Choosing the Best Exercises (Programming Pt. 2)

So we can crunch the numbers, and expertly create your workout plan, but choosing the right exercises for your body is how you can really bring your workout plan to the next level. While we could spend a lifetime over analyzing force vectors, your bodies mechanics, and your recruitment tendencies, doing so is a head spin of analyzing and we may forget the entire point of choosing the right exercises for you. The right exercises really can be quite simple. Which can you feel? Which exercises help you find the squeeze? Which exercises are pain free? Which gives you the greatest pumps?

As with many concepts in fitness, we may spend entirely too much time spinning our wheels and fall into the trap of paralysis by analysis. The truth is any exercise done with intensity will likely elicit some change. Yet blindly picking exercises just to fill in the gaps may leave some gains on the table. So what’s the right call here?

First, let’s consider exercise types. Let’s look at 2 types of exercises, compound and isolation. Compound lifts refer to exercises that require movement of multiple joints. These exercises may likely hit several muscles or groups of muscles. Compound lifts tend to be fatiguing and require a high level of recovery to recover and bring growth. They can be excellent lifts because they are efficient by hitting many different muscles. Compound lifts give us excellent whole body strength gains and can pack muscle on very effectively if the lift is done in a controlled and well executed manner. While we may be quick to load up our workout program with lots of compound lifts, we also may run into a recovery deficit very quickly. The body can only take so much stimulus at one training session. Isolation lifts are those that require movement about 1 joint. These typically work one muscle at a time, or a few muscles in a group at once. These lifts are more precise. They deliver an excellent stimulus, yet usually to only a small area. The recovery needed for these exercises is typically much lower. 

The best workout programs include a combination of both compound and isolation exercises. I recommend starting with compound lifts to be able to put as much energy into the big lifts as possible and give the largest stimulus before moving into less fatiguing isolation lifts. This isn’t always the case, however, for simplicity’s sake let’s look at ordering exercises in this manner. Think about a workout as a construction project. Compound lifts are the sledge hammer and isolation lifts are the chisel. Here are some examples of compound exercises and their isolation counterparts.

Compound Isolation

Hack squat Leg extension

Hip thrust Kick back

Bench press Cable chest fly

Overhead press Lateral raise

Barbell row Dumbbell pullover

Stiff leg deadlift Leg curl

The best lift combination for most is a few compound lifts and a few isolation lifts. We need to keep in mind the challenge level of both of these exercises. So we may not want to load too many compound lifts, especially if our recovery is not optimal. Start with a compound lifts at 30-50% of the whole workout. If your program leans heavier on compound lifts you may want to control the total volume of that lift. Higher level lifters may be able to handle more compound lifts in a program. However, higher level lifters often need a much higher load for a good stimulus, so often as the load to create a stimulus becomes high, the recovery need may increase substantially. The best way to improve and create the perfect level of stimulus while controlling load increases is becoming more precise and effective with each set. These concepts may be the topic of later blogs as we get more advanced with strategy and knowledge. 

The next concept we need to dial in on is finding the right lifts for your body. For example, we are probably all aware that a bench press is a chest exercise, right? Well, for many the bench press can be problematic on the shoulder joint. It may also elicit a weak stimulus to some as well. Some tend to press weight more with the front part of their shoulder and triceps rather than their chest. Bench press is also a compound lift that has a relatively high recovery load. So if we are trying to program a chest exercise, bench press for many may actually be a poor choice. For these reasons I encourage you to try different lifts out. What is the target muscle of this lift? Then go try it out? Can you feel the stretch and squeeze on the target muscle? Are you able to get a pump in the target muscle with a few sets? If not, that’s probably a poor choice for you. Make notes of each lift and how they work with your body. Don’t fall into the trap of just picking exercises you are good or strong at. That may just mean you are strong at doing them with muscles that aren’t the target. Then determine if they are a compound or isolation lift? Label them in 2-3 levels of effectiveness. Let green indicate a lift that absolutely lights up the target muscle. Yellow could indicate some tension on the target and red can indicate no tension and be eliminated from your exercise choice. Let’s start with some basic lifts and define their target muscles. Try these lifts out and label them on their level of effectiveness. We will decide below if these are compound or isolation exercises. Compound exercises will be in BOLD. Some muscles have, almost exclusively, isolation lifts such as the muscles of the extremities (calves and arms). Practice trying to feel each muscle. This is a higher level skill but one to master if you want to get the most stimulus from the least amount of work.

Chest Back (lats)

Bench press Barbell rows (underhand grip)

Incline bench press Barbell row (overhand grip)

Cable fly (high to low) Dumbbell row

Machine fly T-bar row

Dumbbell fly Cable row

Incline dumbbell fly Machine row

Shoulders Back (upper/teres)

Overhead Dumbbell press Wide pulldown

Dumbbell lateral raises Narrow pulldown

Incline press Pull ups

Front raises Cable or dumbbell pullover

Upright row Machine pulldown

Quads Hamstrings

Hack squat Romanian deadlift

Barbell squat Stiff leg deadlift

Bulgarian split squat Lying leg curl

Leg extension Seated leg curl

Leg press Barbell or machine hip thrust

Sissy squats Standing leg curls

Calves Biceps

Standing calf raises Dumbbell curl

Seated calf raises Machine or EZ bar preacher curl

Donkey calf raises Cable curl

Leg press toe press Concentration curl

Seated stiff leg calf press EZ bar curl

Triceps

Rope tricep extension

Overhead dumbbell tricep extension

Flat bar cable pushdown

V-bar pushdown

Dips

Overhead cable triceps extension

Once you have dialed in on the 3-4 exercises per group that works best for you body and mechanics start filling them into your volume needs. Let’s take an example of a well rounded program with no particular areas of emphasis. We can take the concepts of the previous blog to help us plan.

Level: Intermediate

Volume needs: 70 sets per week

Split: Upper/Lower 4 days per week

Volume needs

Chest: 6

Shoulder: 5

Back (lat): 5

Back (teres): 6

Quads: 6

Calves: 5

Hamstrings: 6

Glutes: 5

Biceps: 6

Triceps: 5

Abs: 5

Compound vs isolation

Roughly 1:1

Monday: Upper

Barbell rows: 2 sets (Lats)

Incline press: 2 sets (Chest)

Cable pullover: 2 sets (Teres)

Machine chest fly: 2 sets (Chest)

Rope triceps extension: 3 sets (Triceps)

Preacher curl machine: 3 sets (Biceps)

Decline sit up: 3 sets (Abs)

Tuesday: Lower

Hack squats: 2 sets (Quads)

Leg extension: 2 sets (Quads)

Stiff leg deadlift: 1 sets (Hamstrings)

Machine hip thrust: 3 sets (Glutes)

Seated leg curl: 2 sets (Hamstrings)

Seated calf raises: 3 sets (Calves)

Thursday: Upper

Machine overhead press: 2 sets (Shoulders)

Barbell bench press: 2 sets (Chest)

Machine pulldown: 2 sets (Teres)

Machine row: 3 sets (Lats)

Pullups: 2 sets (Teres)

Dumbbell lateral raises: 3 sets (Shoulders)

Overhead dumbbell triceps extension: 2 sets (Triceps)

Dumbbell curl: 2 sets (Biceps)

Saturday: Lower

Leg press: 2 sets (Quads)

Barbell hip thrust: 3 sets (Glutes)

Romanian deadlift: 1 sets (Hamstrings)

Lying leg curl: 2 set (Hamstrings)

Seated calf raises: 2 sets (Calves)

Cable abdominal crunch: 3 sets (Abs)

Total sets: 71

Using the previous blog to assess our needs we can map out our workout program. From there we can test and make note of the best lifts for us. Using a good mixture of isolation and compound lifts we can start to fill in the blanks. Using this method, with a little experimentation and preparation, we are sure to create a workout program superior to any available online. Using these skills to create your workout may take some practice but if getting the best results out of our time in the gym is a priority I can assure you it is worth a little homework. I recommend using the same program for 12-16 weeks for maximum progress. Switching exercises too often can leave a lot of progress on the table. Get comfortable practicing each lift week in and week out. The strength will come but do not compromise more weight or more reps for a more quality rep. After the 12-16 week period we can reassess our needs and start over. We may choose to up our total sets, try out new lifts or program different versions of the lifts that are working best for you. The only missing piece now? Time. Effort over time produces results. I encourage you to be consistent with the basics and when the progress seems slow, remind yourself to be patient.