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6 Keys to Smarter Exercise Selection

6 Keys to Smarter Exercise Selection

Choosing the right exercises directly impacts your client's success, minimises injury risk, and sets you apart as a trainer. Effective programming is not about following trends—it is about matching exercises to your client's unique goals, abilities, and limitations. Let’s look at six key considerations when choosing exercises for your client’s program.

  • Client Needs: Tailor exercises based on experience, mobility, and specific goals. Beginners thrive with externally stable movements (e.g., machine chest press), while advanced clients benefit from complex free-weight exercises (e.g., barbell squats).
  • Muscle Length & Strength Curves: Include exercises targeting muscles at different lengths for balanced development:
    • Lengthened: Romanian deadlifts (hamstrings)
    • Mid-range: Squats (quads)
    • Shortened: Leg extensions (quads)
  • Stability Demands: Balance internal stability (free-weight, body-driven exercises) and external stability (machine-supported exercises). Beginners benefit from externally stable exercises, such as leg presses, while experienced trainees progress with internally stable movements, like overhead presses.
  • Loadability: Choose exercises matching the desired mechanical tension:
    • High-loadability: Leg presses, hack squats
    • Moderate-loadability: Bulgarian split squats, leg extensions
    • Low-loadability: Stability ball exercises, lateral raises
  • Stimulus-to-Fatigue Ratio (SFR): Prioritise high-stimulus, low-fatigue exercises (e.g., machine presses, cable movements). Manage high-fatigue exercises, such as deadlifts and squats, strategically for maximum results with minimal recovery demands.
  • Output Potential: Match exercises to volume and adaptation goals. High-output exercises (machine-based movements) maximise volume accumulation, while low-output exercises (such as barbell squats and deadlifts) develop targeted strength and skill.

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