The Top 5 Ways to Make Any Exercise Harder (Or Easier)

By BJ Gaddour, CSCS, YFS2

www.WorkoutMuse.com

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive from people all over the world is how to make an exercise harder (or easier) to best accommodate a wide variety of fitness levels.

In my fitness career I have prided myself in developing a truly automatic system of exercise progressions and regressions within my own fitness bootcamp program design that has allowed people from all walks of life to safely and effectively be pushed to the limit while performing the exact same workout at the exact same time.

Today I’m going to breakdown the top 5 ways to make an exercise harder or easier as needed for your own campers and clients or for your own personal workouts. Let’s get to it!

Progression#1- Stability: Changing the Size or Position of Your Body’s Base of Support

The overall stability of an exercise basically is determined by the relationship between your center of gravity (COG) and base of support (BOS). In other words, the less contact your body has with the floor (or stable surface) the harder it is for your body to stabilize itself during the exercise and visa versa. See below for a quick overview of how this applies:

- Most Stable: when using a large base of support with your center of gravity positioned as close to middle of that large base of support as possible

- Most Unstable: when using a small base of support with your center of gravity positioned as far away from the middle of that small base of support as possible

The best way to demonstrate this stability progression is to use the front pillar variation as a case study.

Level I- Most Stable- 4-Point Front Pillar- Progress from Wide Feet to Close Feet

Level II- 3-Point Front Pillar- Progress from 1-Leg to 1-Arm

Level III- Most Unstable: 2-Point Front Pillar- Opposite Arm and Leg

Furthermore, there are variations that would apply as Level IV and beyond such as performing the front pillar with the points of contact (in this case, your forearms and feet) on unstable surfaces like stability balls, stability discs, or the TRX suspension trainer.

In general, stability progressions involve moving from a static/stationary exercise to a dynamic/moving exercise. Clearly any exercise variation performed in a static or stationary environment is easier to perform than it’s dynamic or moving counterpart. Let’s take a look at two quick examples of this:

Example#1- Static vs. Dynamic Exercise Variation: Split Squat vs. Lunge

A split squat is performed with your feet statically positioned on the floor in a split stance throughout the duration of the exercise. A lunge involves stepping into a split squat position thus requiring greater stability since your base of support and center of gravity are changing throughout the movement. Dynamic exercises simply require greater motor control than their static alternatives.

Example#2- Stationary vs. Moving Exercise Variation: Lunge vs. Walking Lunge

A lunge involves stepping out into a split squat position and then explosively returning back to the starting position and repeating for time. A walking lunge involves continuous lunges where you move your body to a new position rep after rep, only returning to the original starting position at the end of the exercise (if ever). Moving exercises force your nervous system to work harder because of constant inherent variance in ground contact forces due to a host of factors such as changing terrain as opposed to staying in the exact same spot with no true displacement.

The applications of the stability principle truly are endless. Here are a few more examples:

- You can perform exercises like push-ups, lunges, rows, squats, and deadlifts on one leg instead of two

- You can do push-ups on your fists or fingertips instead of your hands

- You can perform pulling exercises while gripping towels encasing the weights instead of the weights themselves

I personally love stability progressions because they allow you to seamlessly intensify any exercise without the need for equipment, added loading, or elaborate set-up and transition times. This has the two-pronged benefit of mitigating the cost of your training while minimize the inherent risk associated with intensive exercise that involves external resistance. Remember, when in doubt use bodyweight exercise variations over external resistance to best keep safe and in order to take your workouts anywhere you may be: at home, in the gym, or on the road.

Stability progressions force your body’s internal stabilization system to kick into overdrive. As always, the more muscles we involve in every exercise the better. More specifically, the more we involve our pillar stabilizers of the shoulder, hips, and core, the more unbreakable we make our body.

Progression#2- Tempo: Changing Your Speed of Movement

Tempo describes the speed at which you perform a certain exercise. The tempo of an exercise includes 4 distinct components:

#1- Eccentric Period (E): the time it takes to perform the negative or “lowering” portion of an exercise

#2- Eccentric-Concentric Transition Period (EC): the time it takes to transition between the eccentric and concentric phase of an exercise

#3- Concentric Period (C): the time it takes to perform the positive or “lifting” portion of an exercise

#4- Transition Period Between Repetitions (T): the time you take between each repetition of an exercise

When combining all of these components, we have the following tempo formula that can be prescribed to any exercise:

E – EC – C – T

For example, let’s examine a push-up performed at a 3-1-X-1 tempo. This means that you will:

- Take 3 seconds to lower your chest to the floor

- Then pause for 1 second as you reach the bottom of the push-up without resting

- Then explode back up to the starting position

- Then pause for 1 second before you perform the next repetition

First and foremost is a requirement that you must first be able to perform a certain movement with perfect form and technique through a full range of motion at a controlled tempo before considering any of the outlined tempo progressions to come.

For our purposes, the typical repetition takes about 2-3 seconds to perform at a controlled 2-0-X-1 tempo. Basically, you control the lowering portion of the exercise and then try to perform the lifting portion of the exercise as explosively as you can.  Always start here to best ensure safe and effective training.

That being said, below is a basic outline of tempo progressions that allow you to intensity any bodyweight exercise without the need for external resistance or equipment:

a.) Add speed of movement to increase training density

Using the same push-up example as above, if the task was to perform max reps of push-ups in 30 seconds, it’s obvious that performing 20 reps is a better result than 10. This increase in reps can only be accomplished by performing the push-up at a faster speed than the aforementioned controlled 2-0-X-1 tempo.

Performing more work in the same amount of time increases training density (work performed per unit of time) and will help your burn more fat and build more lean muscle. However, increasing speed of movement is only a true progression when performed without sacrificing perfect form and technique or range of motion.

b.) Eliminate the Stretch Reflex to increase muscle work

Your muscles and tendons are just liked coiled springs. When you perform the lowering/eccentric portion of any exercise, your muscles and tendons build up stored elastic energy that allows you to quickly uncoil or bounce back to the starting position. So you when sink your hips back quickly into a deep squatting position the muscles of your lower body are primed to pop you right back up the starting position just like a stretched rubber band would.

This rubber band quality is referred to as the stretch reflex, or the stretch shortening cycle (SSC). It describes the amount of time it takes for you to transition as fast as possible between the lowering/eccentric phase of an exercise and the lifting/concentric phase of a movement.

If your goal is to increase your explosiveness and speed of movement, you need to train your body to better take advantage of this stretch reflex. This is accomplished via elasticity training or plyometrics consisting of explosive exercises like sprinting, jumping, hopping, leaping, bounding, etc. It also involves performing basic exercises like push-ups, squats, and lunges as fast as possible.

However, studies show that it only takes 4 seconds to eliminate this stretch reflex and discharge all of the potential elastic energy within your muscles. The less elastic energy within your muscles, the harder your muscles must work to perform any exercise and the greater the total muscle fiber recruitment.

How do you incorporate this 4-second time period to intensity any exercise?

One option is to perform an isometric hold in the transition period between the eccentric and concentric portion of an exercise lasting 4 seconds or greater. For example, perform a 4-second hold at the bottom position of a push-up before returning to the starting position.

Another option is to take at least 4 seconds in total before performing the concentric portion of the exercise. For example, if you perform a squat at a 3-1-X-1 tempo you will take 3 seconds to lower your body into the bottom of the squat and then pause for 1 second which is a total of 4 seconds before you would actually push back up to the starting position.

Finally, studies show that if you have the intent of performing the lifting or concentric portion on every rep of any given exercise as fast as humanly possible you activate the most total muscle fibers. More muscles worked equals more calories burnt and greater gains in lean body mass.

Progression#3- Resistance: Changing Relative Loading

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that if you increase the resistance you use during resistance training that the exercise you are performing gets harder. This increasing in loading is the foundational component of progressive overload in its classical sense: lift more weight and you make your muscles bigger and stronger.

There are lots of ways in which you can add external resistance. Such tools as resistance bands, dumbbells, kettlebells, med balls, and weight vests have become mainstays of resistance training in the 21^st century. Each tool has its pros and cons but all of these loading implements certainly have their place when it comes to making your muscles work harder and mixing it up within your daily workout routines.

However, there is another way to increase the resistance or loading of a given exercise without needing to add external resistance or use equipment. It’s called relative loading. Basically, you can change your body angle to make an exercise harder or easier as needed. The steeper your body angle from your base of support the harder an exercise will be. This is due to the fact that your center of gravity moves outside of your base of support.

The classic example of this body angle progression can be seen in the following push-up progressions where your base of support gradually shifts from your feet to your hands thus significantly increasing the relative load your body must move:

Level I- Hands-Elevated Push-up

Level II- Floor Push-up

Level III- Feet-Elevated Push-up

If you’re a freak, you can take this body angle progression one step further by performing a vertical/handstand push-up.

Another way to increase relative loading with your bodyweight is to take advantage of the principle of mechanical advantage. When you increase the distance between the point of force (the muscle or muscles you seek to target) and the end of the object you’re attempting to lift you decrease your mechanical advantage. For example, if you tried to pick-up a dumbbell by grabbing one end of it instead of its middle, the dumbbell will be much harder to lift because the lever used is longer.

This same principle applies to bodyweight exercises. In other words, the longer your body becomes, the weaker you will become. In essence, gradually progress your hands into an overhead position during exercises like squats, split squats, stiff-legged deadlifts, lunges, and most core exercises in general to instantly make any exercise harder. If initially you find it too challenging to put your arms directly overhead, use the following arm progressions to get there in no time:

Level I- Hands on Hips or Hanging at Sides

Level II- Prayer Position with Hands at Chest/Shoulder Level

Level III- Prisoner Position with Hands Behind Head

Level IV- Hands Extended Overhead: Progress from Y to I Position

Bodyweight training allows you to seamlessly change your body angles and/or mechanical advantage as needed to increase or decrease the difficulty of any exercise so that you are always challenged at your current fitness level. Remember, your bodyweight is truly your barbell so there’s never an excuse to skip a workout when you can crank it at home or on the road when traveling.

Progression#4- Integration: Combination Movements for Maximal Muscular Activation

Integration progressions involve combining multiple movement patterns and/or multiple planes of movement within the same exercise. Let’s examine each option in more depth:

Integration#1- Combining Multiple Movement Patterns

I always like to find a way to incorporate total body exercises within a total body workout. In other words, my preferred exercise selection for advanced workouts incorporate combination movements that involve multiple movement patterns that engage as many of your muscles as possible.

Let’s take a look at the following step-by-step construction of a killer combination exercise:

Level I- Squat

Level II- Squat to Press

Level III- Curl to Squat to Press

What started as a knee-dominant exercise progressed to a knee-dominant exercise (squat) with a vertical push (overhead press) into a knee-dominant exercise with a vertical pull (bicep curl) plus a vertical push component. The result is whole body exercise with more muscles worked and thus a greater fat loss and lean muscle gain stimulus.

Look to progress by combining exercises when possible to get better results in less time.

Integration#2- Combining Multiple Planes of Movement

The body moves in 3 basic planes of movement:

Sagittal- Movements that occur front to back and up and down

Frontal- Movements that occur side to side

Transverse- Rotational movements

The vast majority of the exercises that most trainees perform occur mostly in the sagittal plane such as squats, bench presses, deadlifts, etc. In other words, the frontal and transverse planes are highly neglected creating a training imbalance that can lead to a host of unwanted short and long-term injuries.

It’s critical to incorporate triplanar exercise selection throughout each and every training week. One way to accomplish this is to take a uniplanar exercise and make it multiplanar by combining it with one or more planes of movements. The more planes of movement you incorporate the more muscles you work and the better your training results. Let’s examine a lunge variation in all 3 planes of motion to best illustrate this point:

Sagittal Plane Lunge Variation- Forward Lunge

Frontal Plane Lunge Variation- Lateral Lunge

Transverse Plane Lunge Variation- Cross-Under Lunge

Now that we’ve seen a lunge in all 3 planes of movement, what we can do is combine one or more of these lunges within the same exercise to make it multi-planar. See the following progression below:

Level I- Sagittal Lunge: Forward Lunge

With the same foot on the floor throughout the duration of the work set, first perform a forward lunge and then return to the starting position and repeat for time.

Level II- Double Lunge- Sagittal Lunge + Frontal Lunge

With the same foot on the floor throughout the duration of the work set, first perform a forward lunge and then return to the starting position and then perform a lateral lunge and return to the starting position and repeat for time.

Level III- Triple Lunge- Sagittal Lunge + Frontal Lunge + Transverse Lunge

With the same foot on the floor throughout the duration of the work set, perform Level II as described above but then add the third and final cross-under lunge and return to the starting position and repeat for time.

It’s much more challenging for your nervous system to incorporate multiple planes of movement at once in addition to the fact that more muscles are worked and more energy is expended.

Another simple tweak that goes a long way is by adding a twist to a push-up or a lunge. This transforms a traditionally sagittal plane exercise into a sagittal PLUS transverse plane exercise.

This is a great addition since there is a general scarcity of rotational exercises in most peoples’ workouts. Improving performance in the all-important transverse plane will not only make you a better athlete but it will also make your body more resilient to unwanted injury.

Progression#5- Range of Motion (ROM): Changing the distance you move during an exercise

The more work you put out the more muscle you will have- it’s really that simple. In physics, mechanical work is equal to force times the distance that force must travel. Since the muscles and bones of the human body function as basic machines with class 1, 2 and 3 levers, the same mechanical work principle applies to the human body.  Thus, another way to make an exercise harder is by performing that exercise through a greater distance without the need for external resistance or additional loading.

For example, if you perform a push-up while holding dumbbells that are placed on the floor you allow your chest to lower farther than it normally would if your hands were placed on the floor as usual. This increased distance between your body and the floor increases work and creates a progressive overload that leads to bigger, stronger muscles.

Another example can be seen in elevating your front or back leg during a split squat to increase the distance between you and the floor thus increasing the difficulty of the exercise. In the picture below you see a rear-foot-elevated split squat which not only increases the range of motion of a typical split squat but also alters your body angle in a way that places more weight on your front leg which increases the relative loading of the exercise.

In other words, this exercise combines both a range of motion progression with a loading progression. There’s no wonder why this is one of the most loved (and hated) exercises because it’s much, much tougher than a normal split squat with both feet on the floor.

Another range of motion progression includes performing a greater amount of work in the most difficult portion of a given exercise. For example, when performing a push-up, squat, or split squat, first lower yourself to the bottom of the movement then only come back up halfway and then go all the way back down again before coming back all the way back up to the starting position. This is called a 1.5 rep and has you performing twice as many repetitions during the bottom of the movement where it’s most challenging.

You could also perform a certain number of partial range of motion reps in the same bottom part of the movement before moving to performing the full range of motion version of the exercise. For example, you could start by performing 10 reps of the bottom of half of the push-up only before moving to 10 full range of motion reps.

On the other side of the spectrum, you can make an exercise easier by performing a modified range of motion such as half or quarter ROM push-ups. Though the goal is eventually to perform full ROM push-ups, these “tweener” variations allow your body to slowly accommodate to the movement in the meantime.

In general, I prefer to use a loading regression rather than performing partial ROM reps because I’ve found that many people tend to carry over this partial ROM approach to other exercises when it’s not prescribed. In other words, perform a hands-elevated push-up through a full ROM instead of a floor push-up in a partial ROM. Even though the body angle used for the hands-elevated push-up is easier, the fact that you are moving through a full ROM means that you are working more muscles and in my mind this always trumps the alternative.

Again, like all of the other exercise progressions we discussed, range of motion is yet another variable that can be easily manipulated to make any bodyweight exercise as challenging as it needs to be for your current fitness level to keep your training fun, exciting, and fresh without the fear of ever hitting a dreaded plateau.

I hope you now feel super confident about how to alter your exercise selection to best make it work for your campers and clients or your own personal workouts. A ton of practice here will mean that you can eventually make any exercise harder or easier within 5-10 seconds or less. I consider this a mandatory skill of any solid group exercise instructor who needs to be able provide instant custom exercise selection for people of a wide variety of fitness levels day in and day out.

If you are an advanced trainee, you will also need to be able to take control of your own workouts and learn how to do this for yourself if you really want to take your body to the next level.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that one should always emphasize mastery of bodyweight-based exercises before adding external resistance. In addition, I truly believe that the true sign of intelligent progression is when an exercise can be intensified without the need for external resistance. After all, why add dead weight if you don’t need to, especially if you don’t have access to professional supervision?

Have fun and be creative with your exercise selection and most of all… get after it

Crank it!

BJ Gaddour, CSCS, YFS2

Workout Muse Co-Creator and Fitness Director

Perform Better Presenter for Expertise in Fitness Bootcamp Program Design and Marketing Systems