Why a Custom Workout Plan Beats Any Off-the-Shelf Program

On this episode of Mind Pump, Sal DiStefano, Adam Schaefer, and Justin Andrews explain why even the best general workout program can't match what a good personal trainer can do—and why they've finally built the infrastructure to offer individualized MAPS programs after years of saying no.

The hosts have long been candid that their 32 general MAPS programs, while effective for many, are a compromise. "No program that's written generally will ever be as effective as a good personal trainer. Period. End of story," Sal says. The problem was scale: how do you deliver individualized programming to hundreds of thousands of people? The podcast and Facebook forum were stopgaps—ways to help people modify a MAPS skeleton on their own. But the hosts always knew it wasn't enough. Callers regularly picked the wrong program or failed to modify it correctly. "It's difficult to train yourself," Sal notes, and even he struggles with it due to his own exercise addictions.

Now, with over 30 trainers trained and vetted by the Mind Pump team, they've launched mymapsprogram.com: a questionnaire, a phone call with a real coach, and a fully individualized program delivered within a week.

Why General Rules Break Down for Real People