Program Design: Exercise Selection Fundamentals

Program Design: Exercises

• Program design focuses on exercise selection, type, order, and frequency for training.
• Exercise selection considers various factors, including exercise type, technique experience, equipment availability, and training time.

Exercise Selection

• Exercise Type: Includes core and assistance exercises, structural and power exercises, movement analysis of the sport, and sport-specific exercises.
• Exercise Technique Experience: Assess athlete's ability to perform exercises correctly, provide demonstrations and instructions as needed.
• Availability of Resistance Training Equipment: Adjust exercises if equipment is limited.
• Available Training Time per Session: Prioritize time-efficient exercises.

Exercise Type

• Core and Assistance Exercises: Core exercises target multiple joints and are important for sport; assistance exercises focus on single joints and often support or complement core exercises.
• Structural and Power Exercises: Structural exercises load the spine directly or indirectly; power exercises are structural exercises performed quickly or explosively.
• Movement Analysis of the Sport: Exercises should mirror the movement patterns of the sport for optimal positive transfer

Sport-Specific Exercises

• Movement Specificity: Closely matching training activity to actual sport movement leads to better performance transfer—this concept is known as training specificity or specific adaptation to imposed demands (SAID principle).
• Exercise Examples: Jumping specificity: power clean > back squat > leg press > plyometrics (examples)
• Consider the plane of movement, muscles, and movement speed during exercise selection.

Muscle Balance

• Balance: Ensuring muscular strength across joints and between opposing groups (agonist and antagonist muscles).
• Ratio: Muscle balance isn't always equal strength; rather, it focuses on a proper ratio of strength, power, or muscular endurance between opposing muscle groups (e.g., knee flexor/extensor).

Step 2: Exercise Selection

• Exercise Technique Experience: Do not assume athletes perform exercises correctly; have them demonstrate and provide instruction as needed.

Step 3: Training Frequency

• Training Status: Training status (novice, moderate, extensive experience) impacts the number of rest days needed between sessions.
• Sport Season: Seasonal demands may restrict training time. Training frequency guidelines differ based on sport season (e.g., off-season, in-season).
• Training Load and Exercise Type: High-intensity training requires more recovery time prior to the next training session; alternate "heavy" and "light" days. Multi-joint exercises are particularly important to consider in this context
• Other Training: Overall physical stress impacts training frequency; consider aerobic/anaerobic training and physically demanding occupations.

Step 4: Exercise Order

• Power, Other Core, Then Assistance Exercises: Prioritize power exercises (e.g., power clean, push jerk), followed by core (e.g., bench press, squat), and then assistance exercises (e.g., arm curl, knee extension).
• Upper and Lower Body Exercises: Alternate upper and lower body exercises for improved recovery between exercises. This method is often referred to as circuit training when rest times are minimal
• "Push" and "Pull" Exercises: Alternate between pushing and pulling exercises (e.g., bench press with lat pulldowns) to improve recovery and recruitment between exercise types.
• Supersets and Compound Sets: A superset involves consecutive exercises targeting opposing muscle groups; a compound set involves consecutive exercises targeting the same muscle group.