Frameworks Episode 27 Recap: The Macro: Long-Term Program Design
Frameworks with Carl Hardwick | CoachRx Podcast Network
Why Thinking Long-Term Changes Everything
Welcome back to Frameworks, the show for coaches who want more than just reps and sets.
This week kicks off a 3-part series on program design that actually works long-term.
We’re zooming out before zooming in:
Ep 27 (Today): The Macro — the long-term story of a client’s training.
Ep 28: The Meso — how to structure cycles, progressions, and adaptation.
Ep 29: The Micro — how to write daily sessions that flow with purpose.
Because when you coach with the long game in mind, everything changes.
Your design stops being reactive and starts being directional.
Your clients stop chasing instant results and start seeing sustainable growth.
And your coaching starts to feel like what it was always meant to be, a system built on purpose, not pressure.
Coaching smarter means coaching longer-term.
The Macro Layer is where you step back and tell the story of your client’s development not just for this cycle or this month, but for the year ahead.
If you can’t explain where your client’s headed over the next 12 months, you’re not programming, you’re just writing workouts.
Frameworks
1. Define the Story
Every client is an n = 1.
They’re not a template, they’re a story you’re about to tell together.
Your first job: understand that story before you ever prescribe a single exercise.
Ask yourself:
Who are they now?
Who do they want to become?
What adaptations will bridge that gap?
This is why we built CoachRx around the natural coaching flow of:
Intake → Consult → Assess.
Each step brings more clarity:
Intake: collect goals, background, lifestyle, and logistics.
Consultation: uncover mindset, motivation, and barriers.
Assessment: discover capacities, limitations, and opportunities.
By the end, you don’t just have data you have direction.
You can show a client where they are, where they’re going, and what it’ll take to get there.
That’s the foundation of every great macro plan.
2. Plan in Seasons, Not Just Cycles
Most coaches think in 4-week blocks.
Great coaches think in seasons.
A season represents a distinct chapter in a client’s development long enough to create change, short enough to stay focused.
Think quarterly: each season builds on the last and prepares for the next.
Example Macro Progression:
Season 1: Motor Control + Aerobic Foundation
Season 2: Strength Endurance + Aerobic Progression
Season 3: Strength + Aerobic Power
Season 4: Strength Endurance + Aerobic Capacity
Each season compounds on the previous control before strength, volume before intensity, base before expression.
Inside CoachRx, you can:
Label each season and assign a primary adaptation focus.
Note what “success” looks like at the end of the season.
Use Cycle Notes to carry forward progressions logically from block to block.
When you plan this way, you stop rewriting programs every month.
Instead, you evolve one cohesive story, a client’s year of development.
Application: The Macro Reflection Framework
Use this reflection checklist to guide your design process:
What season of training is your client in right now?
What adaptation do they need to earn next?
How does this next season fit into their 12-month story?
Can you explain the “why” behind the next 3 months in one sentence?
Document your answers directly inside CoachRx , it becomes your North Star for all future decisions.
Close
When you design with a long-term lens, you move from reacting to leading.
You stop chasing the next fun block and start building systems that compound.
That’s the Macro Layer where clarity, connection, and progress begin.
Next week, we’ll move down one level to the Meso, where we’ll break down how to structure training cycles, progressions, and adaptations that make your macro plan come to life.
Listen to Episode 27 Now
▶️ Watch on YouTube
🎧 Listen on Spotify
📖 Catch up on past episodes + blog recaps
Have questions? DM Carl on Instagram @hardwickcarl
Frameworks is part of the CoachRx Podcast Network, your hub for principled, purpose-driven coaching conversations.
For more shows, visit: coachrx.app/podcast-network
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