Intrafitt Performance Training Center

Should You Mix and Match Exercises?

posted by Stephen Cabral, CSCS, CPT, NS

The question often arises as to whether you can just pick up a workout out of a magazine or book and add a few of the exercises into your routine, or potentially substitute some the stated exercises with others.

These questions come up out of the need to substitute exercises because you either don't have the equipment specified or you just want to mix and match exercises depending on which moves look interesting. Sometimes you may even want to add in another exercise because it happens to target a particular muscle group you're looking to work.

I ask you to display some caution when it comes to substituting exercises, doubling up on certain body parts, or just choosing an exercise because of how it looks. The reason I say this is that, not all, but many of the programs you see designed in books and some magazines are created as a complete workout. This means that in order to get the maximum effectiveness of that workout you need to complete all the specified movements.

Typically, the sum of all the exercises also brings balance to all body parts and provides a total workout. By mixing and matching you run the risk of creating a muscular imbalance and missing out on a well-balanced workout.

However, there are very specific ways you can substitute exercises with similar movements to still get the same results.

I pulled this off the internet, mostly due to the time I was alotted, at 2:40 in the morning and an hour of researching. Actually my mother asked me this question, and I gave her the same answer. The only difference was the answer I gave. The answer was deffinately not explained as clearly as "Stephen Cabral" None the less had I been given some time, this is the reply that I would have given, if I wasnt half asleep.