Exercise Creation: Principles, Process, and Biomechanics

How do you create an exercise?

Creating an exercise involves a systematic process grounded in anatomy, biomechanics, and exercise science, focusing on a specific movement pattern, target musculature, and desired physiological adaptation while ensuring safety and effectiveness.

Understanding the Foundation: Why Create a New Exercise?

While a vast repertoire of exercises already exists, understanding the principles of exercise creation empowers fitness professionals and enthusiasts to adapt, modify, and even invent movements to better suit individual needs and goals. This skill is crucial for:

• Specificity of Training: Tailoring movements to precisely target a muscle, joint action, or sport-specific skill that standard exercises might not optimally address.
• Addressing Limitations: Modifying exercises to accommodate injuries, anatomical variations, or mobility restrictions, making fitness accessible and safe for a wider range of individuals.
• Enhancing Engagement: Introducing novel variations can prevent plateaus, maintain interest, and challenge the body in new ways, fostering long-term adherence to a fitness regimen.
• Optimizing Biomechanics: Fine-tuning an exercise to maximize muscular tension, improve leverage, or reduce joint stress based on a deeper understanding of human movement.

The Core Principles of Exercise Design

Creating an effective exercise is not arbitrary; it adheres to fundamental scientific principles.

• 1. Define the Objective:

  • What is the primary physiological adaptation you aim to achieve?
    • Strength: Max force production (e.g., heavy lifts).
    • Hypertrophy: Muscle growth (e.g., moderate loads, time under tension).
    • Power: Force x Velocity (e.g., explosive movements).
    • Endurance: Sustained effort (e.g., high repetitions, prolonged activity).
    • Mobility/Flexibility: Range of motion improvement.
    • Skill/Coordination: Neuromuscular control and movement efficiency.
  • This objective dictates the type of movement, load, and repetition scheme.

• 2. Identify the Target Anatomy:

  • Which muscles are you primarily trying to engage (agonists)?
  • What are the synergistic muscles that assist the movement?
  • What joints are involved, and what actions (flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, rotation) occur at those joints?
  • Understanding muscle origins, insertions, and actions is paramount.

• 3. Select the Primary Movement Pattern:

  • Most exercises fall into fundamental human movement patterns:
    • Squat: Knee and hip dominant, lower body push.
    • Hinge: Hip dominant, posterior chain.
    • Push: Upper body pushing (horizontal or vertical).
    • Pull: Upper body pulling (horizontal or vertical).
    • Lunge: Unilateral lower body.
    • Carry: Core stability and grip strength under load.
    • Rotation: Transverse plane movement.
  • Even complex movements are often combinations of these basic patterns.

• 4. Consider Biomechanical Principles:

  • Lever Arms: How does the resistance act relative to the joint? Longer lever arms increase difficulty.
  • Force Vectors: In what direction is the resistance applied, and how does it align with the muscle fibers?
  • Range of Motion (ROM): Is the full, safe ROM being utilized? Where is the greatest tension in the ROM?
  • Stability: How is stability maintained throughout the movement? Does the exercise require intrinsic stability or external support?
  • Muscle Length-Tension Relationship: Muscles generate optimal force at certain lengths. How does the exercise leverage this?

• 5. Choose the Modality and Equipment:

  • Bodyweight: Accessible, good for foundational strength and control.
  • Free Weights (Dumbbells, Barbells, Kettlebells): Allow for natural movement paths, recruit more stabilizers.
  • Machines: Provide external stability, often isolate specific muscles, fixed movement paths.
  • Resistance Bands/Cables: Provide variable resistance, often increasing as the muscle shortens.
  • Specialty Equipment: Medicine balls, sandbags, etc., for specific challenges.
  • The chosen equipment influences the force vector and stability demands.

• 6. Determine the Load and Repetition Scheme:

  • While more related to program design, the type of exercise you create influences the appropriate load and rep scheme. A power exercise will require different load considerations than an endurance exercise.

• 7. Plan for Progression and Regression:

  • How can the exercise be made harder (progression) or easier (regression) while maintaining the core objective? This involves modifying variables like load, leverage, stability, tempo, or ROM.

• 8. Prioritize Safety and Efficacy:

  • Is the movement safe for the joints and tissues involved?
  • Does it effectively stimulate the target muscles without undue risk?
  • Are there any contraindications or specific populations for whom it might be unsuitable?

Step-by-Step Exercise Creation Process

1. Step 1: Conceptualization & Goal Setting

   • Start with "What problem am I trying to solve?" or "What specific adaptation do I want?" (e.g., improve hip extension strength, enhance shoulder stability in overhead positions).

2. Step 2: Anatomical & Biomechanical Mapping

   • Identify the primary muscles responsible for the desired action.
   • Determine the joints involved and their required ranges of motion.
   • Visualize the path of motion and the forces at play.

3. Step 3: Initial Movement Pattern & Equipment Selection

   • Based on the target muscles and joints, select a base movement pattern (e.g., if targeting glutes and hamstrings, a hinge or squat pattern is likely).
   • Choose equipment that allows for the desired resistance and movement path.

4. Step 4: Refinement and Biomechanical Optimization

   • Experiment with different body positions, hand/foot placements, and angles to optimize muscle activation and minimize joint stress.
   • Consider how gravity or external resistance will act on the body throughout the movement.
   • Adjust leverage points to increase or decrease difficulty.

5. Step 5: Testing and Evaluation

   • Perform the exercise yourself or have someone else try it.
   • Observe the movement: Is it smooth? Is the target muscle being adequately challenged? Are there any points of excessive stress or instability?
   • Gather feedback on perceived exertion and muscle activation.
   • Be open to iterative adjustments.

6. Step 6: Developing Coaching Cues

   • Once the movement is refined, distill the essential elements into concise, actionable coaching cues. These cues guide proper form and maximize effectiveness (e.g., "brace your core," "drive through your heels," "keep your elbows tucked").

Example: Creating a "Rotational Core Press"

Let's imagine creating an exercise to improve core stability and power in the transverse plane, specifically for sports like golf, baseball, or throwing.

• Goal: Enhance rotational core strength and power, integrating the upper body.
• Target Muscles/Joints: Obliques, rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, serratus anterior, pectorals, deltoids. Focus on thoracic rotation and anti-rotation of the lumbar spine.
• Movement Pattern: Rotational push/press.
• Equipment: Cable machine (provides consistent horizontal resistance).
• Description & Cues:
  • Starting Position: Stand perpendicular to a cable machine, feet shoulder-width apart, holding the cable handle with both hands at chest height, arms extended forward. Cable tension should be pulling you towards the machine.
  • Action: Initiate the movement by rotating your torso away from the machine, pressing the cable handle further across your body until your arms are fully extended and your chest is facing away from the machine. Maintain a stable lower body, allowing only controlled rotation through the thoracic spine.
  • Return: Control the eccentric phase as the cable pulls you back to the starting position.
  • Key Cues: "Brace your core," "Imagine driving through a punch," "Keep your hips relatively stable," "Control the rotation, don't just swing."
• Progression/Regression:
  • Progression: Increase cable weight, increase speed for power, perform from a half-kneeling or kneeling position for increased core challenge.
  • Regression: Decrease cable weight, perform with less range of motion, use a lighter resistance band instead of a cable.

Key Considerations for Implementation

• Individual Differences: No single exercise is perfect for everyone. Anatomy, injury history, and skill level dictate suitability.
• Progression and Overload: For continued adaptation, the exercise must be progressively overloaded over time (e.g., increased resistance, repetitions, sets, or complexity).
• Proper Form and Technique: Emphasize correct execution over heavy loads. Poor form can negate benefits and increase injury risk.

By understanding these principles, you move beyond simply performing exercises to truly mastering the art and science of movement, empowering you to create effective, safe, and purposeful training solutions.