Not Good and Bad—Appropriateness and Execution

Fitness is full of misplaced value judgements: “good” and “bad,” “right” and “wrong.”  Scripture only discusses the importance of being good stewards of the bodies and the health that God has blessed us with [1, 2].  It is silent on workout and exercise selection, so sanctimony is better reserved for matters of faith—not fitness.  Render unto CrossFit what is CrossFit’s and render unto God what is God’s.

With mundane temporal matters like workout and exercise selection, we should only speak of appropriateness and execution:

• Does the student have the physical prerequisites?
• Is the student properly coached before and during?
• Is it appropriate for his goals, the best use of valuable training time?
• Does it withstand cost-benefit, risk-reward scrutiny?

Many students are shocked when I check physical prerequisites prior to performing an exercise, presumably because no one else has.  Many common exercises require mobility that many students lack.  Some examples:

• Forearm supination for barbell curls and reverse-grip pullups
• Shoulder extension for triceps dips and muscle ups
• Shoulder flexion for overhead presses
• Shoulder flexion and wrist extension for handstands
• Ankle dorsiflexion for squats
• Ankle dorsiflexion and shoulder flexion for overhead barbell snatches

The nervous system will recruit whatever motor units are necessary to execute a movement or stabilization pattern, regardless of whether that nervous system’s owner has the prerequisite mobility to execute it safely.  Deficiencies in one joint in the kinetic chain are compensated for by unsalutary movements in other joints.  The result—surprise!—is accelerated deterioration or acute injury.  Dr. Andreo Spina of Functional Range Conditioning said that if he were to screen 100 random gym goers to determine if they had the physical prerequisites, especially ankle dorsiflexion, to safely perform an overhead barbell snatch, the number qualifying would be, “maybe one, maybe no people out of 100”  [3].  If your coach or trainer does not screen students for mobility prior to performing those exercises, it might be time to find a new one.

Even with the prerequisite mobility, strength exercises require proper coaching before and during. Intelligent professionals who would not countenance doing their own taxes, landscaping their own yard, or fixing their own toilet will nonetheless Google a complicated exercise and then try it on their own based on a few search results.  Hire a pro.  StrongFirst certified instructors must meet rigorous performance requirements while demonstrating proper technique.  Failure rates of 30% are not uncommon [4].  There are several other worthwhile certifications, many of which I hold, but they tend to be academic certifications that do not have comparable physical components.

Just because you can do it and do it safely do not mean that you should.  Whether you are an athlete, parent, busy professional, or some combination thereof, training time is valuable.  Workout and exercise selection should optimize one’s training time towards meeting one’s goals.  One popular marketing tactic for workouts, exercises, and equipment is to mention that they are used by professional athletes or special operations soldiers, to which you should ask yourself: Are you a professional athlete?  Same sport as the one in the advertisement?  Are you a special operations soldier or do you seek to become one?  If the answers are “no,” then you should consider shopping elsewhere.  

Inappropriate or misplaced exercises abound even in “elite” athletic programs.  NFL quarterback Chris Simms got slower and lost several inches off his vertical jump after playing four years for the University of Texas Longhorns.  They had him benching 225 pounds four or five times a week and ending workouts with sixteen 440-yard sprints, tasks with questionable transfer to playing quarterback.  All of that had him benching 225 pounds “like a beast” but at the expense of speed and explosiveness [5].  Better coaching is when Houston Oilers head coach Bum Phillips supported Hall of Fame running back Earl Campbell’s refusal to run a mile: “When it’s first and a mile, I won’t give it to him” [6].

The last test for workout and exercise selection is if it passes cost-benefit, risk-reward scrutiny.  Olympic lifts and heavy squats would benefit everyone.  Dr. Fred Hatfield (“Dr. Squat”) commented rhetorically: “How come it is that elite weightlifters, powerlifters and shot putters—all of whom squat—vertical jump higher and run a 5 meter dash faster than any other class of athletes in any sport? Including high jumpers and sprinters?” [7].  I do not doubt the legendary doctor, but I am guessing that he never had to answer to a head coach whose non-weightlifter, non-powerlifter athlete he injured while doing elite weightlifter and powerlifter workouts.  An unspoken rule of strength coaching is that if you injure a coach’s athlete, your name will be mud, you will never work for that coach again—if you are lucky—and you will never work in the industry again period if you are not.  Even if you are not a strength coach and your livelihood is not on the line, your quality of life always is.  The best ability is availability.  If you can find an alternative way to achieve a result with less risk of injury, do it.  When in doubt, throw it out.

[1] The Holy Bible, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

[2] The Holy Bible, Romans 12:1.

[3] A. Spina. “ONLINE FRC: INTRODUCTION.” Functional Range Conditioning (FRC). https://functionalanatomyseminars.com/frc-members-area/virtual-frc-lectures/?vimeography_gallery=1&vimeography_video=410740429 (accessed March 2, 2025).

[4] “SFG I StrongFirst Kettlebell Instructor Certification.” StrongFirst. https://www.strongfirst.com/certifications/sfg-i-kettlebell-instructor-information/ (accessed March 5, 2025).

[5] B. Parisi and J. Allen, Fascia Training: A Whole-System Approach. Independently Published, 2019.

[6] “Bum Phillips Quotes / #4.” 247sports.com. https://247sports.com/coach/3616/quotes/when-its-first-and-a-mile-i-wont-give-it-to-him-35961349/ (accessed March 4, 2025).

[7] P. C. Study. “Fred Hatfield, ‘I May Know Diddly, But I Know Squat!’ (2001).” https://physicalculturestudy.com/2021/03/12/fred-hatfield-i-may-know-diddly-but-i-know-squat-2001-3/ (accessed March 5, 2025).