6.4 Exercise selection and order
4 min read•august 14, 2024
Exercise selection and order are crucial in strength training program design. Choosing the right exercises and arranging them effectively can maximize gains and minimize injury risk. This topic explores how to pick exercises that align with your goals and how to structure your workouts for optimal results.
Foundational compound movements like squats and deadlifts should form the core of most programs. These exercises recruit more muscle fibers and produce greater force than isolation moves. The order of exercises matters too, with complex, power-based movements typically performed early in a session when you're fresh.
Exercise selection principles
Foundational compound exercises
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- Compound, multi-joint exercises should form the foundation of strength training programs
- Allow for the greatest total force production and muscle fiber recruitment
- Examples include squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows
- Free weight exercises are generally preferred over machines for athletic development
- Require greater stabilization and more closely mimic real-world movements
- Examples include barbell back squats, dumbbell bench press, and standing cable rows
Specificity and balance
- Selection of exercises should follow the principle of
- Align with an individual's goals, sport, or activities of daily living
- Examples: Olympic lifts for power athletes, bench press for powerlifters
- A balance of push and pull movements is necessary for muscular balance and injury prevention
- Include exercises targeting all major muscle groups
- Examples: Pair chest presses with rows, and squats with deadlifts
- must be applied over time to continually drive strength adaptations
- Increase load, repetitions, sets, or training frequency
- Example: Increase squat weight by 5 lbs every week while maintaining proper form
Prioritizing exercises for goals
Goal-specific exercise prioritization
- Exercises with the greatest carryover to an individual's goals or sport should be prioritized
- Perform these exercises early in the training session when fatigue levels are lowest
- Examples: Prioritize squats for a weightlifter, or bench press for a powerlifter
- Foundational should take precedence over single-joint
- Examples: Prioritize squats and deadlifts over leg extensions and curls
Individual considerations
- An individual's current training status, injury history, and movement capabilities influence exercise selection
- May necessitate regressions or modifications to lifts
- Examples: Substituting box squats for back squats, or using a neutral grip for pull-ups
- Strengthening exercises targeting an individual's weakest movement patterns or muscle groups should be prioritized
- Helps correct imbalances and avoid injury
- Examples: Focusing on glute bridges to address weak hip extension in a runner
Exercise order in strength training
Sequencing based on muscle groups and complexity
- Large muscle group, compound exercises should generally be performed before smaller muscle group, isolation exercises
- Examples: Perform squats before leg extensions, or bench press before tricep pushdowns
- Power-based exercises requiring high rates of force production and full recovery are most effectively trained early in the session
- Examples include Olympic lifts, plyometrics, and medicine ball throws
- Technical, coordination-intensive lifts should be prioritized before less complex exercises
- Can be adequately performed when fatigue levels are higher
- Examples: Perform snatches before dumbbell rows, or clean and jerks before lateral raises
Pairing exercises and progressing within a session
- Exercises are commonly paired by agonist/antagonist muscle groups or upper/lower body
- Minimizes localized fatigue
- Examples: Pair chest presses with rows, or squats with pull-ups
- Within a muscle group, exercises should progress from most challenging or fatiguing to least
- Maintains performance and proper technique
- Example: Perform deadlifts before Romanian deadlifts or good mornings
Training specificity for goal achievement
Resistance training for hypertrophy and strength
- Resistance training for hypertrophy should emphasize higher volumes and moderate loads
- Perform exercises through a full range of motion
- Examples: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps with 60-80% 1RM for exercises like squats, bench press, and rows
- Training for maximal strength should incorporate lower repetition ranges and higher intensities
- Focus on multi-joint exercises that allow for the greatest force production
- Examples: 3-5 sets of 1-5 reps with 85-100% 1RM for exercises like deadlifts, squats, and presses
Power and endurance training
- Power development requires explosive exercises with light to moderate loads
- Maximize rate of force development and contractile velocity
- Examples: Olympic lifts, jump squats, and medicine ball throws for 3-5 sets of 1-5 reps
- Endurance training necessitates higher repetitions and shorter
- Select exercises specific to the movements and duration of the target activity
- Examples: with bodyweight exercises or light weights for 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps
Key Terms to Review (18)
Athlete's experience level: Athlete's experience level refers to the classification of an athlete based on their training history, skill proficiency, and overall exposure to various physical activities. Understanding an athlete's experience level is crucial when determining appropriate exercise selection and order, as it influences how exercises are prescribed and the overall intensity and complexity of training programs tailored to the individual's capabilities.
Circuit Training: Circuit training is a form of exercise that combines a series of strength and aerobic exercises performed in sequence with minimal rest between them. This method is designed to improve both muscular strength and cardiovascular fitness, making it an efficient way to work out. By selecting specific exercises and arranging them in a particular order, circuit training can target various muscle groups and energy systems, contributing to overall fitness.
Compound exercises: Compound exercises are movements that engage multiple muscle groups and joints simultaneously, making them effective for building strength and coordination. These exercises not only promote functional fitness but also enhance metabolic demand, allowing for improved calorie burning and muscle growth. They often form the foundation of strength training programs due to their efficiency in targeting various areas of the body in a single motion.
Exercise efficacy: Exercise efficacy refers to an individual's belief in their ability to successfully engage in exercise and achieve desired outcomes from that activity. This concept plays a crucial role in exercise adherence and motivation, impacting how individuals select and order exercises in their training routines to maximize results.
Exercise variation: Exercise variation refers to the systematic alteration of training variables, such as exercise selection, intensity, volume, and rest periods, to enhance performance and prevent plateaus. It is crucial for creating diverse training programs that keep athletes engaged while maximizing strength gains and minimizing the risk of injury.
Isolation Exercises: Isolation exercises are strength training movements that target a specific muscle group, allowing for focused development of that particular area. These exercises are distinct from compound movements, which engage multiple muscle groups at once, and are often used to improve muscle definition, balance muscle strength, and aid in rehabilitation by allowing for controlled movement patterns.
Muscle fatigue: Muscle fatigue is the decline in the ability of a muscle to generate force or power, often resulting from prolonged or intense physical activity. This phenomenon is influenced by several factors, including metabolic changes, depletion of energy substrates, and neural adaptations that affect motor unit recruitment. Understanding muscle fatigue helps in optimizing training methods, exercise selection, and endurance testing strategies.
Performance outcomes: Performance outcomes refer to the measurable results achieved from training and exercise programs, reflecting an individual's effectiveness in executing physical tasks. These outcomes provide a clear assessment of improvements in areas such as strength, endurance, speed, and overall athletic ability, allowing for the evaluation of training effectiveness and exercise selection.
Periodization: Periodization is a systematic approach to training that involves dividing a training program into specific time periods or cycles, each with distinct goals and training focuses. This strategy helps athletes optimize their performance and recovery by varying the intensity, volume, and types of exercises over time to prevent plateaus and overtraining.
Progressive Overload: Progressive overload is a training principle that involves gradually increasing the demands placed on the body during exercise to promote continued adaptation and improvements in strength, endurance, and overall fitness. This concept is crucial in various areas of strength and conditioning, ensuring that athletes consistently challenge their bodies to adapt and improve performance over time.
Push-Pull Training: Push-pull training is a strength training approach that alternates between exercises that target opposing muscle groups, specifically pushing movements and pulling movements. This method not only promotes balanced muscle development but also allows for efficient recovery by working one group while the other is engaged in rest. By structuring workouts in this way, individuals can enhance performance and reduce the risk of injury.
Repetition maximum: Repetition maximum, often abbreviated as RM, is the maximum amount of weight that a person can lift for a specific number of repetitions with good form. This concept is vital for determining exercise intensity, designing resistance training programs, and assessing an individual's strength level. Understanding repetition maximum helps in selecting the right exercises and order during workouts and is crucial for optimizing training aimed at improving muscular endurance.
Rest Intervals: Rest intervals refer to the periods of recovery time taken between sets of exercises or training bouts. These intervals are crucial as they allow the body to recover partially, helping to restore energy levels, remove metabolic byproducts, and prepare for subsequent efforts. Adjusting rest intervals can significantly affect performance outcomes, whether focusing on strength, speed, cardiovascular endurance, or muscular endurance.
Specificity: Specificity refers to the principle that training adaptations are specific to the type of exercise performed and the energy systems used during that exercise. This concept emphasizes that to improve a particular skill or fitness component, the training must closely match the demands of that skill or component.
Superset: A superset is a training technique that involves performing two exercises back-to-back with minimal or no rest in between. This method can be used to target the same muscle group for increased intensity or different muscle groups for enhanced workout efficiency. Supersets can help save time, increase workout volume, and provide a greater stimulus for muscle growth and endurance.
Training Goals: Training goals are specific objectives that guide an individual's exercise and conditioning program. These goals help define what a person aims to achieve through their training, such as increasing strength, improving endurance, or enhancing overall fitness. Clear training goals also inform exercise selection and order, ensuring that the workouts are structured effectively to reach those objectives.
Training volume: Training volume refers to the total amount of work performed in a training session or over a specified period, typically quantified by the total number of sets, repetitions, and weights lifted. It is a crucial factor in designing effective training programs as it helps in determining the intensity and frequency of workouts, impacting the athlete's performance and recovery.
Upper-lower split: An upper-lower split is a workout routine that divides training sessions into two distinct categories: upper body exercises and lower body exercises. This method allows athletes to target specific muscle groups on separate days, facilitating more focused training while also allowing for adequate recovery for each muscle group between sessions.