Exercises Matter Less Than You Think

The Big Idea

Exercises are just a means to an end and people spend way too much time arguing over them.

Exercise Selection

Let’s say we need to train a squat pattern. We could use:

• Back Squat
• Front Squat
• Box Squat
• Goblet Squat
• Double-Kettlebell Front Squat
• Leg Press
• Sissy Squat

These exercises aren’t identical. But for general fitness, several different tools can successfully address the same broad movement requirement.

So pick an exercise that:

• You can do safely
• You have the equipment for
• You can load or progress
• You actually enjoy

That last one matters. Because adherence matters.

Workout Structure = Packaging

Once the basic programming requirements are satisfied, we have a lot of freedom in how we structure the actual workout. You could use:

• Straight Sets
• Circuits
• Supersets
• Compound Sets
• Myo-Reps
• Drop Sets

These things can change the experience and emphasis of the workout. But they don’t replace the underlying principles.

CrossFit Got Something Right

One thing CrossFit absolutely nailed was making workout design entertaining. AMRAPs. Rounds for time. Ladders. Countdowns. Adding reps every round.

There’s something fun about having variety in the way the work is packaged.

And if that makes someone more excited to train and more consistent? That’s valuable.

Conditioning Works the Same Way

Thirty minutes of easy:

• Running
• Rowing
• Cycling
• Hiking
• Swimming
• Skiing
• Light Jiu-Jitsu
• Mixed Modalities

…can all contribute to aerobic fitness if the intensity is appropriate.

Hard conditioning can take countless forms as well. The modality matters less than matching the intended intensity, duration, and recovery demands.

The Whole Program Has to Fit Together

Here’s where you need to be smart. Conditioning doesn’t exist separately from strength training.

Every exercise you put into conditioning still counts.

If your conditioning workout includes:

• 100 Pull-Ups
• 200 Push-Ups
• 300 Squats

That’s not just conditioning. You’ve added a massive amount of muscular volume. That’s going to influence your next strength session.

But if your conditioning workout includes 5 rounds of 10 push-ups, that’s additional muscular volume, but probably something we can recover from relatively easily.

Look at the program as a whole. Don’t let today’s cool workout sabotage tomorrow’s important workout.

Wrapping Up the Series

Good programming is actually pretty simple.

Good program design is where creativity comes in.

The principles tell us what needs to happen. The design determines how we’re going to make it happen.

The Framework

1. What Are We Training?

• Strength + Conditioning
• Primary + Secondary Movements
• Low + High Intensity Conditioning

2. How Are We Training It?

• Volume + Intensity + Frequency + Progression

3. How Do We Package It?

• Exercise Selection + Workout Structure + Equipment + Environment + Preference

Get those things right, and you have a hell of a lot of freedom to build a program that works, and one that you actually enjoy doing.