The Physics of Resistance Exercise

by Doug Brignole

Every year, countless individuals engage in a resistance training program in an attempt to either enlarge their muscle size for enhanced physical appearance, increase their muscle strength for improved athletic performance, or maintain the ability to perform the activities of daily living that are important to them. Most of these fitness enthusiasts perform standard resistance exercises, as recommended by fitness professionals, personal trainers, and friends, or as presented in books, magazines, and websites. These standard resistance exercises are generally effective for the first few months of training, during which time most new participants experience gains in both muscle size and strength. Sooner or later, however, they encounter either an exercise-related injury or a muscle-development plateau. When faced with exercise-related injuries, most people discontinue their resistance training program altogether. When faced with muscle-development plateaus, many people increase their training volume by performing more exercises and more sets of each exercise. For those individuals who have less favorable musculoskeletal genetics, high-volume resistance training typically leads to overuse injuries that can become chronic problems. For those exercisers who have more favorable musculoskeletal genetics, high-volume resistance training may be effective for eliciting additional gains in muscle size and strength. Adherence to high-volume resistance training programs, however, is physically demanding, mentally challenging, and time-consuming. Thankfully, there is a safe and productive alternative to high-volume resistance training, based on more appropriate exercise selection and more effective exercise performance. In The Physics of Resistance Exercise , Doug Brignole presents a physics perspective for maximizing muscle development by doing the right exercises and doing them right . Doug applies his extensive knowledge of biomechanics to both the principles of resistance training and the practical applications of exercise performance. The first 17 chapters in this one-of-a-kind book clearly explain the physics principles that are essential for optimal performance of all resistance exercises. Doug demonstrates an unusual ability to simplify complex biomechanical concepts through excellent examples and precise illustrations, so that readers can make appropriate practical applications to their exercise selection and execution. The next eight chapters in this revolutionary book discuss specific resistance exercises for essentially all of the body s key larger and smaller muscles. Doug details the strengths and weaknesses of various exercises, presents the most effective exercises for enhancing muscle development and avoiding injuries, and describes how to properly perform those exercises for best results. Doug's understanding of physics principles and musculoskeletal biomechanics is exceptionally impressive, as are the physique titles that he has achieved by putting this knowledge into practice throughout his 40-plus years of championship bodybuilding. As a former Mr. California, Mr. America, and Mr. Universe, Doug certainly knows how to train hard in the weight room. Equally important, Doug also knows how to train safely and efficiently (with fewer exercises and sets), by ensuring that each exercise provides maximum stimulus to the target muscle(s). If you would like to enhance your muscle development with more productive exercises that offer lower injury risk and higher training effect, then you are reading the right book. You will definitely gain greater understanding of how your muscles work, how to work your muscles, and how to think critically about each exercise that you perform.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Health

416 pages, Paperback

Published August 19, 2020

Reviews

[Tiago F · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to learn more about biomechanics and this book seemed perfect. I had bought a biomechanics textbook a few years prior for this purpose, but it was quite technical and I was struggled to apply it in real life.

Seeing an entire book dedicated to the biomechanics of hypertrophy specifically is quite rare and I was excited after discovering it.

I knew close to nothing about Brignole. I had seen his name pop up a few times and watched a couple of videos but that was it. My impression was relatively neutral. On one hand, he seemed to overplay the importance of biomechanics and had some odd views, but at the same time, his knowledge of anatomy and the function of muscles seemed spotless.

One of the things that most impressed me about the book is its scope. It covers a lot and in a lot of detail. Not in overly technical detail in the sense of doing math in biomechanics, but rather the terms are explained fairly well and very often repeated. There is a lot of material and you certainly get your money's worth in terms of content. It's 400 pages with fairly big sized pages and with 2 columns per page.

The book is roughly divided into two parts. The first covers the basic principles of biomechanics. This is what I was interested in the most. It starts slowly and doesn't require previous knowledge. I found it pretty helpful. In the second part he makes his own analysis of each muscle group, giving you what's the best exercise for each one.

His whole system is basically trying to find the most efficient and effective exercise for a given body part, almost always being an isolation exercise. He has several guidelines that determine what makes a good exercise or not. These include:
- Optimizing the lever of the muscle to move towards the muscle's origin.
- Dynamic contractions are preferred over isometric ones.
- More range of motion is better (although he recommends skipping the 5-10% of the start and ending)
- Having the direction of resistance aligned with the direction of motion and the origin and insertion of the target muscle.
- The muscle should be positioned in the opposite direction of the line of resistance
- The operating lever should be as active as possible (perpendicular to resistance)
- Direct levers are prefered over secondary levers that shorten it.
- Not being at a mechanical disadvantage.
- Early phase loading is preferred.

It was an odd book to read because a lot of stuff was very good, and others very bad. The biomechanics seemed always solid, but how they were applied in the broader context was sometimes very weird and misguided.

I found the first part of the book helped to refresh and deepen my knowledge of biomechanics. But a lot of the recommendations are honestly dumb. For example, he says OHP impinges your shoulder, ignoring the rotation of the scapulan which creates space for the rotator cuff tendons. But it's a very long list. He completely ignores the benefit of stretching the muscle dynamically, ignores exercise that has shown benefits for exercise variation, claims that muscle heads can't be emphasized, or that incline pressing doesn't work your upper chest.

Perhaps the most ridiculous of all, which I could barely believe that I was reading it, is that he claims that tendons do not adapt and cannot get stronger over time. How someone can be ignorant about this despite so knowledgeable in most other areas is baffling. And this is a general trend towards injury in general. He acts as if the body is completely fragile and any stress, especially on the lower back, is inherently dangerous. This is already bullshit for things like deadlifts, which of course he thinks are straight from hell, but he even takes that danger into account for things like rear delts or bicep curls. No joke.

If you want to learn solid principles of biomechanics, like lever, direction of force, active/passive insufficiency, resistance curves, etc, this is a good resource. But his system as a whole is fairly flawed, which I had the desire to criticize in-depth but I can't muster the effort. Not all of it is bad, and some exercises I wasn't familiar with and I think can be pretty helpful. But it's not the norm.

While it's a good thing that you get some much content for what you pay for, I honestly regret reading the book in full. It took way too much time to finish compared to the value I got. I'd recommend being selective with what you read and only trying to get the main principles. Especially the 2nd part that goes over muscle by muscle, just skip towards the conclusion to see what his final recommendation is.

If you want to learn about biomechanics it's a solid resource, and honestly, it's very unique in how practical it is. But it definitely has its problems so proceed with caution.

[Damian · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have any interest in physique development you owe it to yourself (or your clients) to read, understand and implement the content described in this book. This is more beneficial than almost any fitness course or certification and it won't cost you hundreds of dollars either.

[Quratulain · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book for physique development.

[Sash · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book unlike any other on resistance training. This book is the missing link the fitness world needed for many years. Through the pages of this book, Doug Brignole made a major contribution to the bodybuilding world not long before his passing. RIP.