Other improvements include an increase in muscle mass, strengthening of connective tissue and supportive tissue as well as improvements in posture and physique.

Resistance training has many psychological benefits as well. It can boost self-confidence, increase motivation, enhance perseverance and produce a strong commitment to fitness.

Six Steps to Creating and Monitoring Exercises

Now that we understand the benefits of resistance training, the next step is to learn how to properly instruct a member on this component. You should be able to design, teach and monitor resistance exercises and programs using information that is grounded in science and specific to the goals and physical capabilities of the member. You need knowledge of how exercises are created as well as an understanding of how to monitor the person performing the exercise to ensure that it’s consistently being performed safely and effectively. We begin this section by introducing a six-step process developed and implemented by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).

Step One: Determine the Motion
The first step in creating a resistance exercise that’s both safe and effective for the member is to establish the motion to be performed. Movement in the human body involves interaction of bones, joints and muscles and is usually described in relation to a standard "anatomical position" in which the body is standing upright, the feet parallel, the arms hanging by the sides with the palms and face directed forward. From this position, we describe the motion of a joint or multiple joints, such as flexion, extension, abduction or adduction—as well as movement—in a particular plane of motion. The three planes of movement are:

• Sagittal which divides the body in right and left halves


• Frontal which divides the body into anterior and posterior parts


• Transverse or horizontal which divides the body into superior (upper) or inferior (lower) parts.

• Multi-joint movements: These movements integrate muscle groups into movement patterns of pushing, pulling and squatting.


• High proprioceptive demand: Proprioception is the neural input from the joints, muscles, tendons and other tissues that simulates the functional movement patterns. It is the coordinator of movement and the most important criteria.


• Safety and fun: An important principle of training for functional movement is that it must be fun and safe for the member. Safety is guaranteed if the exercises are based on the physical abilities of the member; fun is assured if the exercises are directly tied to the member’s goals.

Muscle-Specific Exercises
Attempting to train specific muscles such as biceps, triceps or anterior deltoids at the exclusion of other muscles is impossible. We can’t isolate a muscle; however, we can emphasize a specific muscle. In contrast to movement-specific exercises, muscle-specific exercises require limited joint movement coming only from the tension created by the target muscles. The goal of these exercises is to stabilize all other joint movement except the joints involved in the exercise. For example, if a member is performing a standing biceps curl using a barbell as resistance, the only joints that should be moving are the elbows. Movement in any other joint is the result of tension from other muscles and decreases the effectiveness of an exercise with a muscle-specific goal.

Although muscle-specific exercises can be added to any workout program regardless of the goal, when using these exercises specifically for cosmetic muscle hypertrophy, follow these basic guidelines:

• Core training comes before extremity training. All movement originates from the body’s core. Therefore, it is imperative that the member has base functional strength and stability before challenging a muscle-specific goal.


• Exercises are based on "rules of the body" not "rules of exercises." The mechanics of the bench-press exercise can be very different from one person to another. It depends on how the individual performs the exercise, the goal of the exercise and how the person was originally taught to perform the exercise. Keep in mind that if the goal is muscle-specific training, the member’s individual anatomical structure should dictate the safe and effective performance of the exercise.


• A variety of exercises targeting a specific muscle are needed. Based on the assumption that members who qualify for the goal of muscle-specific training are more experienced and therefore require a larger volume of work, a variety of exercises should be selected. For example, if the goal is development of the pectoralis major, the supine dumbbell press, incline dumbbell press and standing cable flyes can be used to recruit and fatigue the maximum amount of muscle fibers without overtaxing the nervous system.

Step Two: Determine the Type and Direction of Resistance
Once you’ve selected either a movement-specific or muscle-specific exercise, the next step is to determine the direction of resistance. If the member’s goal requires stimulation to a particular muscle group, the resistance must be in direct opposition to the target muscles. Although this may seem like common sense, you’d be surprised to learn how many "common" exercises don’t follow this "common" reasoning.

In addition to determining the direction of resistance, you must also select the type of resistance to use. The three most common are gravity, cables and machines. Gravity results in a vertical line of resistance such as free weights. Exercise using cables or tubing redirects the resistance (gravity). When using machines, resistance can be redirected and altered depending on the machine’s design (i.e. cams). Understanding the different types of resistance training helps you determine the most efficient and safest starting position to make the exercise a resistance exercise.

Step Three: Determine the Starting Position
The starting position of the exercise is easily determined by the selections made in the two previous steps. In other words, if the motion and direction of resistance are determined, simply position the body to ensure that the resistance directly opposes the chosen motion. Common positions or postures when exercising are standing, split stance, seated, inclined, supine (face up) and prone (face down). All can be used to create exercises, but it is important to realize that the position chosen affects the degree of stability required. The next three steps assure that the position we created is maintained within safe, effective limits.

Step Four: Stabilization
For the safety and effectiveness of an exercise, the correct position is essential. Maintenance of a particular body position depends on the integrity of the central nervous system (CNS), visual system, vestibular system (equilibrium), musculoskeletal system and inputs from receptors located in and around the joints, tendons and ligaments. The CNS must be capable of receiving and processing information from all other systems to interpret information from the receptors regarding the position of the body in space.

Stabilization serves many purposes:

• Control/adjustment of a segment or system (spinal rotators)


• Prevention of undesired motion (hip rotators) or excessive motion (all)


• Improvement of force distribution (isometric spine)


• Semi-static/dynamic foundation for other muscle activity (scapula)


• Maintenance of an axis (rotator cuff)


• Maintenance of a segment in space while the foundation is moving (gluteus medius during gait)

What to Look For
Whenever you are monitoring the performance of an exercise, stabilization of the core should be the priority as the core is the place from which all movement begins and the spine is a common injury site. You should first observe the member’s core during exercise to determine if stabilization is achieved. This is known as stabilization-limited training (SLT) and ensures that the weight used doesn’t exceed the body’s abilities. For example, if the member is performing a muscle-specific exercise (e.g., bicep curl) you should carefully observe the core and the joints directly above and below the joint that is in motion. When the body is "asked" to emphasize a muscle rather than perform a movement, it attempts to take tension off that muscle by including other muscles and creating momentum.

If the member attempts to perform a complex movement (e.g., push-ups with feet on a stability ball), you must begin by observing the core and spinal position as well as the member’s entire form to ensure stability within the whole kinetic chain. Observation of the entire form is essential because the body is working to organize numerous forces and stabilization in all muscles, from the feet to the hands, in all three planes of motion.

Step Five: Path of Motion
Since the path of motion is already determined in the creation of the exercise, you simply observe the member to ensure the path of motion is being maintained throughout the duration of the exercise. It’s important to realize, however, that stabilization of the core always takes precedence over the path of motion and that the path of motion may sometimes be the result of tension from another area of the body (i.e. seated cable pulldowns).

Step Six: Range of Motion
Range of motion (ROM) refers to the joints’ ability to move and is typically determined by the distance the weight travels. This is the case only if it is the rule of the sport (e.g., bench press in powerlifting) or is the direct requirement of the goal (lifting something from the floor). In either case, an individual’s anatomy ultimately determines the success and long-term tolerance.

In reviewing the three systems that comprise movement (bones, joints and muscles) and the application of external forces, it’s no surprise that physiological, anatomical and neurological influences affect how much motion is necessary and available at a joint or combination of joints. The main contributing factor regarding the range of motion of an exercise is the member’s ability to control the motion of the exercise.