Words matter: they have the capacity to shape our perspective – and two words that pervade the strength and conditioning world are planning and programming. Military leaders have long understood the challenges of complexity: it is rarely the grand plan that wins the battle, but rather the agile execution of adaptable plans. Indeed, in the words of 19th century German Field Marshall Helmuth von Moltke: ‘no plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy’s main strength’.