No One-Size-Fits-All: The Science of Selecting the Right Exercise for You
Sajjad Hossain Snigdho
ISSA Certified Running Coach | Marathon Runner | Running & Fitness Coach | Helping busy professionals to achieve their desired fitness.
Just Imagine, You're a passionate distance runner, dreaming of conquering the marathon world. For that, You're giving it your all, pushing your limits. You're doing almost every day heavyweight training & short Sprints! And you think that it makes you a better marathon runner but suddenly you discover you are gaining weight, becoming muscular and you are losing your endurance. What this means despite doing heavy training every day?
Give you another example for a better understanding, look you are a goalkeeper who training with your teammate who played as a winger. You both are training together and you followed your teammate in whatever he did. Like he runs a lot and you also follow it. Now in the game, you see that your teammate doing fantastic but can't perform your best. The agony of giving your all and not seeing the desired results can be soul-crushing. So where's the problem?
In both scenarios, the problem is not doing enough training the actual problem is selecting the right exercise for the right person. In 1st case be a good marathon runner you need to run more long and easy. In the 2nd case, As you are the goalkeeper you don't have to run too much because in the match very rarely you need to run. But as a goalkeeper, you need to have flexibility, agility, driving skills, and quick reaction time. So you need to do different workouts & goalkeeping drills for this specific reason. Yes, some of the training will be the same but not everything.
There is why no one-size-fits-all exercise routine that works for everyone. But now the question is how I can select the specific workouts for me or my clients. Let's deep dive into the process of how I can find the right exercise for the right person.
According to Andy Galpin, a highly respected expert in human performance and a Professor of Kinesiology at California State University, Fullerton, there are seven modifiable variables that determine the appropriate type of exercise for specific sports or fitness goals. These variables are as follows:
So, Before delving into the specifics of the seven modifiable variables, it's important to understand how to design an effective exercise program. To do this, it's crucial to follow the SAID (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand) Principle. This principle asserts that the body adapts to the specific demands placed upon it, and so exercise programs must be designed with specific goals in mind.
Need Analysis :
And To create a program that effectively targets specific goals, a NEED (Needs, Exercises, Evaluation, and Determination) Analysis must be conducted. This involves identifying the client's or individual's specific needs, selecting exercises that are most effective for achieving those goals, evaluating progress and making adjustments as necessary, and determining how to best optimize the program for continued progress.
In this picture, let's say I need is to become a better runner for this reason I need to go through 5 steps sequentially:
Program Goals:
Identifying your goals is the most crucial part of selecting what kind of exercise you need to do. So programming your goals have 3 parts a. Big Goal, b. Defenders, c. Mini Goals
let's give you an example for a better understanding -
Big Goals: I am a marathon Runner and I want to maximize my performance and reduce my timing in the Upcoming Tata Mumbai Marathon Race 2023.
Defenders: But I have a serious issue with my running posture, I have gained some body fat and issues with my left calves muscle.
Mini Goals: For Improving running posture by doing running drills, Reducing body fat by having a proper diet, and doing specific strength training for the lower body to fix the issues.
Now it is probably clear to you that doing according to your goal you need to find the defenders to do more precise training and enhance your performance. And finding defenders and setting mini-goals depends on the individuals and sports.
In Sports, you need to look out for these couple of things:
In Athlete's perspective you need to look out for these couple of things:
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In short, this is all about identifying your goals and your defenders. Now the main part comes, To design an effective exercise program, identify your goals and understand your body's needs. Then, select appropriate exercises and tailor your program using the seven modifiable variables: choice, order, frequency, progression, intensity, volume, and rest. This ensures your program is efficient and effective, maximizing benefits while minimizing risk of injury. Lets discuss on variables -
Choice:
Choice is one of the seven modifiable variables that determine the effectiveness of an exercise program. It involves selecting exercises that are most relevant and effective for achieving desired outcomes. By choosing exercises that are tailored to your specific needs and goals, you can ensure that your program is optimized for success.
For a marathon runner, the choice variable would involve selecting exercises that focus on developing the necessary endurance and cardiovascular fitness required for long-distance running. This might include exercises such as distance runs, tempo runs, and interval training, as well as strength training exercises that target the core, hips, and legs to improve running form and efficiency.
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Order (within a day ) :
Like I have 3 types of training which are Tempo Run, Core Training and Breathing Excercise. Now the question is which one do I need to do 1st. Like If I do the Core Training 1st then It might create some fatigue before doing Tempo runs which is the main target. But I do a tempo run 1st then there is nothing compromising. That's how the following order is important.
Frequency:
Frequency is simply the number of times an exercise is performed in a given time period. Like in Marathon training How many time you do easy runs in a week and how many times do you do intervals? If your interval run frequency is too high then it might cause injury and therefore you cant achieve your goals. That's why by adjusting the frequency of each exercise to optimize training benefits and minimize the risk of injury, the runner can tailor their program for success.
Volume, Intensity & Rest :
These three variables are closely connected to each other and selecting each one depends on your goals. Like if you want to be a good marathon runner then you will do weight training in low volume and high intensity with short resting time. At the same time if some want to gain muscle then high volume less intensity with more rest. Usually, volume and intensity have an inverse relationship.
Progression :
Progression means gradually increasing the difficulty or intensity of an exercise over time to ensure continued adaptation and improvement. One of the basic thumb rules is progressively increasing the volume or intensity of an exercise by not more than 10%. In Progression, you need to balance SAID and LTAD ( Long Term Athletic Development), and maximize adherence. So in the progression period, you need to balance your workout stress and recovery for minimizing injury and optimizing your performance.
In a short, this is all about the modifiable variable. Hopefully, you understand how to select an exercise and how to incorporate it. But now comes another important thing which are you select the exercise and all the things but how can you adapt it because without adaptation you cant sustain and perform better.
Adaptations :
The concept of adaptation is a fundamental principle of exercise physiology and is central to the development of effective exercise programs. When the body is exposed to regular physical stress or training, it adapts by improving its ability to meet the demands of that stress. This may involve changes such as increased muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility, as well as improvements in cardiovascular fitness and other physiological systems. By understanding the process of adaptation, athletes and trainers can design exercise programs that optimize training benefits and minimize the risk of injury or overtraining. There are 6 basic adaptations for physical training.
In different types of cases, you need to adapt to different things. Let's see If Someone wants to reduce fat then you don't need to adopt speed and power training. Because without it Proper nutrition & strength, Hypertrophy, and endurance training can give you the optimum results that you want. But in case you want to run fast and long then probably adopt the hypertrophy exercise not ideal for you because it will gain your muscle mass and make you heavy. Again if you are in the rehab process then you don't need to adopt speed and power initially because it can cause reinjury. So according to your goal, you need to adopt these things which eventually bring your performance.
Performance:
Now come to the performance part, as we already know how to select an exercise for individuals and which are things we need to lookafter for designing a program. Understanding your or your client's body type is one of the most important things which depends on lots of variables like age, sex, training experience, and lots of things that I already cover, and you need to identify the goals and defenders. After identifying the goals and defenders then you go precisely with the modifiable variables and design the program according to adaptation and that's how you can bring optimal performance then after a period (periodization) again you need to go through the NEED Analysis. That's how you can gradually increase your or your client's performance.
Yes, Choosing the right exercise program can be complex, but working with a coach or mentor can help identify your needs and design a tailored program for success. By understanding the seven modifiable variables and following the SAID principle, you can create an efficient and effective program that optimizes benefits and minimizes the risk of injury. And By working with an expert, you can ensure that your program is optimized for success and avoids common mistakes & injuries. I hope this article has helped you better understand how to select an exercise program that works for you. If you have any experience with selecting exercises, please share your thoughts in the comments below.
And of course, If you have any questions or would like personalized coaching, please don't hesitate to reach out through mail or inbox. Thank you for reading!