Get Results, Or Die
Trying
Progression is the
name of the game, to which every single decision, as it relates to a strength
training program, should be built upon. Progression in this context is best
quantified by the following criteria – this criteria also happens to determine
whether an exercise can be classified as one with a high, or low, rate of return
on investment (ROI), and if it has a lot of room to grow (how high it’s
‘ceiling’ is):
·
An increase in the amount of weight lifted for a given number of
reps
·
An increase in the amount of reps performed with a given amount of
weight
·
Increased density – performing the same amount of work in less
time, or performing more work in same amount of time
*The first two best
categorize an exercise’s room to grow, while all three can effectively gauge an
exercise’s rate of ROI in relation to the goal.
The purpose of any training
program/session should be to make improvements in one, if not all, of the above
areas – although improvements in each area can’t be expected every workout, an
increase in any one of them should be the goal, as that would be considered
satisfactory to most, depending on your current level of fitness (beginners
being more likely to make progress across the board, while experienced lifters
are less likely to do so).
To ensure
progression, not only do you need an effective progression model, to which all
training parameters are based upon, but you must also select the exercises that
offer the greatest opportunity to experience such progression – those which
provide the most return per investment of time/effort.
The rate/frequency
in which an exercise can be ‘progressed’, as defined by the criteria above,
determines its rate of ROI value. The more often it can meet the progression
criteria, the greater it’s rate of ROI. If it can’t meet the progression
criteria frequently, its rate of ROI is lower and therefore should not be the
cornerstone in which a routine is built around.
Return On Investment
(ROI) – You Don’t Get What You Put In
An imbalanced
relationship exists between input and output – you don’t always ‘get what you
put in’. If that was the case, then it wouldn’t matter which exercises were
performed, just as long as some were used, the results would be the same as
doing anything else, but this just isn’t the case. In fact, in some cases you
may put in a lot more and end up with a lot less, and in other cases you may
put in a little and get back a lot. This is especially true as it relates to
exercises, and exercise selection.
For example, there
are a seemingly infinite amount of exercises designed to strengthen and develop
each muscle group, but the result (ROI) from doing each of them can differ
dramatically, as some exercises simply have more ‘room to grow’ than others.
Therefore, it is of great importance to identify which exercises heavily tip
the scale in favor of offering the greatest rate of return per investment of
time and effort, for you.
Room To Grow
As stated above, the
height of an exercise’s ceiling, defines its room to grow – height meaning the ability,
and frequency, in which weight can be added, or more reps can be performed.
Exercises that allow for the largest, most consistent increases in the amount
of weight used, or reps performed, have the most room to grow, as they have a
relatively high ceiling – these are cornerstone exercises which routines should
be built around.
On the flip side, if
an exercise has a ‘cap’ on how much weight can be used, or how many reps can be
performed with a given amount of weight, then it has much less room to grow, as
they have a relatively low ceiling.
Practical Illustration
Here are some
practical examples to help illustrate the point – on the left are exercises
that offer a low ROI, with little room to grow, and on the right are exercises
designed to target the same muscle group with a high ROI, with greater room to
grow:
·
Leg Extension/Lunge Variations – Squat/Front Squat
·
Flat/Incline/Decline Dumbell Flye/Cable Crossover/Pec-Deck –
Flat/Incline/Decline Barbell Press
·
Straight-arm pulldown – Pull-Up/Chin-Up
·
Lateral/Front/Bent-Over Dumbell Raise – Overhead Barbell/Dumbell
Press
·
Pressdown/Kickback – Close-Grip Barbell Press/Dips
While this is not a
complete list, there are some commonalities that can be misleading, standing
out among them is that the exercises on the left are primarily isolation
movements, some performed with cables or machines, while the exercises on the
left are all free/body-weight, compound movements.
This is not to
suggest that isolation movements, or those performed with cables or machines, have
no place in a strength training program, but rather that they should be used secondarily
to exercises which provide a much greater rate of ROI, as long as they serve a
specific purpose (to pre-exhaust for example).
Cable and machine
based exercises are relatively capped in terms of home much weight can be used,
as they are limited by how much weight the machine can hold, or the amount of
plates above the lowest pin position on the cable stack. While it is possible
to use some creativity and come up with ways to attach more weight to a cable stack
or machine, this is a rather shortsighted perspective, as it does not change
the fact that these exercises simply have a lower ceiling than compound
free/body-weight exercises.
How To Evaluate The
Value Of An Exercise
An exercise is
easily evaluated by asking the right questions – these questions being:
·
Highlight a baseline by asking – How much weight, or how many reps
with a certain weight, can I perform now?
It’s important to
know where you’re at now, as it will influence the answers of the following questions.
·
Identify an exercise’s ceiling, and rate of ROI, by asking – Assuming
a plateau is avoided by following an effective progression model, how much more
weight, or reps, is it possible to perform in 1, 5, and/or 10, year(s) from
now?
Some examples of
exercises with a high ceiling, and high rate of ROI are the bench press, squat,
and deadlift. The amount of strength that can be gained, determined by how much
more weight can be lifted, is generally very high, especially compared to
baseline numbers. With a well-planned progression model, it’s not uncommon to
be able to increase bench, squat, and deadlift numbers by several hundred lbs.
Some examples of
exercises with a low ceiling, and low rate of ROI are the flyes, lateral/front
raises, and pressdowns. The amount of strength that can be gained, determined
by how much more weight can be lifted, is generally very low for these
exercises in comparison with baseline numbers. Even with the most effective
progression model, it’s not likely to be able to increase flye, lateral, or pressdown
numbers by even 50 lbs.
·
Further evaluate by asking – How much of a difference will it make
if is possible to make a substantial amount of progress (lift more weight,
perform more reps) on this exercise?
Just because it may
be possible to make substantial and considerable improvements in terms of
lifting greater amounts of weight, or perform a greater amount of reps than is
currently possible, does not mean an exercise is of high value. Improving by
leaps and bounds for exercises with a relatively short range of motion (ex.
calf raises), or which stimulate a relatively small amount of muscle mass (ex.
leg extensions) won’t make much of a difference to the end result.
On the flip side,
just because an exercise has a small range of motion, or stimulates a
relatively small amount of muscle mass, does not mean it is of low value,
especially if the musculature in question does not receive relative optimal
tension during cornerstone movements (ex. leg curls). This is an example of an
exercise with a low ceiling and rate of ROI which has a specific purpose for
being a part of a training program, and can have a profound effect on the end
result.
·
Further identify an exercise’s rate of ROI by asking – If an
exercise has a low ceiling, and not much room to grow in terms of being able to
increase the weight or reps, is it at least possible to decrease the amount of time
it takes to perform the work, or perform more work in the same amount of time?
If an exercise has
been ‘maxed out’, and adding weight is simply out of the question, and the reps
are already as high as can be without having a counterproductive training
effect, the only real value an exercise can have as part of a training program
is to increase the demand placed on an isolated compartment of a muscle, which
is done by increasing the density of the workout. When the density can no
longer be increased (as the rest intervals can only be decreased so much before
it negatively affects performance, if it doesn’t, you’re basically performing
one really long set which would indicate that a heavier load can likely be used)
a safe bet is to increase the weight by a small margin and start over.
Are You Buying In To
What You Are Doing?
For some, this
perspective on the importance of exercise selection may completely change, for
the better, the way you shape your workouts, while for others, this may
reinforce that you’re time and effort is being invested in the most effective
way possible. In either case, the greatest benefit that could possibly come
from knowing, and understanding this information, is increased buy-in to your
training which comes from knowing you’re time and energy is being spent wisely.
Buying-in to your training is created by better understanding why what you’re
doing works, or is going to work. The greater you buy-in to what you’re doing,
the is greater effort you put in, and when you put in maximum effort, in
conjunction with selecting the exercises which provide the greatest return, they
combine for a greater end result, and ultimately provide the best possible return
on your investment of time and effort.
If you have any
questions about which movements may provide the most return per investment of
time, feel free to contact me at ben@paramounttraining.ca. I'm available for
online consulting and personalized program design, as well as one on one
training if you are located in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
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