In this topic, we focus on exercise selection within program design. You will learn about:
- The science behind exercise design
- When to target large muscles before smaller muscles
- When to use machine weights over free-weights.
Terminology and vocabulary reference guide
As an allied health professional, you need to be familiar with terms associated with basic exercise principles and use the terms correctly (and confidently) with clients, your colleagues, and other allied health professionals. You will be introduced to many terms and definitions. Add any unfamiliar terms to your own vocabulary reference guide.
Activities
There are activities throughout the topic and an end of the topic automated quiz. These are not part of your assessment but will provide practical experience that will help you in your work and help you prepare for your formal assessment.
The field and term “exercise science” implies just that, that there is a science behind exercising. Like most things in life, there is a right way and a wrong way, this extends to exercise selection and the order in which exercises should be performed.
We are aware that information such as reps, sets and what exercises need to be included in a program, that this information is required for the client’s knowledge to be able to actually perform their program safely and effectively, in order to achieve their goals, however, in what order they perform each exercise is also hugely important, for both successful achievement of their goals and also for their safety. No program worth its weight in gold is a mash-up of some quickly thrown together ideas, time must be spent giving each aspect of program design its due attention. Let us look more closely into the science behind exercise order.
The safety rule of thumb in regard to exercise order is to ensure large muscle groups are worked prior to small muscle groups, this implies compound exercises before isolated exercises. This is the general rule for the majority of program designs and the general athlete and may need to be modified in instances such as rehabilitation or bodybuilding, for example.
Why train large before small
Safety is key! Compound exercises involve multiple muscle groups which play a big part in the actual performance of the movement, therefore, for safety, these should not be fatigued prior to lifting heavy weights or performing more complex movement patterns. Additionally, they also mimic the real life movements performed within functional, day to day activities, for example, an item isn’t simply lifted by only the triceps, so lets train all the muscles used in an action to better increase the performance of the said action. With that being said, however, if the triceps were an area of concern and needed to be focused on, this could be done via both isolated and compound exercises (a compound exercise which targets the triceps like a diamond or close grip push-ups), followed by tricep pulldowns for example.
The theory behind compound before isolated exercises help to prevent fatigue of the prime movers (the large game playing muscles) prior to asking them to perform their work. Should they be fatigued, they will then be less able to perform optimally and therefore, more responsibility is placed on the smaller, more stabilising muscles. This is risky as their role is to the support and ensure a smooth performance of the movement: they are not there to perform the movement themselves. Imagine a client has a 100kg squat to perform as part of their routine. They can comfortably perform eight reps and three sets of this exercise, they also have a 20 min run on a treadmill, lat pull downs, push ups, bent over rows and calf raises to do within their routine. With this exercise plan in mind, it would be a scary idea if the client was expected to do the near max performance of 100kg squats towards the end of their program. Imagine how fatigued the muscles in their lower body would be and how risky that movement could be as a result. In a squat the quads, hamstrings and glutes play the largest role in the movement, with the supporting muscles including hip flexors and extensors, muscles of the core and lower back as well as hip abductors and adductors to a certain extent. Imagine, therefore, a client who is fatigued in the main, large muscle groups and then embarking on performing a 100kg squat. The pressure would be on the smaller more supportive muscles, literally! Ouch!
Other key reasons why it is of benefit to perform compound exercises before isolated include:
- They simulate real-life, functional movements
- More time-efficient: why work each muscle independently (unless you have to), when you can be efficient and train multiple at the same time? Less is more.
- Increases calorie burn: muscle activation stimulates hormone release, the bigger the muscle the larger the hormone release. This benefits both the work out itself and also the calorie burn achieved as a result
- Decreases the risk of injury when performing sports or other activities: muscles are strong therefore more capable
- Enables work to be performed for longer prior to muscle fatigue setting in: large muscles fatigue slower than smaller muscles
- Allows the build-up of strength and therefore the lifting of heavier weights.
Unless rehabilitation is the goal or to build up a particular muscle for the purposes of competition- who wouldn’t compound before isolating?
When to include machine weights and when to veer towards free-weights can often be a point of confusion when entering into the exercise world. Like everything, there is again a right way and a wrong way to plan which equipment type is incorporated into a program, there are also a few areas of overlap. Factors to consider when deciding between machines or free-weight include:
- skill levels
- energy levels
- muscle balance
Let us look at each of these in more detail.
Skill level
The client’s skill level in performing the selected movement is the primary point of consideration, safety is key! If a client is either new to exercising, returning after a significant period of time from a previous period of training or new to the specific exercise or movement pattern, placing them on a machine-based piece of equipment is a great place to start. From there a few aspects can be determined which will enable an accurate gauge of when to transition them onto free-weighted alternatives. Machine weights, whilst, to a certain extent prevent full functional movement patterns and do not typically activate as many muscles, they provide a safe and pre-determined movement pattern, allowing the body to become adjusted to what is expected of it prior to performing the movement in a more open manner such as with free-weights. For example, performing a leg press would be a safer method to use to determine their current skill and strength level then immediately placing a barbell on their back and asking them to perform it both safely and correctly. Machine weights provide an opportunity to assess and teach the technique prior to increasing the intensity of the exercise by upping the ante and placing them in a free-weighted situation. For example, it will be possible to check their movement pattern when using machine weights, watch and fine teach/fine-tune their technique prior to progressing the intensity of the exercise.
Alternatively, should a client be a well-conditioned individual who has been training regularly, it would, in theory, be suitable to place them in a free-weight environment either initially or much sooner than a newcomer. This is the judgement of the exercise professional. Clients may think they are more experienced than they are, which could be a pride factor, but safety should always be the priority. Never be afraid to educate your client and explain, whilst they may be hungry to lift the weights, starting on a machine, even if for one set or one session to begin with, is a good idea. With making it a joint decision, explaining the science and your rationale, they will perhaps be disappointed, however, they will be more likely to feel safe and trust your decisions knowing that their safety is always the first consideration
Energy levels
Fatigue can hit at any time for any reason, ranging from poor sleep, a stressful day at work/school or feeling fatigued after an exercise routine has begun. Energy levels are important as these tie back into safety. When energy levels decrease, the risk of injury or accident increases, and this is something to avoid in a training setting
In these types of scenarios, where the client feels tired, this would be a time to implement machine based alternatives to some or all of the pre-planned exercises, another reason why it is important to have a bank of alternative exercises in mind, in the likely event a program needs a slight tweak. Moving to a machine based exercise will ensure the client remains on track in terms of goals as training can continue, it will simply move to a safer method in the meantime. This rule can apply for all exercise enthusiasts, machine weight doesn’t imply skill level, used only for beginners, they are used by those who know what they are doing.
Muscle balance
Machine based exercises typically don’t activate the same number of muscles as their free-weighted alternatives, therefore, the quickest route to building muscle would be to jump off the machines, however, safety is key, this is worth repeating.
It is the role of the exercise professional to assess skill level and technique, a large component of this is supported by each required muscle group playing their own role. Should individuals have a muscular imbalance, for reasons such as an injury or poorly activated muscle groups, machines would be a safer environment to isolate and stimulate that muscle group in a more targeted fashion. For example, a client may be proficient in performing a barbell squat to a certain weight, they may then show signs of injury or fatigue. This may be due to say, the quads being more dominant than the hamstring group (or vice versa), leaving the quads to meet more than their share of the muscular demands while the hamstrings lag behind. This would be an example of a scenario where the client could perform additional hamstring specific exercises on a machine and gradually re-introduce the barbell.
In this topic, we focused on exercise selection within program design. You learnt about:
- The science behind exercise design
- When to target large muscles before smaller muscles
- When to use machine weights over free-weights
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