“Gym people”.
These glorious humans have somehow cracked the code on waking up obscenely early, getting in an hour-long sweat session, and then — can you imagine? — enjoying a protein shake.
We poke fun at them, but deep down, I think we’re all curious: how did they do it? How did they go from binging Baywatch on the couch to looking like they stepped off the set of the show?
RELATED: The Ultimate Trainer’s Guide to the Project Ares Gym
“Hard work and dedication,” we’re told.
And we think, “Well, I can do that!”
So, we head to the gym and try not to stare at all the Dwayne Johnsons around us. We wander around, pretending we know what we’re doing; we pick up a weight or two, pose with a machine, and lay on a yoga mat to contort our bodies into that downward dog back-breaker we saw our niece doing during Thanksgiving, then we hit the sauna and call it a day.
But after a week of this with no visible results, we’re annoyed, disappointed, and worst of all, we’re out a hundred bucks. We shrug and assume we just missed out on inheriting those “super fit” genes like the jacked genetic jackpots around us. But actually, we only missed out on something surprisingly easy to come by: a training plan.
The New Dwaynes
Fast forward a few months and you’ve got this workout routine down. You started one day at a time to make a commitment to yourself and with small changes, you cracked the code!
Now, you’re the Dwayne Johnson starring at the newbie gym-goer who’s busy trying not to stare at you. And you can see their aimlessly-wandering mistakes a mile away.
- They get overwhelmed. They don’t know what equipment to use or even how to use it. They’re bound to feel confused and frustrated, but they don’t ask for help because they feel like they should “just know” what to do.
- They develop bad habits. In an effort to force results without guidance, they use equipment in ways that are inefficient at best and downright detrimental at worst.
- They lose steam. With high expectations and a low return on their financial investment, they’re getting frustrated and disappointed fast. Why should they keep showing up if nothing’s happening?
Check Out Our Curriculum Guide
The Personal Trainer
In every gym, you’ll find a variety of Personal Trainers: people who assess the current abilities of their clients, evaluate their clients’ goals, and then offer a plan that builds a bridge between that coveted “before” and “after” photo.
And the Project Ares cyber gym is no different!
As a Trainer in Project Ares, you’ll take all kinds of ideas into account in order to help your students make the virtual gains of their cyber training dreams. (More on that next week 
).
And as a result, the plan that you ultimately create with them in mind will be tailored to exactly what they need, exactly when they need it to put them on a one-way trip to their future cyber triathlon.
Great!
…how?
Which Training Plan is Right for You?
Okay, the value of a training plan is clear but what kinds of trainers use them? Is there a plan out there specifically for you?
This is where we come in!
While it’s true that each individual Trainer in the Project Ares gym is as different as each individual person, we’ve noticed that most Trainers tend to fall into one of these three categories:
The Self-Starter
The Self-Starter makes sure the only fingerprints on their training plan are their own. They’ve either already built it themselves or they’re in the process of building it, and now all they need is a training ground with equipment to make their plan a reality.
The Project Ares Cyber Curriculum Guide provides information about all the scenarios with details like lab hints and videos accessible to Trainer roles. We got you covered!
The Visionary
The Visionary has a fabulous final goal (aka learning objective) for their students to achieve and makes use of a time-saving collaboration with Project Ares experts to tailor a training plan specific to them and their students. Using Project Ares to deliver a purposeful training experience to students takes some prep work. If you already have a cyber training outline developed and are adding Project Ares labs to it, we can help save you some time so you can get back to teaching!
The Diver
The Diver is passionate about training and gets started as soon as possible! This Trainer uses a tried-and-tested, pre-built Project Ares training program so they can hop right into getting their students from “before” to “after”.Working with our teaching partner, Phase2 Advantage, you can bring your cyber gym students pre-packaged cyber certification courses in incident response, digital forensics, or security operations, all of which include labs in Project Ares. It’s a win-win!
So no matter whether you prefer to design your plan from scratch, DIY it, or grab it off the shelf, the Project Ares gym can take it. Show us what you’ve got!
Final Thoughts
Here’s what it comes down to.
To help your students be the best, you have to give them the best. And how do you do that? By making a plan.
Your students need to know how much time to put in, what they’ll do with that time, and ultimately learn how to navigate the gym without you.
Because if they don’t, they won’t be able to become the “Cyber Dwayne Johnson” we all know they can be.
With a step-by-step plan that outlines what your students will do every day, complete with equipment training, practice sessions, and mini-celebrations along the way, the only thing left to stand in their way is themselves.
