7. Each day will consist of either training, or active recovery days. These days can be done in an order that better suits your lifestyle. Example, if day 3 is an active recovery day, but you know on Thursday that you'll be going on a walk with your family, or swimming with your children, you could choose to make you day 4 the active recovery day, and make day 3 a training day. All we suggest is that you break the training days up with the active recovery days. This optimises recovery.
How To Use Your Programme
Starting a strength programme can be daunting. So we've laid it out as clearly and concisely as possible and included some handy tools along the way to ensure you're working efficiently and safely.
After you've identified that you're on the correct programme page, navigate by scrolling up or down to identify which day you'd like to complete. Start at the top of each day as exercises will be prescribed in priority order, usually with large functional or compound movements being performed first and smaller accessory type movements prescribe later.
You can click any exercise in order to view a video instructional of an OsteoFit clinician performing the movement and describing how it should be performed. Note that clicking a video opens up a new window to play it on. Therefore, once you've watched the video, simply close the current tab and you'll be back on the programme. You will eventually begin to become familiar with many of the movements and realise that you only need to watch the videos of movements that you haven't seen before. All movements however will always be video linked so you'll always have this as a reassuring coaching guide.
Click any exercise to open up a video instructional
As you can see from day 7 above, there are often instructions written in italics for either a particular exercise if written bellow the movement, or for the week as a whole if written at the top before day 1 begins. Be sure to read these as they often give little focuses and instructional cues that can really help.
Understanding Sets and Reps
Sets and reps refer to the amount of work prescribed to you for each movement. They're usually laid out like this:
Calf raise - 3x 8-10
This is instructing you to perform calf raises 8 - 10 times, resting for a short period (30 seconds to a minute) and the repeating this a total of 3 times. If the instruction was 4 x 8-10, you'd perform these sets of 8-10 reps, 4 times rather than 3.
So to clarify: 5x 6 is 5 sets of 6 reps.
Lets use another example
Calf raise - 3 x 6 a side
When 'a side' is added, it's instructing you to perform the movement on both sides (arm or leg) individually. So this example would be instructing you to perform a set of 6 calf raises on one leg, then repeating this on the other leg. This concludes one full set and you've got 3 in total to do.
Note: If there is no 'a side' or 'each arm' etc, then you're being asked to perform a bilateral (Both sides at the same time) exercise, not a unilateral (Single sided) one. OsteoFit has also made an effort to provide single leg exercise instructionals for most movement if required e.g. single leg calf raise.
Understanding Supersets
Supersets are valuable as they add some intensity and increase efficiency of workouts. They are in essence, exactly what they sound like. Multiple exercises with their own rep schemes performed as part of a superset. They're laid out like this.
Superset x 3
Calf Raise x 8 - 10
Seated Marches x 10 a side
We know from our learning on sets and reps that this is asking us to perform 8- 10 calf raises and 10 seated marches with our left and our right legs as it's 'a side'. However, we aren't sure of how many sets we should perform or in what order.
So lets clarify.
Whenever you see the word superset, it will have a 'x' next to it. In this case it says x 3. This means that we will eventually perform out superset 3 times.
1 full set of your superset is all exercise mentioned, performed once, in order. So to be clear, this example would see us perform the following:
8 - 10 calf raises → 10 seated marches on our left side → 10 seated marches on our right side → Rest 30 secs - 1 minute → One round of our superset is now complete → Repeat another 2 times to total 3 supersets
If the superset had stated 'Superset x 4', you would repeat it once more. If the superset had included 3 exercises instead of two, then every round you would also perform the third exercise. Supersets have no limit on how many exercises or rounds can be involved.
Using the exercise library
As an OsteoFit member, you'll have access to the entire OsteoFit video library. This can be used to familiarise yourself with movements, learning new movements or exploring substitute movements for any that appear in your programme that you feel don't quite fit with your mobility or ailments. The library is continuously growing.
The library can be clearly found on the main menu tab at the top of every page.
Once inside the exercise library, you can use the search option at the top to search for any specific exercise you like. Or you can scroll through for a movement that catches your eye. The library contains more detailed written descriptions of the exercises than on your programme and still contains a video button for you to watch the instructional.
Search for any exercise in the tab and they'll filter automatically below.
For every exercise, you'll find a title, an image depicting what the movement looks like, a written description and a video button which when clicked, opens up a new window to an OsteoFit video of a clinician performing the prescribed movement and an audio instructional.
Click on these buttons to open up the video instructional.
What is a deload week?
You can read all about deload weeks and why they're integrated into OsteoFit programmes: here