Pre-Script ® Coach’s Field Guide

The Pre-Script ® Coach’s Field Guide is a reference

for trainers, coaches, and athletes to give them a
better working understanding of the guiding
principles that govern our training decisions.

This is NOT a step-by-step workout plan or a “10

easy steps to ..”*

It’s a concise, high-level explanation of key resistance

training concepts and how they can be applied instantly
to your training paradigm.

THESE CONCEPTS İNCLUDE:

Resistance Profiles: Learn the unique properties of

different training modalities, and how they affect the
human body.

Strength Curves: Learn how muscles respond to

resistance, and how we can predict a muscle’s
behaviour in certain positions.

Planes of Motion: Sagittal, Frontal and Transverse:

Understand the key concepts of the “tri-planar model”
and how movement is organized.

Exercise Indexing: Effective exercise indexing is the

backbone of exercise selection- which becomes the
biomechanical framework on which we build our
exercise programs.

Whether you are new to the gym floor or an established

veteran- these concepts are crucial in order to make
better decisions around your training.

Vol 01

3 Coaches Field Guide_Vol1

 V1
Did you know that cows are closer genet- (For the record, whales stem from the
ic relatives to blue whales than they are same order- Artiodactyla and their com-
to horses? mon ancestor lived roughly 60 million
years ago.)
An abstract thought for most to grasp,
but to a biologist who understands how
the animal kingdom is categorized by
Phylum, Subphylum, Class, Order, In-
fraorder, Family, Genus, Species etc. It
becomes a relatively straight line to draw
from their common ancestors.

COWS WHALES

Kingdom: Animalia Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae Infraorder: Cetacea
Subfamily: Bovinae Family: Balaenopteridae
Genus: Bos Genus: Balaenoptera
Species: B. taurus Species: B. musculus

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 This system of categorization is called Let’s think for a second about a spider.
taxonomy. Now, depending on your experience, you
could be thinking of either a common
Taxonomy is a subset of scientific cate- house spider or a Sydney funnel-web
gorization that is often used in the orga- spider. However, that represents a wide A bite from a Sydney funnel-web spider
nization of organisms and animals, but and potentially fatal range of outcomes. can lead to nausea, vomiting, coma, or
its high-level concept can be transferred even death, whereas a bite from a com-
across disciplines to exercise science in A common house spider, also known as mon house spider is unlikely to have any
a very meaningful way. Parasteatoda Tepidariorum, and the negative side effects.
Sydney funnel-web spider, also known
Using a system with this level of granular as Atrax Robustus, are organized under
detail becomes infinitely useful, as the the exact same kingdom, phylum, sub- If you come across a Sydney Fun-
layers of detail will ultimately change the phylum, class, and order, differing only nel-Web spider, it is advisable to avoid
way we act when interacting with ani- at the levels of infraorder, family, genus, contact at all costs. However, there is a
mals. This makes taxonomy more than and species. common house spider that lives next to
just a theoretical hierarchy but a practical my toilet.
guide for approaching animals.

The key takeaway here is that the mean-

COMMON SYDNEY FUNNEL-

ingful differences that incite a change in
action only occur at a certain depth of
analysis.
HOUSE SPIDER WEB SPIDER

Kingdom: Animalia Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Theridiidae Family: Atracidae
Genus: Parasteatoda Genus: Atrax
Species: P. tepidariorum Species: A. robustus

6 7 Coaches Field Guide_Vol1

 Now
Now let’slet’s
talktalk fitness
fitness things…
things…

When it comes to resistance training,

there are only a few widely accepted
and widely applied criteria. However, this
superficial system often fails to provide
enough depth to bring about meaningful
changes in our actions.

The purpose of the field guide will be to

highlight a few common systems of ex-
ercise categorization and provide under-
lying principles that will add depth to our
exercise taxonomy system, enabling us
to make better decisions in our training.

MUSCLE GROUP
The highest level of taxonomy and ca-
tegorization is based on muscle groups.
From a young age, we were introduced
to the basic understanding of muscu-
lar anatomy, forming the foundation of
our training framework, such as “Pecs,”
“Lats,” “Quads,” “Biceps,” and so on.

This categorization serves as the primary

schematic for resistance training and
is relatively simple to grasp in theory.
However, there are subtleties in exercise
Length-Tension Relationship
execution that help bias certain musc-
The length-tension relationship helps us
les over others. We will delve into those
details in future volumes of The Coaches predict the positions in which a muscle is
Field Guide. more or less capable of producing force.
This key principle enables us to make the
For now, let’s focus on high-level con- best decisions regarding which exercises to
cepts that apply to all muscle groups and use for training a muscle most effectively.
help us understand certain properties of
muscles that can influence how we ap- To gain a better understanding of what
proach training them. the length-tension relationship is and how
it becomes useful in our training, let’s ex-
amine a strength curve, also known as
One crucial property of a muscle that a strength profile. It is simply a graphical
impacts our training decisions is its “len- representation of a muscles ability to exert
gth-tension relationship.” force across its anatomical length.

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 This bell curve demonstrates that as a Each of these positions will have a dif- Modalities can be classified as Kettlebell,
muscle approaches its respective length- ferent maximum loadability based on its Dumbbell, Barbell, Cable, Pin-Loaded Ma-
ened and shortened positions, its ability to length-tension relationship. Understanding chine, Plate-Loaded Machine, and so on.
exert force diminishes slightly more in the the relative glass ceilings of load between Each modality offers its own set of bene-
shortened position than in the lengthened exercises and their respective positions fits, often scaled on a spectrum from less
position. At the muscle’s “mid-range,” it will enable us to make informed decisions to more stable. Kettlebells and dumbbells
exhibits the greatest ability to exert force. in exercise selection while factoring in the are the least stable, while plate/pin-loaded
It is valuable to identify these positions for recovery needs. machines are the most stable.
each muscle group that you train. This al-
lows you to subcategorize exercises based
on the loadability of these positions. MODALITY
Lengthened: Low Cable Bicep Curl Once we have considered the muscle and
Let’s take a look at an example together... its activity, it’s time to subcategorize our
exercises based on what happens to the
muscle. One of the major factors that de-
The Biceps Brachii is a biarticular muscle termine the stimulus and adaptations we
group, meaning it crosses two joints—the achieve is the modality we use to add re-
elbow and the shoulder. It inserts on the sistance to the muscle.
radial tuberosity via the bicipital aponeu-
rosis and spans up to its two origins at the
coracoid process (short head) and supra-
glenoid tubercle (long head).

The biceps act to create supination at the

wrist, flexion at the elbow, and flexion at
the shoulder. Once we understand its an-
atomical structure, we can begin to identi-
fy which positions constitute “lengthened,”
“mid-range,” and “shortened” positions
and assign exercises accordingly.

Mid Range: Seated Preacher Curl

Shortened: High Cable Bicep Curl

10 11 Coaches Field Guide_Vol1
 Resistance Profile Resistance profiles allow us to under- This allows us to understand which parts
stand where during a movement, a mo- of the movement have a disproportion-
Just as muscles have a predictive model for anticipating their ability to produce force at dality is exerting more or less force on us. ately horizontal or vertical component.
various positions (Strength Curve), modalities also have a predictive model for how they
exert force on us at different positions (Resistance Profile). This principle is easiest explained by Think of a watch face…
breaking down resistance profiles into
their two major use cases The top of the watch face is 12, the bot-
tom is 6, and the sides are 3 and 9.
1 Free Weights When movements occur between 1:30
(including plate-loaded machines) and 4:30 and 10:30 and 7:30, free
weights will travel more vertically than
2 Cable Machines horizontally. The peak vertical displace-
ment occurs at 3:00 and 9:00, respec-
When examining any free-weight move- tively. This can be referred to as
ment (including plate-loaded machines), “HEAVY O’CLOCK.”
we first need to observe the arc in every
movement. Each movement follows an
arc, from a dumbbell lateral raise to a
bicep curl to a pendulum squat.

Once we identify the arc, we need to

place it within a full circle of potential
movement from the central point.

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 It goes without saying (but we’ll state it Now, let’s apply this to exercise terms...
for the record), our interest will peak as
we move through ranges of predominant- For this example, let’s consider a dumbbell
ly vertical displacement because that’s lateral raise and superimpose the move-
where gravity exerts the maximum po- ment over a watch face to predict where
tential force of the weight onto the body. there is the greatest amount of vertical dis-
Conversely, when movement occurs be- placement and where there is the greatest
tween 10:30 and 1:30 and 4:30 and 7:30, amount of horizontal displacement.
the weight travels more horizontally than
vertically. The peak horizontal placement
occurs at 12 and 6, respectively.

Since gravity doesn’t pull sideways, it will

always be easier to move free weights
between 10:30 and 1:30 and 4:30 and
7:30. This can be referred to as “LIGHT
O’CLOCK.”

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 A cam is a projection on a rotating
First, let’s identify the center point So roughly speaking, the dumbbell part in machinery, designed to make
of the watch face. For the dumbbell is at “heavy o’clock” as the deltoid sliding contact with another part
lateral raise, the shoulder joint is the becomes weaker. This mismatch in while rotating and impart reciprocal
center, and the movement would oc- loading is not necessarily good or bad; or variable motion.
cur between 6:00 and 3:00 (roughly). it just needs to be understood when
it’s present, as it also imposes a limit
This means the initial movement of on the ability to load the muscle max-
the dumbbell lateral raise is horizon- imally. There are many layers to this The cam design allows the machine’s
tal, and the second half of the move- conversation that will be discussed in tension to be lower in the lengthened and
ment is more vertical. Now, under- future Coaches Field Guides. shortened positions, where we are “weak-
stand that the dumbbell (and any free er,” and apply a greater amount of tension
weight) will naturally want to travel Now, let’s take the same example of in the mid-range where we are “stronger.”
straight down due to gravity. the deltoid and examine how a ma-
chine exerts force.
The dumbbell exerts the greatest
force on the deltoid as it moves to 3 A run-of-the-mill shoulder lateral raise
o’clock or 9 o’clock. machine is perhaps one of the most
universally accepted designs when it
If we consider the strength curve of comes to machine manufacturing. The
the deltoid, we’ll note that 90 degrees reason for its widespread use is that
of shoulder abduction approaches it’s easy to create a cam* to correct for
the shortened position of the deltoid, the force mismatch of the dumbbell
where we would anticipate a drop-off lateral raise.
in the ability to exert force.

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MUSCLE GROUP AND MODALITY:
CONCLUSION PLANES OF MOTION THE FRONTAL PLANE
Another beneficial system of categorization The frontal plane refers to the body’s

Imagine this scenario

(yes, it’s a word—I just checked on Google) movement through abduction/adduction.
is understanding the three cardinal planes In the case of the trunk, this can also be
of movement: Sagittal, Frontal, and Trans- referred to as “lateral flexion.”
verse planes. Organizing movements based

in your mind: on their bias toward a particular plane can

be useful. Furthermore, understanding the
muscles that primarily work in each plane
THE TRANSVERSE
PLANE
can also be helpful.
It’s 5 pm on a Monday evening, and In a similar comparison, if we were farmers The transverse plane refers to the body’s
you’re at a commercial gym witnessing in a field, we might assume that a horse For those unfamiliar with these terms, fear movement through rotation.
a personal trainer working with a client. and a cow share more similarities than a not. They can be tricky to grasp at first, but
They head over to the seated hamstring cow and a whale. After all, the whale lives we’ll provide enough examples of exercis- In isolation and in theory, these defini-
curl machine, but to their disappointment, in water… es in each plane that you’ll become a pro tions are fairly straightforward and easy
it’s already occupied. Thinking quickly, the by the end. to follow. However, some complexity is
trainer spots a vacant lying hamstring curl Trainers often look at the muscle group and needed to understand how to apply this
machine next to it and decides to make a the modality and choose the other ham- theory in practice.
real-time substitution. string machine instead of the Romanian THE SAGITTAL PLANE
deadlift because the dumbbells are located
At first glance, based on the basic princi- in a different section of the gym. The sagittal plane refers to the body’s
ples of muscle group and modality taxono- movement through flexion and extension,
my, this substitution may seem acceptable. However, a subtle shift in the reference whether it’s the shoulder, elbow, ankle, etc.
point of our analysis can have a profound
However, if we examine it more closely impact on how we approach our training.
from a mechanistic perspective and ana-
lyze the occupied seated hamstring curl
machine through the lens of the length-ten-
sion relationship, we can see how these
two exercises actually provide quite differ-
ent and even opposite stimuli to the ham-
string muscles. The seated hamstring curl
primarily targets the muscle in its length-
ened position, while the lying hamstring
curl focuses on the shortened position.

Under this categorization system, if our

goal is to maintain consistency in stimu-
lating the lengthened range of the ham-
string, a more suitable substitution would
be a Romanian deadlift (using a barbell
or dumbbells), as it better replicates the
body position and subsequent hamstring
stimulus provided by the seated ham-
string curl.

19 Coaches Field Guide_Vol1

PLANES İN MOTİON
We must remember two major governing principles when looking at movement through
the lens of planes of movement. The first is an understanding of the hierarchical ordering
of the individual planes, and the second is the ever-present interaction of these planes.

1. Planar Movement Hierarchy

Firstly, we need to understand how these When you understand this sequence
planes of movement are organized in our of movement from “front-to-back,” “si-
brains from easiest to most complex. de-to-side,” and “rotation,” you start to
see it EVERYWHERE.
The sagittal plane is the simplest to
move through and, in some ways, can From the most basic uninitiated novice
be considered our default state. Moving gym-goers’ intuitive warm-up of:
a joint or region of the body through the
movements of flexion and extension Forward and back leg swings,
requires less input and provides more Lateral leg swings,
support than the other two planes. It is Trunk rotations before starting a leg There are numerous applications for un- It can also be used to create motor le-
because of this simplicity that the sagittal workout. derstanding how the three planes intera- arning progressions for novice clients or
plane becomes our default. To Olympic swimmers preparing for the ct with one another and how the human as part of a progression model for those
gold medal final by doing: body adjusts its movement capabilities looking to rehabilitate after an injury or
Slightly more complex is the frontal according to each plane. surgery.
plane. Moving side-to-side can pose Forward and back arm circles,
challenges when compared to the flexion Side-to-side arm swings, This principle can be used as an assess-
and extension movements of the sagittal Trunk and cervical spine rotations before ment tool to determine whether individu-
plane, but it is easier to coordinate than getting on the starting blocks. als have the passive flexibility or active
the transverse plane. To NFL running backs running in a strai- mobility to successfully move into each
ght line until they run out of options, plane before introducing any type of load.
And finally, the transverse plane—rotatio- then side-stepping until they run out of
nal movements—are the most difficult to options, and ultimately rotating as a last
initiate and coordinate effectively. resort to avoid being tackled.

20 21 Coaches Field Guide_Vol1

 We can now include it as a sagittal plane The goal is to understand movement at a
shoulder exercise with the integration of mechanistic level and, from there, be able
transverse plane rotator cuff function. to extrapolate countless “references” or
“categories” within our taxonomy structure
2. Planes of Movement: Interaction When searching for exercises with diffe-
rent, more specific reference points, we
of movement.

The second governing principle for So let’s break it down. can see the utility of the dumbbell front
effectively applying logic backed by raise beyond its narrow search criteria of
an understanding of the planes of Typically, when we think of 90 degrees “anterior deltoid exercise.”
movement is the recognition of the of shoulder rotation, we imagine exer-
ever-present nature of movement cises using bands or cables that apply
through all three planes. load through the transverse plane, If we now search our index for “sagittal
plane shoulder exercise” or “rotator cuff
specifically targeting the rotator cuff.
integration exercise,” our taxonomy sys-
There will commonly be cases where
tem will identify the dumbbell front raise as
the movements we train cannot be However, if we pay attention to the arm
a potential result.
simply classified as entirely sagittal, path during the dumbbell front raise,
frontal, or transverse. We must accept we observe that the shoulder starts
that these three planes are accessed from a relatively externally rotated posi-
synergistically to create movement. tion at the bottom of the movement, in-
That being said, it’s still useful to dicated by the palms facing the side of
determine which plane a movement the body. At the end of the movement
biases more than another while rec- (90 degrees of flexion), the palm now
ognizing how the other planes interact faces the floor. So if we consider the
behind the scenes. hand as a proxy for shoulder rotation,
we can see that 90 degrees of rotation
Let’s take the dumbbell front raise has occurred.
as an example. It is an exercise that
often falls under the category of an- Although the rotation isn’t resisted to
terior deltoid exercises. This can also the same degree as the shoulder flex-
be seen as a sagittal plane shoulder ion due to the dumbbell loading primar-
movement because its primary func- ily in the sagittal plane, it still occurs
tion involves resisted flexion of the and is important. This integration of
shoulder. However, it would be ben- muscle function should be considered
eficial to understand the amount of rather than isolating muscle action.
transverse plane movement present With all of this in mind, we can expand
as well. upon a surface-level taxonomy for the
dumbbell front raise, which would have
previously been classified solely as an
Let’s assume an average dumbbell anterior deltoid-biased dumbbell exer-
front raise goes through 90 degrees cise (highlighting muscle and modality).
of shoulder flexion. What we may not
notice is that the dumbbell front raise
also involves 90 degrees of shoulder
rotation, and this concept can be chal-
lenging to grasp for some.

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MECHANISMS
INDEXING
Imagine looking someone up in the
phonebook without a refined system of
It’s imperative that we keep those two categorization. You would waste count-
keys in mind when attempting to identify less hours flipping through the pages to
mechanisms. find the person you’re after, or you might
Understanding mechanisms is the funda-
mental component of understanding how give up and not call anyone.
My dog thinks that barking opens doors.
to index exercises appropriately. Without
(I swear this has to do with exercise, stay These problems are commonly faced by
mechanisms, exercises can get clumped
with me) trainers and athletes. They either waste
together in too broad a context, making
filtering your exercise library slow and a lot of time or are paralyzed by choice.
When I got Axel at 8 weeks old, we both
ineffective.
had the WORST separation anxiety. However, if we use filtering criteria and
Every time I would leave the house, he index core movements based on a com-
Mechanisms act as our reference point
would bark, and I would come rushing mon mechanism, we can quickly narrow
for indexing exercises. Think of a phone-
back. And after a while, he learned that if down our search.
book, for example. The phone book uses
he barked, the door would open.
multiple different references to easily
index all the people and businesses in A classic example is Stuart McGill’s Big
We can look at this and easily say, “Silly Three exercises: The Curl Up, The Side
a particular city. The two major divisions
dog, that’s not how doors open—I know Plank, and the Bird Dog.
are the yellow pages and the white pag-
how doors open.”
es. The yellow pages are for businesses,
and the white pages are for people. These exercises themselves are not
But do you, though? indexed, but they serve as placeholders
From there, businesses are broken down for core movements that bias a particular
If anyone has locked their keys out of plane of movement.
by type (in alphabetical order), and under
their house, you will know that you have
each type of business, they are listed
no idea how doors open. Because you The Curl-Up can be categorized as a
alphabetically. Similarly, people are or-
need to call someone who does. Then, sagittal plane core movement. The Side
dered alphabetically by last name.
minutes later, a locksmith shows up and Plank can be categorized as a trans-
charges you 200 dollars to open your verse plane core movement. And the
A similar system of indexing and orga-
door with an icepick and a credit card. Bird Dog can be categorized as a trans-
nization can and should be applied to
That guy knows how doors work. That verse plane core movement.
exercise. Instead of using alphabetical
guy understands mechanisms.
order to rank movements, we would use
mechanisms as our reference points and Using these categories, we can filter all
As trainers and coaches, we must strive core exercises and relate them to each
then list movements based on a number
to be locksmiths. Otherwise, we’re left other, creating a concise and easily
of filtering criteria such as complexity,
barking louder and longer, waiting for “searchable” list of core movements.
loadability, efficacy, etc.
changes to occur that may never happen. We can toggle between them based on
Let’s take a look at “core training” as an a client’s ability to perform more or less
example. If we were to list all the exer- complex movements within that plane.
cises and classify them under the broad
umbrella term of “core training,” we
would end up with hundreds, if not thou-
sands, of exercises on that list.

How do you choose?

24 25 Coaches Field Guide_Vol1

 Let’s take a closer look at the Bird Dog exer- exercises within the list. However, this provi-
cise, which is a staple movement and cate- des us with a framework to establish where
gorized as a transverse plane core exercise. to begin with a client, rather than simply star-
ting at the front of the book…
We can identify other core movements
that filter out based on this criteria and Let’s use my last name, Shallow, as an ana-
relate them to the bird dog in terms of logy. It starts with the letter “S,” which is the
complexity, loadability, instability, etc. 19th letter of a 26-letter alphabet, making it
73% of the way through.
Exercises like the Deadbug, Pallof press,
Bear Crawl, and Landmine Press all share If you were to look me up in the phone book,
would you turn to the front of the book? DEAD BUG BIRD DOG
a similar “core” mechanism of being an-
ti-rotation (aka transverse plane) drills, like
I’d hope not…
the bird dog.
You would do some quick mental math and
However, each exercise carries a signifi- likely flip to a page somewhere in the latter
cantly different magnitude of stimulus. half of the book. And if you ended up in “T”
If we were to index the above-listed exer- or “U,” you would flip back, and if you ended
cises by the magnitude of potential stimu- up in “Q” and “R,” you would flip a few pa-
lus, our list would look something like this: ges forward. This is how exercise selection
should be.

But too often, regardless of where people

are, we are programmed to start at the front
of the book. We follow a protocol that takes
people through their literal “ABCs” of move-
ment progression. On the surface, this might BEAR CRAWL
sound thorough, but in practice, it is a giant
Dead Bug waste of time.

Bird Dog If we can create indexes of exercises based

on mechanism, stimulus, and desired adap-
Bear Crawl tation, and then assess our client’s baseline
level of ability to execute the movements, we
Pallof Press can quickly “flip” through the pages and land
in the ballpark of meaningful stimulus.
Landmine Press
Creating these indexes allows us to ac-
complish two important things:

Rather than starting at page one, PALLOF PRESS LANDMINE PRESS

1
we can pinpoint exercises that match
the specific needs of our clients.
Broaden our use of exercises.
Now, this is only a cross-section of a mas-
sive list of transverse plane exercises. By indexing exercises based on
2
Depending on loading parameters, we various criteria, we expand our
could potentially change the order of a few repertoire and provide more diverse
and effective training options.
26 27 Coaches Field Guide_Vol1
 EXERCISE
SELECTION
The study of biomechanics can be simplified as
the study of load management. However, load
management doesn’t simply involve going he-
avier or lighter on a particular movement or at
a specific point in a training session or cycle. It
entails the ability to control the loadability envi-
ronment through the selection of exercises.

In essence, if we agree that biomechanics is

load management and that the best way to ma-
nage load is by selecting exercises with approp-
riate loadability based on exercise constraints,
then we can conclude that exercise selection
is a crucial but often overlooked component of
biomechanics.

Learning to index exercises based on mec-

hanistic reference points allows us to quickly
navigate through exercises that provide similar
enough stimulus to suit the lifter’s needs. It
goes beyond just adjusting the load of a specific
movement.

Now, let’s break down the significance of in-

dexing and exercise selection with an example.

28 29 Coaches Field Guide_Vol1

There are two basic filtering criteria for
improving the decisions we make around
training are:

1. Time:
Does the exercise we select get us to
the end goal faster?
COLLATERAL
2. Collateral: The second aspect to consider when
Does the exercise we select carry understanding mechanisms is the poten-
with it any undesirable collateral, and tial collateral impact of utilizing a specific
if so, how much? exercise to elicit a stimulus.

For instance, it has been said that “bar-

bell rows are detrimental for hypertro-
phy,” which is not entirely true. People

TIME
have been able to build significant mus-
cle mass using this exercise for decades.
It offers unique benefits, such as de-
manding muscular co-contraction due to
Some might argue, “Lat pull-downs don’t the need to overcome substantial shear
effectively target the lats.” This comment forces on the spine.
focuses on the biomechanics of the move-
ment and the requirement for downward However, there is a significant portion of
scapular rotation, which can be considered the population that lacks the necessary
somewhat of an “upper back” movement. spinal control to manage these shear
A better way to phrase this would be, “There forces and the complexity of the move-
are more effective ways to directly target ment. In such cases, the barbell row may
or isolate the lat muscles from other back not be as effective as a simpler, more
muscles.” direct (likely machine-based) movement
for achieving the desired stimulus. It’s
While it may be true that a single-arm ca- important to consider the potential effec-
ble row or a specific machine may have tiveness of alternative exercises.
advantages in targeting the lat muscles Complex movements may be unsuitable
more effectively, it doesn’t mean that the lat for some individuals, and opting for less
pull-down doesn’t work the lat muscles. It’s shear-inducing exercises, such as a ma-
absurd to claim that it doesn’t since you are chine row, can be a better alternative.
moving the arm on the spine, which engag-
es the lat muscles.

So, if I have limited time or I want to effi-

ciently stimulate my lats in isolation from
other back muscles, the lat pull-down might
not be my “go-to” exercis fulfill this goal. And
a single arm cable lat pull-dow will be the
move.

30 31 Coaches Field Guide_Vol1

Conclusion
Coaching is a multifaceted, ever evolving field
constantly updating with new research and
emerging trends. But through the breakthroughs
and the novelty are immutable principles that
will act as the cornerstone of our decision mak-
ing process.

These principles aren’t simple, they’re sophis-

ticated. However, having a working knowledge
of how to apply these principles will make your
decision making process simpler over time.

Length-tension relationships, resistance profiles,

planes of movement, exercise indexing and
exercise selection are but a few of the “basics”
that coaches should familiarize themselves with
in the pursuit of delivering a world class product
to their clients and athletes.

In future field guides we’ll dig deeper and ex-

pand wider across the theoretical landscape that
better serves our practical application.

In the meantime, go forth and practice. Pracitce

applying these principles in real-time to your
decision making process, refining your craft and
polishing your skills as a coach.

Till next time,

Pre-Script®

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