So far in this series we have covered lifting technique, training intensity and progressive overload. As previously mentioned, I have a hierarchical model that I use when programming and these first three training variables I consider to be of highest importance. However, there are probably a few smart cookies reading this who have been paying close attention and picked up that there is one essential ingredient of program design that we haven’t touched on… What exercises should you even be doing?? (Kind of important, right?)

This brings us to the fourth topic, and the fourth reason why your program might suck… is because you are misapplying the principles behind exercise selection and choosing the wrong exercises for your program and goals.

The topic of exercise selection will almost always include a discussion around two key principles – specificity and variation – and these are the ones that I see a lot of people misinterpret and misapply. We are going to take a closer look at both of these, but there is a lot to discuss around these principles and for no reason other than me just feeling like it, we are going to start off by looking at specificity and how a strength coach should apply this principle to program design. This topic might seem like it’s very sports-specific, but if you’re lifting weights with some kind of goal in mind, then the things we are going to discuss here will certainly apply to you. 

Let’s start off by defining exactly what specificity is for a range of sports. 

• Specificity for rugby league player is playing rugby league on the field
• Specificity for a martial artist is performing their martial art within the constraints of the rules of the sport
• Specificity for a competitive powerlifter is executing a 1RM of either bench, squat, or deadlift while using the full equipment required for competition and performing the rep according to the rules for their federation
• Specificity for a CrossFit athlete is performing the WOD they are being judged on

Anything an athlete performs that falls outside of their exact sporting movements is considered variation. It can be useful to consider that there is a spectrum with extreme variation on one end and absolute specificity on the other end, and everything that is not specific skills training will fall somewhere between these two points. Variation is an essential component in any athlete’s program, but to apply specificity and variation correctly we need to understand that everything we do in the weights room is going to be variation for that athlete, and will fall somewhere on this “variation spectrum”.

If everything that is done in the weights room is a form of variation and therefore not technically “specific”, where does the specificity principle fit in? Well, it kind of doesn’t. At least not in the way that a lot of people are interpreting the specificity principle in relation to strength programming. The role of strength training for any athlete is to train them in a way that is specific to their desired training outcomes, and it is NOT to train them in a way that specifically replicates their exact movements on the sporting field as a lot of people believe. I see many people make this mistake of trying to reproduce the movements performed on the sporting field with resistance in the gym. In actual fact, to develop specific sporting skills the athlete will need to practice those exact skills and their components within an environment that is directly comparable to their competitive environment, and unless you are a strength athlete, this skills training will happen outside of the weights room. Putting your focus on reproducing skills training under load in the weights room is a little bit like buying a sofa bed – it’s not good as a sofa, and it’s not good as a bed, just like skills training under load won’t maximise your strength outcomes nor will it do much for your skill development. As a strength coach, your best results will be achieved if you understand your role in athletic development and leave the skill specific training to the sports coach (rugby coach, martial arts instructor, etc.).  

Now some of you might be wondering, if strength training by nature is non-specific to many sports, why is there such a large body of research recommending it as an essential component of training in any competitive environment? The answer is that specificity and skills training is important, but variation is also needed to develop other physical components of athletic performance. Specific skill training will develop and fine tune an athlete’s competence in their sport, but to be a well-rounded athlete and increase the longevity of a training career, other key training outcomes include having a strong and powerful body that moves well and is free from injury, and strength training is the absolute best tool to achieve this (side note: those training outcomes are excellent goals for anyone, not just athletes – more on this below). As a strength coach, you need to understand that your role is to provide this much needed variation, and to strengthen the athlete’s body through full ranges of motion in multiple planes so the body is strong, moves well and is free from injury.

I’m going to say this a little bit louder for the people up the back…