FOREWARD Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, ligula suspendisse nulla pretium,

BY: GARY SCHOFIELD

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non dui aliquet, sagittis felis sodales, dolor sociis mauris, vel eu
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rus pede porttitor class, ut adipiscing, aliquet sed auctor, imper-
diet arcu per diam dapibus libero duis. Enim eros in vel, volutpat
nec pellentesque leo, temporibus scelerisque nec.

Ac dolor ac adipiscing amet bibendum nullam, massa lacus mo-

lestie ut libero nec, diam et, pharetra sodales eget, feugiat ullam-
corper id tempor eget id vitae. Mauris pretium eget aliquet, lectus
tincidunt. Porttitor mollis imperdiet libero senectus pulvinar. Etiam
molestie mauris ligula eget laoreet, vehicula eleifend. Repellat
orci eget erat et, sem cum, ultricies sollicitudin amet eleifend do-
lor nullam erat, malesuada est leo ac. Varius natoque turpis ele-
mentum est. Duis montes, tellus lobortis lacus amet arcu et. In vi-
tae vel, wisi at, id praesent bibendum libero faucibus porta eges-
tas, quisque praesent ipsum fermentum placerat tempor. Curabi-
tur auctor, erat mollis sed fusce, turpis vivamus a dictumst
congue magnis. Aliquam amet ullamcorper dignissim molestie,
mollis. Tortor vitae tortor eros wisi.

Consectetuer arcu ipsum ornare pellentesque vehicula, in ve-

hicula diam, ornare magna erat felis wisi a risus. Justo fermentum
id. Malesuada eleifend, tortor molestie, a fusce a vel et. Mauris at
suspendisse, neque aliquam faucibus adipiscing, vivamus in.
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gue in eleifend in venenatis, cras sit id in vestibulum felis in, sed
ligula. In sodales suspendisse mauris quam etiam erat, quia tel-
lus convallis eros rhoncus diam orci, porta lectus esse adipiscing
posuere et, nisl arcu vitae laoreet. Morbi integer molestie, amet
suspendisse morbi, amet maecenas, a maecenas mauris neque
proin nisl mollis. Suscipit nec nec ligula ipsum orci nulla, in posu-
ere ut quis ultrices, lectus eget primis vehicula velit hasellus lec-
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i
DEDICATION
To my wife Sarah Olson, I could not have done all this without your
support.

Finally, to my favorite human of all time, Alison Olson. You’re smile

is what keeps my motivated!

ii
1

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter we are going to .asfasf

3
 CHAPTER 1

WHY MICROSOFT EXCEL

Microsoft Excel has been the go-to resource for strength and conditioning coaches since
the mid 1990s. As of Mid 2016, there is at least five online strength and conditioning pro-
gramming tools, fully built and compatible with phones, tablets, the cloud and more.

Yet, if you were to poll a group of coaches, nearly every single one of them will rely on
Microsoft Excel for some aspect of their yearly training and programming. Haven’t we
moved past coaches creating their own templates and programs and running entirely
cloud based, push ready programs?

No, and if I am forecasting correctly, it will be quite some time before we do.

Why?

Coaching is an amazing blend of science and art, mixed with a dose of reality, practi-
cality and circumstantial situations. There is an unlimited amount of methods, styles and
preferences that have been developed as a result, and no software is capable of compensat-
ing for those variables (yet).

A single high school coach may have 450 students spread amongst 9 sports and 5 ses-
sions of weight training classes. A D3 Head Strength & Conditioning Coach may have 23
sports and 400 athletes, with only a GA to help. Head basketball strength and condition-
ing coaches at major universities have 15 athletes total. For a single software program to

4
be able to compensate their needs, as well as every single coach in between, would need to
be so comprehensive and adjustable, the developmental costs and price point would be
through the roof.

This is where Excel comes in. Coaches can make their training programs based en-
tirely on what they need at that specific point in their career, and they can adjust it based
on what they learn, what training programs they implement and begin using, and more.

Excel can display any program, in any manner, with any progression, that you wish.
Whether you do a Yessis 1x20 or Triphasic Program with French Contrast, Excel can dis-
play that information in a clean and practical way to your athletes. It has no limitations as
to how it can look, and how it looks is determined by your training goals, methods and
training equipment. No other software has this level of versatility.

Last, for newer coaches, learning and understanding programming is very difficult.
Periodization is an intangible, abstract concept with no definitive answers. Having a clear
and concise template helps with the process of understanding program design, and helps
provide a tangible aspect to the intangible concept of periodization.

Many successful organizations that I have worked with have their interns and young
coaches build a functional training template before even learning how to program. Why?
Because its easier to understand the concept of designing a microcycle if you have some-
where to put the information, and a visual display of it when it is finished for critique.

We have all met many aspiring coaches who can recite every definition in the book,
and has all the knowledge and certifications to to succeed, but cannot functionally put that
information into a usable training program. Excel is going to help us fill those gaps, and
make the information we have practical and applicable to our training programs.

5
 CHAPTER 2

WHAT IS A TRAINING TEMPLATE

There is a lot of misconceptions about what Excel is, and what it isn’t, in terms of training tem-
plates for strength and conditioning coaches. First, I want to make a clear distinction between
two words that are commonly used interchangeably: Template and Program.

A template is simply a display of information.

A program is an all-encompassing term of the exercises, intensity, sets, reps and layout of your
training program Is it the information that is entered within a template.

Having a great template is not a requirement to a great program; it simply works in conjunction
with it.

Your excel template, for the coach, is the physical manifestation of your program. It displays the
information you have entered based on your analysis of the athletes age, sport, time of year,
and goals.

For your athletes, your template IS your program.

When they are handed the sheet of paper that tells them what they will be doing for the next 1-4
weeks, that is their program. So we want to bring the two parts together that encompass that: a
great program on a great template.

Having an aesthetically pleasing and easy to read template is important for several reasons.
First, the template describes how you are organizing your daily plan. An easy to follow program
will decrease confusion, increase tracking ability and allow for a certain “flow” of a workout.

6
Second, investing the time and effort into your program shows your athletes that you take their
preparation seriously. Scribbling up a workout on the whiteboard? Not so much.

Last, having a functional template will not only allow you to make programs faster, your pro-
grams will be better. Something as simple as an exercise database allows you to pick the most
appropriate exercise for a specific population, with a specific goal at a specific time of year. The
number one response I hear from clients who make their first advanced template is how much
better coaches training programs have created, simply by building and maintaining databases.

Knowing this information, it is important to understand that having a fancy looking template with
all the bells and whistles is not a substitute for a solid understanding of programming; it is sim-
ply an invaluable addition that can help in the process.

7
 CHAPTER 3

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

As mentioned previously, the beauty of excel is it will allow you to build your very own custom-
ized & functional training software, specific to what you need. But first, you need to learn how to
do it. And to learn that, there are several things you need to learn, including functions & formu-
las of excel.

In the first section, we are going to cover the individual functions & features of Excel. This will
cover how to use Excel: resizing cells, using borders & color, creating named ranges and enter-
ing them into dropdown boxes etc.

The second section is going to cover formulas, essentially anything that goes into the formula
bar, how they work and how to use them.

The third part is going to be a step by step breakdown of how to combine functions and formu-
las into a single cohesive unit: how to make a custom training template.

Finally, a template reference guide is included for motivation and examples to use when design-
ing your own template!

8
2

LEARNING EXCEL
FEATURES In this Section, we are going to look at all of the individual features
and functions that power excel. These include everything from resiz-
ing cells, using borders and color within cells, to creating and manag-
ing dropdown menus within cells.

In the next section, we are going to look at the individual formulas

that are most common for strength and conditioning coaches.

When referencing the formulas and functions of excel, try not to

think of them as specific guidelines, but rather starting points to ac-
complish the task that you want accomplished within Excel. Excel is
capable of gathering and manipulating data however you want, you
simply need to put the right tools in place.

9
 CHAPTER 1

Before we begin the process of creating the actual training template, we need to go over various features
and functions within Excel.

• Merging & Unmerging Cells

• Resizing Column and Row Widths

• Inserting and Deleting Rows and Columns

• Using borders inside and outside of cells

• Coloring cells and text

• Shrinking & Wrapping Text

• Center & Vertical Alignment of Text

• Copy & Pasting

• Using Margins

• Portrait and Landscape view

• Page Layout vs Normal View

• Freezing Panes

• Grouping Columns & Rows

• Fitting to a Page & Scaling

• Creating and Managing Named Ranges

• Creating Tables

• Creating Dropdown Lists

• Dependent Dropdown Lists

• Showing Developer Tab

• Listboxes

10
 MERGING & UNMERGING CELLS

A fundamental feature in using Excel is the ability to Merge & Un-merge Cells. Doing this will allow us to
adjust the template to look how we need it to look to properly display a program. To Merge Cells, simply
highlight the cells you wish to merge, and press “merge and center” from the menu bar.

Now, all the individual cells will become merged into one giant cell.

You can also unmerge a group of merged cells by highlighting the cell and pressing the “Merge Cells” but-
ton again.

Tip: All references to the merged cell must now be made to the cell that was at the top left.
In the example above, it was cell B2. You can see that reference by clicking on the cell, and
looking at the box to the left of the formula bar.
 RESIZING ROWS AND COLUMNS

Resizing rows and columns is a vital feature in excel that is necessary to make the template look how we
want it to look, as well as properly display the information we need so it is clearly visible.

Resizing a row or a column can be done in two ways. First, you can simply drag the row or column to the
height or width you prefer. When dragging a column, you will want to click on the right side of the cell,
when dragging a row, you will want to click on the bottom.

You can also highlight multiple consecutive rows and

columns by holding the shift key, or multiple individual
rows or columns by holding the Command Key on a
Mac.

Last, you can change column or row sizes by highlighting the desired
areas, right clicking, and select “Column Width” or “Row Width”. A
screen will popup which will allow you to specify exactly how large of a
 USING BORDERS

Borders are essential to outlining and separating information in excel. We will use them extensively in the
creating of our templates. There is two ways to access borders, from the menu bar:

And by right clicking the desired cells and pressing “Borders”. This will give you access to more variety of
and types of borders, including dotted, dashed, double line, angles and more.

Tip: we usually separate major blocks of information with dark outside borders, and inside
those dark blocks we use interior thin borders.

13
 COLORING CELLS AND TEXT I

Using cell background colors, and adjusting the font color, will allow certain points of the template to stand
out and be differentiated from others. In addition, it will allow you to adjust the template to match your
logo. To change a cell color, select the fill button from the menu ribbon:

This will adjust the background color:

Text works the same way, using the text color adjustment tool:
 COLORING CELLS AND TEXT II

You can change the default colors used by Excel by going to Page Layout: Colors.

This will change all of the default colors available in the text and background color selector. Also, you can
use the color picker tool select a variety of options, or use the droplet tool to copy the color from an exter-
nal image or source:

Tip: Use the droplet picker to perfectly replicate a color from your teams logo. Selecting
contrasting colors and using them tactfully will really make your template shine!

15
 SHRINKING AND WRAPPING TEXT

Shrinking and wrapping text to fit in a cell is a fundamental aspect of Excel design.
Shrinking text to fit will automatically adjust the size of the text to fit inside an available area. Without doing
this, if the text is too big, it will just show #### signs or cut off the viewable text. To shrink or wrap text to
fit, right click on the desired cells, and press alignment:

At the bottom, under text control, you can select the desired option. Here is what it will look like with vari-
ous options:

Unformatted Shrink to Fit Wrap Text

Tip: Wrap text is going to work best for the “big” exercise blocks, such as main lifts. Shrink to fit will
work in the smaller, one line exercise boxes. Best practice: Highlight the entire sheet before starting
and make all cells shrink to fit, then individually wrap text.

16
 VERTICAL & HORIZONTAL TEXT ALIGNMENT

Aligning text within a cell will make it easier to read. By default, text is located at the
bottom left of a cell. Usually, we want all text to be centered both vertically and horizontally. This will allow
you to use bigger text that does not run into the borders or other cells.

To align text, use the alignment area on the menu bar:

And select the desired alignments. The top row is vertical alignment, the bottom row is
horizontal alignment. To center the text within a cell, select:

You can also access this information by right clicking the desired area on the template, selecting format
cells, and selecting alignment.

Tip: The menu accessed by right clicking a cell and selecting Format Cells: Alignment will allow you
to change the orientation of cell text. You can make text go vertical using this option.

17
 COPY & PASTE

Copy and paste works the same in excel as in other computer programs. To copy information, highlight
the information or cells you want to copy, right click and press copy. On a mac, you can also press
CMD+C, and on a PC you can press CONTROL+C on your keyboard.

To paste, select the area in which you want information pasted, right click and select paste. It will copy the
cells, values and formulas to the target area.

Excel has several copy and paste options available. By right clicking, and pressing “Paste Special...” you
can view other options for pasting only selected aspects of the copied information:

The most commonly used ones are paste values, which will ignore all formatting and only paste the con-
tents within a cell, and paste formats, which will do the inverse: only paste the format and ignore contents
of a cell.

Tip: When pasting formulas that have referenced cells in them, cells that are written as an Absolute
reference will not change (i.e. $D$2). Cells that are listed as a relative reference (D2), will change in
relation to where you are pasting the new data to. This will be covered more later.

18
 USING MARGINS

Margins are the edges on the outside of the sheet when the template is printed. The greater the margins,
the less functional space is available to use. On our templates, we are going to zero out the margins so
the template fills the max available space.

To access the margins, go to the page layout tab, click margins, and click custom margins:

From here, we can change everything to be zero, and then select center horizontally and vertically to
make the template appear in then center of the printed piece of paper:

That’s it! Very few reasons to leave margins on a template such as this.

Tip: The one time you will need margins in Excel is when using Page Header & Footers. Many
coaches use that area to insert a logo, and thus need to leave a margin to make it visible. We will be
using the logo directly on the workout sheet later in the book.

19
 PORTRAIT VS LANDSCAPE VIEW

When selecting the orientation of the template, we have two options: portrait or landscape.
Portrait view is printing with the long edge of the 8.5x11 paper on either side (left or right).

Landscape has the long edge of the template on the top and bottom.

For the purpose of strength & conditioning templates, landscape is usually a better allocation of space,
combined with zeroed out margins. The one exception to this rule is if you are making a template that
lasts 1 week at a time. In that scenario, less horizontal real estate will be needed and you can usually use
portrait for a 3 and potentially even 4 day workout, allowing for more vertical space.

20
 FITTING TO PAGE & SCALE

Fitting to page is a vital feature for coaches to making your template cleanly fit to a single sheet of paper.
Instead of having to manually adjust cell sizes, the template will automatically shrink all information that
you put into it on a single sheet of paper.

To make your template automatically fit to 1 page by 1 page, go to Page Layout, then to the Height and
Width section, and select “1 page” from each dropdown.

Using this method, combined with Page Layout (next page), makes it very simple to see what is actually
going to print: what you see on that page is exactly what will come out of the printer.

Scale allows you to zoom in, or out, of excel. There is two ways to scale:

At the bottom right of the program, by dragging the slider you can zoom in or out.

Or by going to View: Zoom.

Tip: Want to make a 4 day, 4 week template that

prints day 1 and 2 on 1 sheet of paper, and day 3
and 4 on another? Set your template to be 2 pages
wide and 1 page tall, then manipulate column
widths to fit the days appropriately!

21
 PAGE LAYOUT VS NORMAL

The visible layout on excel is a minor function, but one that can make designing the cell height and width
very simple. Normal layout is the default setting for all blank excel templates when opened, but in most
cases, we want to switch to page layout. Page layout allows you to view exactly what you are making, as
its going to print. First, make your template fit to 1x1 page (discussed on previous page)
Then, under the View menu, select Page Layout. Or, select the page layout icon at the bottom of the
screen.

Combined with fit to 1x1

page, this will make what you
see on your page exactly
what is going to print.

22
 FREEZING PANES

Freezing panes is a way to lock a certain set of rows or columns on the screen, so no matter how much
you scroll right or down, that information will always be visible. This is especially good on testing sheets,
as well as exercise lists and athlete max lists.

To freeze panes, first go to View, then look at the Freeze Panes section of the toolbar:

There is three major options here:

Freeze Panes
Freeze Top Row
Freeze First Column

The freeze top row, as well as the freeze first column, will do exactly as stated: they will lock that row or col-
umn in place so that no matter how much you scroll, they don’t move. The Freeze panes button allows you
to select both rows and columns to lock in place.

Simple click the cell in the corner of the intersection that you want to freeze. For example, if you want to
freeze the first 2 columns, and the top row, you would click cell C2, then press Freeze Panes:

In this scenario, both the athlete names and sports will be locked in place, so that scrolling right will still
keep them in place. also the top column is locked so that no matter how far down you scroll, you will still
see the title of the maxes recorded.
23
 GROUPING COLUMNS AND ROWS

Grouping columns and rows is a way to hide information when you don’t need to see it, and show it when
you do.

To group a column or cell, simply click the column that you want to group, then go to the Data tab, and
press Group:

In this scenario, this will

Tip: You can also
hide the % Colum so that it use grouping to hide
can be opened and closed supersets that you
as needed for adjustment. aren’t using. This
can avoid confusion
among athletes
Above the cells, you will when they see blank
see + signs. When you cells.
click them, that column will Tip #2: You can
open. click the 1 or 2 at the
top left of the tem-
You can also use this plate to open or
close all groups with
method with multiple con- one click.
sective rows or columns. 24
 CREATING AND MANAGING RANGES

Ranges are essentially a single name that will identify a group of cells. This makes referencing formulas
much easier down the line, as well as allows us to create dropdown boxes for exercises.

To create a named range, simply highlight the entirety of the data you want to name.
Then, go to Formulas: Define Name, and type in what you would like to label that range as (no spaces or
special characters).

Alternatively, you can highlight the text, and

directly enter the desired name in the text-
box to the left of the formula bar.

Tip: You can also get to the name manager to add,

edit and delete your named ranges by going to In-
sert: Name: Define.

25
 CREATING TABLES

Tables serve a very important function in excel for strength & conditioning coaches: they allow you to
cleanly store, organize and filter data automatically.

To create a table, click the cell

you want the table to go in, and
simply press Insert: Table

As you add data to a table, it will

automatically grow with the data
as well. To sort and organize
the data, simply press the arrow
next the title name.

Tip: You can create named ranges out of tables that will automatically grow with your data! Elimi-
nate blank spots from your dropdowns using this method.

26
 DATA VALIDATION & DROPDOWNS

Data validation is essentially taking a list from one reference point in your workbook, and making it avail-
able as a dropdown box at another point.

First, create a named range from the data you want to present in a dropdown box. We are going to com-
bine a table with the named range “Back” to create a dropdown for Back Exercises.

Next, click a cell on the spreadsheet where you want your Data
Validation (dropdown) to go. Then Click Data in the ribbon bar,
and press Data Validation

A screen will open that will allow you to

select the type of Data Validation you
want to use. We are going to use the
LIST Option. In the source, type the
name of the table you want to display
in the list (dropdown).

The cell you chose for the Data Valida-

tion will now display all the exercises in
your table or list.

27
 DEPENDENT DROPDOWN LISTS

Dependent Dropdown lists allows you to show data from one list, based on the information from another
cell or list.

In order for this to work, you need a few things first:

1. Create a dropdown lists containing the names of your other dropdown lists
2. Create a dropdown list in the end desired cell with the formula =INDIRECT(Cell where first dropdown is)

Lets take a look at a practical example. Here is a mock exercise list with 3 individual tables in it. The first
thing we need to do is make a named range from the headings of the tables. We will call it “Categories”.
This will give us our dropdown lists of exercise categories.

Next, we need to make the categories into a dropdown box. Click the desired cell for
the category dropdown boxes, and select Data Validation. From there, select Allow: List,
and Source: =Categories. We put this in the red cell, B7.

28
 DEPENDENT DROPDOWN LISTS PT II

This will make your dropdown list of exercise categories.

Then, in the cell where you want the desired Exercise dropdowns to go, you go through the same process.
Under Data Validation, make Allow: List, and Source: =INDIRECT(Category Dropdown)

This will make your dropdown list (seen in yellow) display the exercises based on the category your chose
in the category dropdown (red).
.

29
 EXCEL PREFERENCES

Preferences in excel allow you to customize the visual and functional aspects of Excel.

Many of the features within Excel Preferences do not need to be changed, but there is a few changes we
can make that will have a big impact on our ability to use Excel!

For the purpose of this book, all the changes we make will be in the View section. My recommendation:
uncheck the “Zero Values” button, and Check the “Developer Tab” Button. Also, change the “Preferred
View for new sheets” to “Page Layout”.

30
3

LEARNING EXCEL
FORMULAS
Formulas are the engine that drives the car of your training tem-
plate. They are what takes the information from some aspects of
your workbook, and translates it to the

31
 CHAPTER 1

• ABSOLUTE VS RELATIVE REFERENCES

• VLOOKUP

• HLOOKUP

• INDEX

• INDEX/MATCH

• MROUND/CEILING/FLOOR

• AVERAGE

• MEDIAN

• STANDARD DEVIATION

• MIN / MAX

• IF STATEMENTS

• IF ISTEXT

• SUMIF

• AVERAGEIF

• COUNTIF

If you are comfortable with all of these formulas, feel free to skip to Chapter 5: Creating your template.

32
 ABSOLUTE VS RELATIVE REFERENCES

References in excel is how you refer to the information in one cell, within a formula of another cell. For ex-
ample, if you have the word STRENGTH in cell A1, and in cell A2 type the formula =A1, the word
STRENGTH will appear in A2. Anytime you change the text in A1, the same text will also change in A2.

It is the same in nearly every type of formula we will use, where we reference data from one cell to produce
some other result in the desired cell.

However, in some instances when dragging the formula across cells, so you do not have to manually type
it, we want to use an ABSOLUTE reference vs a RELATIVE Reference.

In an absolute reference within a formula, the cell which you are referencing will never change no matter if
you copy or drag the formula. It is designated with dollar signs, such as: =$A$1. No matter what, that
$A$1 reference will be the same.

In a traditional relative reference, if you copy the formula =A1 from Cell A2 into Cell A3, the formula refer-
ence will hold true: it will reference the cell next to it, and will change to =A2.

In some cells, we are going to use both absolute and relative references. Here is an example of calculat-
ing a working weight using both types in the same formula, with cell A3 being the Athletes Max, and cell
A10 being the desired %: =$A$3*A10

When this formula is dragged down, the absolute reference to the athletes max will not change, however
the relative reference to the desired % for that set will change!

Tip: All references to the merged cell must now be made to the cell that was at the top left.
In the example above, it was cell B2. You can see that reference by clicking on the cell, and
looking at the box to the left of the formula bar.

33
 VLOOKUP

VLOOKUP is a function where we will look up information within a Vertical list, and find the information next
to it.

The formula goes like this:

=VLOOKUP(WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR, WHERE YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IT, HOW MANY SPACES
OVER, WHETHER YOU NEED AN EXACT MATCH)

Or, another way to write it: =VLOOKUP($E$3,ATHLETESMAX,2,FALSE)

In this scenario, $E$3 is a dropdown list of our athletes names, made via DATA VALIDATION of the column
where the athletes names are. “Athletesmax” is a NAMED RANGE for both the athletes names and all of
their maxes, and it is the area where we can find the information we want to look up. We are looking in the
second column to find the Bench press max, and we do NOT require an exact match to return a number.

Tip: Remember the

use of absolute vs
relative references
here. When drag-
ging the name for-
mula, you want to
use the absolute ref-
erence so the
pointer to the maxes
does not change.
As you can see, the return was 150, which is the column next to John’s name.

34
 HLOOKUP

HLOOKUP Is the exact same as the VLOOKUP, except it is looking for information in a horizontal row, and
returning information under it.

The formula goes:

=HLOOKUP(WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR, WHERE YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IT, HOW MANY SPACES
BELOW, WHETHER YOU NEED AN EXACT MATCH)

We will use this to pull a specific max based on a dropdown box. For example:

This formula is going to return the lift based on the value in Cell B5. B5 Contains a DATA VALIDATION of
the max lifts spanning the top of the cell. As you change the dropdown reference in B5, the value in cell
D5 will change

In this scenario, MAXLIFTS is the table spanning B1:F2, we are searching Cell B5 for the value, and we are
searching in the first 2nd row of the table for the value we want to return!

Tip: Remember, to make a dropdown box as I did in cell B5, first you must make a named
range of your maxes spanning the top. Highlight them, point to the left of the formula bar,
and type in the name ranged MAXES. Next, click cell B5, Click Data: Validation, Allow:
List, and type in =MAXES for the source. This will make your named range!

35
 INDEX

The INDEX Formula looks up information in a series of data, and returns a value based on the desired row
or column number. It is particularly powerful in conjunction with MATCH formula.

The formula goes:

=INDEX(WHERE DATA IS LOCATED, THE NUMBER ROW VALUE YOU WANT TO RETURN, THE NUMBER
VALUE COLUMN YOU WANT TO RETURN).

You do not have to use both the row and column designations: you can use either to return a data point
from a single line of data, or both to return data from a grid.

The following formula looks up data in a column, and will return the first row value (football).

The following returns data from a row, and will return the 2nd column data point (Baskeball).

Finally, the following will look up the information in the grid, and return the data in the 1st row and 1st
column (John).

36
 INDEX / MATCH

The index match formula will find a specific piece of information in one column, and return the correspond-
ing data from another column.

The formula goes:

=INDEX(WHERE DATA IS LOCATED THAT YOU WANT TO RETURN, MATCH(THE VALUE YOU WANT THE
DATA TO MATCH, THE DATA SET THAT VALUE IS IN, DO YOU WANT AN EXACT MATCH).

In the following example, we use the formula:

=INDEX(B2:B7,MATCH(E1,A2:A7,FALSE))

This means I want to return a value from the cells B2:B7, relative to the name thats in cell E1 (John), and
you can find the name John in Cells A2:A7. This will return John’s Squat Max.

If we were to change the Value in E1 from John to Bill, the formula would return Value 120.

Tip: The index match formula requires much smaller data ranges than similar VLOOKUP
functions, and workbooks containing a large number of LOOKUP formulas would benefit
from changing to INDEX/MATCH.

37
 MROUND / CEILING / FLOOR

MROUND, CEILING and FLOOR Formulas are all used to round a number to a nearest desired whole
number. MROUND will round a number to the nearest desired whole number, either up or down. CEILING
will multiple that number up to the nearest desired whole number, and FLOOR will round that number
down to the nearest desired whole number. All three formulas have the exact same structure, and you can
interchangeably use the three functions.

The following formula will round a number up, down or to the nearest 5:

=MROUND/CEILING/FLOOR(Function that calculates a number, whole number you would like to round to)

In the following example, we use the formula:

=MROUND(C4*C2,5)

Where C4 is the working percentage, C2 is the squat max, and 5 is the nearest whole number we want to
round to.

In the example above, you can see the result by using the various rounding formulas.

TIP: If you have access to smaller plates and would like to make smaller increments in the
weights, you can change the rounding number to the nearest 1 instead of the nearest 5.

38
 AVERAGE / MEDIAN / STANDARD DEVIATION

AVERAGE, MEDIAN and STDEV functions are used specifically in testing and data analysis sheets. Aver-
age will find the average of all the data, whereas Median will return the middle piece of data from the data
(in the case of an even number of data points, it will average the middle two and return that value). The
standard deviation will find the amount of variability within a set of data: the higher the number, the more
variability from top to bottom of a data set.

Both Functions follow the exact same type:

=AVERAGE/MEDIAN/STDEV(Data to analyze)

The average is great for seeing overall trends of the entire team, however it will be more affected by out-
liers. If you have one athlete with a result that is significantly higher or lower than the rest of the team, it
will negatively skew the data. The median will show the middle 50% data value, and thus is more represen-
tative of where the team scores lie.

All three pieces of information become more valuable in conjunction with each other, as opposed to having
any one piece alone.

Tip: This formula does not account for zeros or gaps in the data. To exclude zeros and
non-values from the result automatically so as not to skew the data, see the “Other Excel
Tricks” section!

39
 MEDIAN

A fundamental feature in using Excel is the ability to Merge & Un-merge Cells. Doing this will allow us to
adjust the template to look how we need it to look to properly display a program. To Merge Cells, simply
highlight the cells you wish to merge, and press “merge and center” from the menu bar.

Tip: All references to the merged cell must now be made to the cell that was at the top left.
In the example above, it was cell B2. You can see that reference by clicking on the cell, and
looking at the box to the left of the formula bar.

40
 STANDARD DEVIATION

A fundamental feature in using Excel is the ability to Merge & Un-merge Cells. Doing this will allow us to
adjust the template to look how we need it to look to properly display a program. To Merge Cells, simply
highlight the cells you wish to merge, and press “merge and center” from the menu bar.

Tip: All references to the merged cell must now be made to the cell that was at the top left.
In the example above, it was cell B2. You can see that reference by clicking on the cell, and
looking at the box to the left of the formula bar.

41
 MIN / MAX

A fundamental feature in using Excel is the ability to Merge & Un-merge Cells. Doing this will allow us to
adjust the template to look how we need it to look to properly display a program. To Merge Cells, simply
highlight the cells you wish to merge, and press “merge and center” from the menu bar.

Tip: All references to the merged cell must now be made to the cell that was at the top left.
In the example above, it was cell B2. You can see that reference by clicking on the cell, and
looking at the box to the left of the formula bar.

42
 IF STATEMENTS

A fundamental feature in using Excel is the ability to Merge & Un-merge Cells. Doing this will allow us to
adjust the template to look how we need it to look to properly display a program. To Merge Cells, simply
highlight the cells you wish to merge, and press “merge and center” from the menu bar.

Tip: All references to the merged cell must now be made to the cell that was at the top left.
In the example above, it was cell B2. You can see that reference by clicking on the cell, and
looking at the box to the left of the formula bar.

43
 IF STATEMENTS PT II

A fundamental feature in using Excel is the ability to Merge & Un-merge Cells. Doing this will allow us to
adjust the template to look how we need it to look to properly display a program. To Merge Cells, simply
highlight the cells you wish to merge, and press “merge and center” from the menu bar.

Tip: All references to the merged cell must now be made to the cell that was at the top left.
In the example above, it was cell B2. You can see that reference by clicking on the cell, and
looking at the box to the left of the formula bar.

44
 IF STATEMENTS PT III

A fundamental feature in using Excel is the ability to Merge & Un-merge Cells. Doing this will allow us to
adjust the template to look how we need it to look to properly display a program. To Merge Cells, simply
highlight the cells you wish to merge, and press “merge and center” from the menu bar.

Tip: All references to the merged cell must now be made to the cell that was at the top left.
In the example above, it was cell B2. You can see that reference by clicking on the cell, and
looking at the box to the left of the formula bar.

45
4

LEARNING EXCEL
CREATE YOUR TEMPLATE
The rest of this chapter is dedicated to the actual making of the train-
ing template. We are going to use many of the features, functions
and formulas discussed in the previous chapters in order to make
this template from scratch.

The first thing we need to do, however, is to answer a few questions

about what kind of template we actually want to make. Remember,
the training template is simply a display of information that you want
your athlete to receive. It must be specific to your training program,
philosophy and goals!

46
 GETTING STARTED
QUESTIONNAIRE

The first thing we need to get started with the template is to take a survey of the information we want to dis-
play. The next page displays a series of questions that you should answer before trying to create a tem-
plate: it will provide the answers you need to build the framework of the template.

Remember, in building the layout of the template, or the thing the athlete sees, we are simultaneously build-
ing our desired training protocol.

Whether you decide to choose 1 “main lift” or 4, do 3 supersets with every main lift or none, is going to
change what your template looks like and how you can program on it.

The following pages will have a few basic questions to keep in mind before moving on to creating your own
template.

The first thing we need to get started with the template is to take a survey of the information we want to dis-
play. The next page displays a series of questions that you should answer before trying to create a tem-
plate: it will provide the answers you need to build the framework of the template.

Remember, in building the layout of the template, or the thing the athlete sees, we are simultaneously build-
ing our desired training protocol.

Whether you decide to choose 1 “main lift” or 4, do 3 supersets with every main lift or none, is going to
change what your template looks like and how you can program on it.

The following pages will have a few basic questions to keep in mind before moving on to creating your own
template.

47
 Questionnaire:
Answer the following questions to help us get a feel for what your template needs to look like.
Remember, the design your training template is a function of HOW you write training programs.

• How is your usual workout structured?

• How many Main lifts do you do in a usual workout?

• How many accessory exercises do you do in a usual workout? (aim high)

• Do you do supersets with your main or accessory lifts?

Do you want preworkout/postworkout/notes or finisher boxes

• Do you want the template to display other information, such as goal, phase, cycle or sport?

48
• What lifts do you take maxes on (that you would use to calculate weights based on %?)

• Did you see any templates in the appendix that fit what you are looking for? (Inspiration)

• Do you have a specific periodization model or system you need to account for within the tem-
plate? (Contrast/Tier/etc)

As you can see, this information is going to affect what we build when we make the actual training
template. Next, we are going to create the layout using this information.

49
 GETTING STARTED
MAKING YOUR TEMPLATE

Now that we have the basic information set, we are going to make the actual template. The next page is go-
ing to be a true step by step checklist of what we are going to cover, followed by the individual steps ex-
plained in detail.

50
 GETTING STARTED
CHECKLIST

✓Set Margins to Zero

✓Set Template to Page Layout View

✓Resize roughly 100 columns to be

about .1”
✓

51
5

LEARNING EXCEL
OTHER TIPS & TRICKS
These tips and tricks will help you refine your template even more
with the features and functions you wnat.

52
 CHAPTER 1

• PUTTING A NAME AND A DATE IN ONE CELL

• SELECTING ALL BLANK COLUMNS IN A CELL

• USING LISTBOXES TO SHOW ATHLETE NAMES

• CONDITIONAL FORMATTING

• INSERTING RPE / MONITORING / READINESS

If you are comfortable with all of these formulas, feel free to skip to Chapter 5: Creating your template.

53
 ABSOLUTE VS RELATIVE REFERENCES

A fundamental feature in using Excel is the ability to Merge & Un-merge Cells. Doing this will allow us to
adjust the template to look how we need it to look to properly display a program. To Merge Cells, simply
highlight the cells you wish to merge, and press “merge and center” from the menu bar.

Tip: All references to the merged cell must now be made to the cell that was at the top left.
In the example above, it was cell B2. You can see that reference by clicking on the cell, and
looking at the box to the left of the formula bar.