The Concept of Specificity in Fitness

Back when I was originally studying for my Physical Education qualifications we were always told about the principle of specificity - essentially meaning that you get good at whatever you do. It's strange, but in today's fitness industry I'm often surprised how rare it is for people to consider this when they are choosing exercise options.

If you thought about the things that you do for fitness, could you really say that you wanted to become better at doing them? Would an increased skill level in using the elliptical, the chest press or performing a crunch really help in daily life? In fact, I would imagine that most people never perform these types of things outside of the gym environment.

We typically see people choosing programs, systems or exercises based on a variety of factors but rarely does specificity come into the equation. I regularly speak to clients or friends who want to lose weight, tone certain muscles or build strength but it is a rare occasion when someone tells me that they want to get better at a certain movement. Many times, it seems as though people don't make the connection between exercise and daily life. Exercise, for many, has become a series of arbitrary goals:

"I want to build muscle so that I can burn more calories at rest"
"I want to burn X number of calories per session"

I prefer to take a different approach to goal setting - how can we improve a persons ability to move well and enable them to accomplish everything they want to in daily life. I like to consider what they currently do, what they can't do and what they've always wanted to be able to do. I find this gives a certain clarity to the programming process and can achieve a much greater level of "real world success". I try to encourage others not to follow programs simply because everyone else is - make your own choices based on what you want to be able to achieve.

Start to take a look at your daily schedule and compare this to your current gym routine - are there any parallels? If not, start to add in some exercises that will work towards improving some basic skills e.g.

Deadlifts (and especially suitcase variations) will assist in picking things up from the floor such as shopping bags or children
Lunges and their variations will improve Gait (walking)
Cleans and Presses will improve your ability to lift things above your head such as putting objects onto a high shelf
Step Ups will improve your ability to walk up stairs
Squats will improve your ability to stand up and sit down

These are some very basic examples but hopefully you can see how you might start to analyze your program in a slightly different way.

Sandbag Training also fits well into this concept and one of the major reasons that I train with them is that they respond more like a "real world" weight. The sand shifts and it is difficult to stabilize - you don't get this challenge from a pair of dumbbells. And, while I may not be able to lift the same amount of weight in a sandbag as on a bar, I feel as though it is a truer representation of my actual strength.

Contributor Information

Matt Palfrey is a strength and conditioning specialist, consultant to the healthcare and fitness industry and the author of the Sandbag Fitness Blog - a free resource for those wishing to incorporate sandbag lifting into their strength and conditioning programme. The Sandbag Fitness Blog contains information, tips and daily workouts for people to follow. Matt is based in the UK and his current clients include pro MMA athletes, individuals and a number of private sector health and fitness organisations.

Find out more at http://sandbagfitness.blogspot.com/

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written by IronMan24, August 23, 2011

Very good article. I agree, seldom do individuals focus on real world application in terms of goal setting. It normally boils down to losing X number of pounds for most. I to try to encourage movement based training with all my clients, so that they may have transfer into real world application.

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written by davy, August 24, 2011

I agree, good article. However, I really wonder if "I want to burn X number of calories per session" is really all that prevalent compared to let's say, "I want to look good in a swimsuit/naked" or "I want a shredded six pack." I'd guess (I'm not a trainer, so I'm in all probability, wrong) that the majority of people's goals are to look good. I'd go as far as to say that most people are content with their suitcase lifting abilities. Heck, if I can get them from my car to the gate, what more do I really need? smilies/wink.gif

All that being said, I like any member of this site, prefer functional fitness with my bells, bar, rings, sandbag, and body and love the durability and inner strength it provides. However, since my primary goal is mainly vanity (I'm being honest here) I always cycle in a traditional dumbbell and barbell lifting routine once or twice a year, because let's be honest, they are time tested and extremely effective tools. I don't think anyone can argue that. Usually, when I get back to the functional stuff, I'm stronger and as conditioned as ever.

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written by mpalfrey, August 26, 2011

I think one of the problems is that people set this distinction between a "bodybuilding" program (to look good) and a "functional" program (to improve performance). My argument is that a more functional program, coupled with the correct diet, will actually improve physique just as effectively as a more traditional bodybuilding style program - with the added bonus of greatly improved performance.

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written by IronMan24, August 27, 2011

You hit the nail on the head with that mpalfrey. While there are many factors that influence physique/body comp (genetics, diet, exercise frequency/intensity) There is no one way to achieve a lean physique and I also agree that why not be able to build a strong foundation with functional carry over to RL while doing it.

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