Exercise selection for bodybuilding - Part 2
Let me start by saying that this article was an absolute pain in the ass to write up.
Due to the fact that people tend to have widely varying biomechanics, such as hip/knee/shoulder mobility, limb length & upper body width, its very difficult to create "fixed" rules for exercise selection. This also explains why many folks don't bother to write such articles.
So I'll say straight away that the MAJORITY of people will benefit by implementing these rules, but not necessarily everyone.
I will also note that this is not a complete list, so I reserve the right to come back at a later date to edit it as I wish
A few points to note before we head over to the rules:
- I highly recommend beginners experiment with many different movements to find what works for them. These rules will still help them, but I'd rather they gain some experience of their own biomechanical advantages/disadvantages along with seeing what type of movements they actually enjoy (this plays a part in being motivated to workout) before deciding on a fixed selection of exercises.
- All the rules I'm about to highlight come with the following supplementary information: You must enjoy the movements you do. There is NO point choosing a bunch of great exercises on paper, if you don't have the drive to go & kill it come gym time.
- A partial list of references will be provided but all are unavailable for public viewing, which is why I haven't mentioned specific ones within the article.
Finally, here are the rules...
1 - The targeted muscle must be the first to fail
An exercise is most effective for a muscle group if the limiting factor, or the part that forces you to fail, is the muscle that is being targeted.
For example for inverted rows your grip fails first, which makes it a poor choice to stimulate the lats.
This rule eliminates almost all unstable exercises because your core stabilizing muscles will always fail first. This will include standing one leg movements like split squats, and standing overhead single arm presses because your forearms & rotator cuff will fail long before your delts do.
This rule allows you to focus on the targeted muscle rather than having other muscles limiting you in the progression you could achieve.
2 - Compounds first, isolation second
Compounds place higher hormonal & neurological demands on your body, which allows muscle & strength gains to occur over a shorter period of time. Let's face it, the guy who has a big bench press will always be more developed than someone who sticks to cable flyes & tricep extensions.
Compounds also tend to be a more "natural" way to move your body & tend to satisfy the other rules in this article more than isolation exercises.
This does NOT mean that you should avoid isolation exercises, they still play a role especially when it comes to bringing up lagging muscle groups. The key is to not prioritise the isolation moves over the compounds.
For example you can still use bicep curls in your program, but only if your already doing some horizontal pulling compounds.
3 - Tissue stress distribution based on biomechanics
The more a movement stresses the targeted muscle group, and the less it stresses the surrounding tissues, the better the movement.
This is where the biomechanics I mentioned at the start play a major role. Its extremely important to avoid movements that cause pain because this is a good sign that your joints & tendons are being placed under an unnecessary amount of stress.
Its difficult to give specific advice here because biomechanics vary greatly from person-to-person but here are some general tips:
- Your body has not been designed to push things behind you; major shoulder stress can occur due to the unnatural style of the movement. This means that exercises such as behind the neck presses & dips should be excluded.
- Your core (abs & lower back) are designed to stabilize your body NOT to flex backwards & forwards, which creates a lot of problems for your spine. Avoid any movements that force you to round your back and not maintain a neutral spine position. This neutral position is optimal for maximum core activation with minimal peripheral tissue stress.
- The more an exercise keeps you fixed into a specific movement pattern, the worse the exercise. Basically dumbbells are the best choice, followed by barbells & then machines (which have really poor tissue distribution).
- Closed kinetic chain exercises are better than open kinetic chain exercises.
If your body is moving during the exercise = closed kinetic chain
If the weight is moving = open kinetic chain
Multiple studies have proven that closed chain exercises are superior for both your joints & muscles. This is why squats are superior to leg presses and why rows/military presses are not perfect.
Another good example is barbell bench vs smith machine bench = same muscle activity but more stress on the joints with the smith machine due to the extra weight being handled & the fixed nature of the movement.
4 - Movements must have an eccentric & concentric portion
Exercises that contain an eccentric & concentric portion are superior to those that are only isometric, concentric or eccentric.
There is a lot of broscience focusing only on the eccentric portion but according to a systematic review & meta-analysis, here is the order of movements in order of most effective for muscle growth to least:
1: Eccentric-concentric contractions
2: Isometric contractions
3: Concentric only contractions
4: Eccentric only contractions
Eccentric-concentric contractions are superior because they're easier on the joints and they allow a higher rate of force to be produced during the concentric phase compared to concentric only movements.
Notice that eccentric only is also the worst method for muscle growth.
5 - The strength curve should be equal to the resistance curve
If these curves don't match then some muscles will remain understimulated & you end up with lagging muscle groups with imbalances. To explain this in simple terms: you want the point at which you fail to be the point at which your undeveloped parts fail. This way you'll be able to develop all the muscles involved in a lift in a balanced manner.
Plenty of exercises have a constant resistance curve such as vertical lifting movements (since the weight is battling against gravity). But some, such as bicep curls & leg extensions, have clear points were the muscle is under no tension whatsoever. For example on bicep curls, the biceps are under minimal resistance at the bottom of the move and maximum at about 90 degrees.
Determining your strength curve
The easiest way would be to focus on what part of a movement your at your strongest & and what point are you consistently failing.
In general, your muscles are strongest in their natural positions (think military posture).
So for pushing movements, your strength is lowest at the start or halfway through the concentric portion of the movement (since your arms are bent & in an unnatural position).
For overhead presses & squats, your more likely to fail at the bottom of the movement before the halfway point.
For pulling movements your generally weakest at the end of the concentric portion (touching the bar to your chest on rows, etc).
Hopefully you get the idea.
How can you match your strength curve to the exercise's resistance curve?
The main way to do this is to focus on the stretch-reflex technique, which is similar to using strategic momentum at certain points of a lift where the resistance is poor.
If we take face pulls for example, the strength curve decreases as you move along the concentric portion - making the move really easy to begin with & more difficult as the bar approaches your face. Therefore, the move will benefit from using momentum to explosively move the bar towards your face.
6 - Micro loading
The more precisely you can alter a movement's resistance, the better the movement.
Ideally, you want choose exercises that let you move gradually towards larger weights.
This is major disadvantage to bodyweight exercises because it simply isn't possible to move towards a maximum load. For example, handstand pushups are superior to overhead presses in terms of their kinetic chain (closed vs open) but vastly inferior when it comes to loading.
Depending on the gym you go to, most machines have fixed weight increases and dumbbells/barbell plates tend to go up by 5-10 pounds. These increases may be fine when improving your squat, but the weight will be far too heavy for shoulder isolation work.
Ideally, you want to increase your lifts by a fixed percentage rather than a fixed weight - but I accept that this may be out of your control.
Appling these rules
Let's look at the conventional deadlift.
Now a lot of guys are going to be butthurt by this but as I said before - if you don't like the truth I preach then don't read my stuff.
Conventional deadlifts SUCK for building muscle based on the rules I gave above.
Firstly, its a purely concentric move with no eccentric portion at all - a major disadvantage to building muscle if you read rule 3.
Secondly, deadlifts are supposed to target your legs yet your lower back & grip will inevitably fail first.
Some of you will say "well deadlifts are still good for lower back & forearm growth" yea...no they're not. Both of these muscle groups are slow-twitch dominant and therefore require high reps for optimal growth. But doing high volume deadlifts will completely fry your CNS (central nervous system) making you way too tired to do anything else during that workout.
I don't have an issue with some deadlift variations, like the Romanian or stiff-legged varieties, but the conventional deads simply suck for building muscle. Its a good jack of all trades move, but that's about it.
Summary
In order to make intelligent exercise choices for your routine, the chosen movements must:
- Allow the target muscle to fail first
- Preferably be a compound move, with isolation work only used as an accessory
- Not put too much stress on peripheral tissues with a preference towards closed kinetic chain exercises & "natural" movements based on your individual biomechanics.
- Have an eccentric & concentric portion to the move.
- Match your strength curve to the resistance curve of the movement by utilizing the stretch-reflex technique.
- Be capable of being loaded with more intensity, preferably in micro amounts.
References
A comparison of muscle activation between a Smith machine and free weight bench press. Schick EE, Coburn JW, Brown LE, Judelson DA, Khamoui AV, Tran TT, Uribe BP. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Mar;24(3):779-84. Erratum in: J Strength Cond Res. 2011 Jan;25(1):286.
A comparison of tibiofemoral joint forces and electromyographic activity during open and closed kinetic chain exercises. K E Wilk, R F Escamilla, G S Fleisig, S W Barrentine, J R Andrews, M L Boyd. Am J Sports Med. 1996 Jul;Aug; 24(4): 518;527.
Effects of lifting tempo on one repetition maximum and hormonal responses to a bench press protocol. Headley SA, Henry K, Nindl BC, Thompson BA, Kraemer WJ, Jones MT. J Strength Cond Res. 2011 Feb;25(2):406-13.
Quadriceps activation in closed and in open kinetic chain exercise. Ann-Katrin Stensdotter, Paul W Hodges, Rebecca Mellor, Gunnevi Sundelin, Charlotte Häger-Ross. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003 December; 35(12): 2043;2047.
Quadriceps EMG/force relationship in knee extension and leg press. B A Alkner, P A Tesch, H E Berg. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000 February; 32(2): 459;463.
The constrained control of force and position in multi-joint movements. G J van Ingen Schenau, P J Boots, G de Groot, R J Snackers, W W van Woensel. Neuroscience. 1992; 46(1): 197;207.
The influence of frequency, intensity, volume and mode of strength training on whole muscle cross-sectional area in humans. Mathias Wernbom, Jesper Augustsson, Roland Thomeé. Sports Med. 2007; 37(3): 225;264.
