How to Add Variety to your Exercise Program

As we workout we adapt to exercise by getting stronger. After some time, however, the workout no longer yields the same results. At such time, we need to implement a change to a workout routine.

This can be achieved through several means, but one that is most commonly used is exercise modality. When intelligently put together, an exercise program of several modalities can add variation and enhance an entire exercise program. In this article I will discuss how a personal trainer implements different training modalities and how these modalities can be put together into a comprehensive exercise program.

Integrative Routine

The purpose of integrative exercise routine is to strengthen several muscle groups together. It is important that muscles work in concert. Many muscles work together to move a single joint. Furthermore, often in more complex movement, several joints must be orchestrated. For example, squatting is a complex movement that requires several joints to perform different task at the same, resulting in a collaborative movement.

Therefore, when a personal trainer assigns a client an exercise under integrative modality he is not targeting a muscle group like chest or legs, he/she is aiming to coordinate the strength of several muscle groups. It is important to note that a personal trainer may emphasize a muscle group that is the primary mover, however, emphasis is still placed on other muscle groups that must also move or stabilize the body to perform a given exercise.

For example, Segital plank is a very simple integrative exercise. There are two main groups working; trunk flexors and hip flexors. In addition the shoulders have to exert force to provide a stable anchor. In addition, back extensors co-work with abdominal muscles to keep the torso in a straight line.

Another example of an integrative exercise, which is far more complex, is a lunge with trunk rotation. This exercise works the legs as they descend the body, and the torso muscles that must rotate trunk. Independently, these muscles groups are going to be much stronger. Adding a lunge and rotation to the same exercise synergistically increases the difficulty of the exercise. You can imagine how nearly every muscle in your body must be at work to perform this highly coordinated movement.

A personal trainer needs to remember that it is the control of movement/or position that is the key and not progression through weight. Therefore a smart personal trainer would add variables that challenge the stability and balance of the exercise versus resistance.

Also, all exercises under integrative modality should be performed slowly and while keeping a continuous velocity (in other words do not jerk movement). An ideal number of repetitions for an exercise with in this modality is 15-18 repetitions and 2-3 sets.

Circuit Training

It is unfortunate that this type of exercise modality has been reduced to something fitness centers shove their new members onto. In fact, when I first started my career as a personal trainer, I was told that if prospect is not likely to buy a personal training package just put him through a circuit workout on some of the machines during the initial meeting and then part away. Hence, circuit training has stuck with me, and many other personal trainers, as a “throw away“ modality.

It is true, the circuit training can be the easiest in its design. However, recently I have realized the true benefit of circuit training. Circuit training is an excellent modality to train endurance.

The premise is putting together 4-5 exercises that are to be performed one immediately after another. I found it to be effective when I start with an exercise that is rather complex, one that moves through several joints and therefore involves several muscle groups. The last exercise should be the simplest, involving small muscle groups.

The following is a good example of a small circuit set:
Sumo squats
Standing shoulder press
Standing leaning DB rows
Biceps curls

It is important to remember that the circuit training should get your heart rate up, you should be breathing hard after completing a set of exercises. Each exercise should be challenging, working to about 80% of your capacity for about 15 repetitions. It also important that exercises should work different muscles groups or different planes of motions. Once again, in circuit training the goal is to increase muscular and cardiovascular endurance not stimulates one muscle group into growth.

General Strength Training

The general strength modality is what most people do when they decide to lift weights. The goal of general strength modality is to stimulate muscle to grow (aka muscle hypertrophy). The concept is rather simple, stress a muscle group with resistance so that it is forced to adapt by getting stronger. To achieve this, the muscles need to be accurately targeted. So If I want the chest muscles to grow I want to use exercises that train chest muscles and put least amount of load on other muscles (notice how this is opposite to integrative training)
Most of those who use this modality split body parts through out a week. This is based on traditional body building model where you, for example, work chest on one day, back on another, and legs on yet another, and so on. However, as a personal trainer, I have often used the upper-lower body split. This worked well for clients that workout 2-3 times a week. Moreover, unless you are planning to be a body builder the upper and lower body split should suffice. On remaining, days other modalities, or cardiovascular exercise, can be added to the program.
A good example of strength exercise is biceps preacher curls. By sitting on a preacher bench, the biceps are isolated for movement and the rest of the body is anchored so that all resources are focused on the work of biceps (although more accurately should be stated elbow flexors since there are more than biceps at work)

This modality can be exhausting because the key is to perform an exercise for 8-12 repetitions to nearly muscular failure. After the exercise, it is advised to take a longer rest period (1-2 minutes) as compared to other modalities to allow the muscle group to recover. Another option is to perform two exercises that work opposite muscle groups and then take a longer rest period. This is often referred to as super-setting.

Dynamic Modality

This is my favorite modality. Through dynamic modality a personal trainer wants to achieve quickness and power. In reality, this modality could be split into two modalities, speed and power, however they are similar enough for the purpose of the current discussion.

Power can be defined as ability to produced greatest amount of force in shortest amount of time. Jumping is a perfect illustration of power. In order to elevate my body up in the air against gravity I need to produce plenty of force, but I also need to do this fast. Quickness would be best identified by ability to change direction in the least a mount of time. Basketball point guards are required to be quick but are rarely as powerful as their power forwards.

Good example of pure power exercise is clean and jerk. Ability to lift the weight depends both on strength and speed at which the exercise is performed. Jump rope is an ideal example of quickness exercises. Unlike clean and jerk, which requires lifting of a heavy weight, the emphasis in jump rope exercise is placed on the coordination and speed at which a light jump is performed.

In Sum, in dynamic modality a personal trainer will likely manipulate both the resistance and time at which the exercise is performed. Quickness exercises will place more emphasis on the time variable where the power exercises will place more emphasis on the strength variable.

As the name implies these exercises are to be performed at fast tempo. It is assumed that a client performing dynamic exercise has properly progressed to this movement. For power exercises, I would recommend repetitions between 5-8 and taking at least 2 minutes in between sets. Quickness exercises can be performed one after another, especially when training for a sport that requires conditioning.
Putting it all Together

First, it is important to note that these modalities are not rigid. In other words, a dynamic modality can include exercises that are not dynamic. For example, I often spent 15-20 minutes performing integrative exercises, especially those that mimic the dynamic movement and those that work the mid section. The point of modality is emphasis. So my previously described dynamic modality might include few integrative exercises but the main event will be composed of dynamic exercises.

When I plan a workout for a client I use modalities to plan for the long term. For instance, I might spend 1st month on integrative routines, 2nd month on strength modalities, and 3rd month on dynamic exercises. Often, however, the plan is not so dry. I might have a client do two days of integrative exercises 2 and 1 day of dynamic exercises within one week.

Lastly, there are exercises that do not easily fit into any modality. One good example is a squat with the bar. Squat is one of the most integrative exercises you can perform. I don’t think there is a muscle in the body that is not working when squatting with substantial weight. Many think of it as a strength exercises because the nature of movement is slow. However, the movement only looks slow, yet the body is producing force as fast as it can, so one could consider squat as a power exercise. In fact many exercises that are performed under slow control can be performed at a fast explosive pace making them dynamic. The point here is that modality is what is emphasized. Therefore, it is not the exercise but how the exercise is performed and the goal that one is trying to achieve performing them.