Chasing The Target Stimulus: Why Movement And Load Modifications Matter

In training, the goal should never be simply to complete a workout exactly as written. The goal is to achieve the target stimulus intended when the workout was originally written. This is why modifying movements and adjusting barbell percentages can be an important part of effective programming.

Modify the Movement, Not the Goal

Every athlete has different levels of strength, mobility, experience, and skill. A movement that works well for one athlete may not create the same stimulus for another.

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For example, if a workout is written as seen below:

4 Rounds For Time

7 Bar Muscle Ups

14 Box Jumps

250m Run

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Target Stimulus: Sub 14min (Top Level Athletes Sub 9min)

To achieve that stimulus, we need to break down the three movements in the workout and scale athletes appropriately. The BMU station should take no more than 1 minute to complete. Our stronger athletes will go unbroken in less than thirty seconds. Athletes could scale to less BMU each round (for example, 3 instead of 7) or even turn these into Jumping BMU or Strict Pull-Up Variations and Strict Dip Variations.

The Box Jumps station should not take more than one minute to complete, so the box height should be set to a level that makes each rep work without ever looking or feeling like a max box jump in that moment. They should be able to keep moving.

The Running station should take no more than 1.5 minutes. If 250m is too far to achieve that, athletes should consider 150-200m runs, or running for 1.5 minutes (time instead of distance) on the Runner, or Echo Biking for time/distance.

The movement may change, but the training goal stays the same.

Percentages Are Guidelines, Not Rules

Barbell percentages are useful tools for controlling intensity, but they should not override movement quality or the purpose of the workout.

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For example, a workout may prescribe:

5 × 3 Power Cleans @ 80%

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If the goal is to develop power, the athlete should be able to move the barbell with speed and technical efficiency. If 80% becomes a slow, grinding effort due to fatigue, reducing the load to 70–75% may yield a better power stimulus.

On the other hand, if 80% feels easy and the athlete maintains excellent speed and technique, the coach may have room to increase the load. 

The percentage is the guide. The stimulus is the goal.

Don't Let Fatigue Change the Workout

Another important consideration is how fatigue affects movement quality.

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Imagine a conditioning workout calls for:

5 Rounds For Time

5 Deadlifts @ 345/235 or 70%

10 Burpees

200m Run

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The goal in this workout is to maintain 5x5 Deadlifts at a heavier load, with unbroken sets.

If the deadlift starts at 70% but fatigue causes the athlete's technique to deteriorate after the second or third round, continuing to use the same weight may turn the workout into something very different from what was intended.

Reducing the deadlift to 60-65% may allow the athlete to maintain proper mechanics and complete each round at the intended intensity. The goal isn't to see how much weight an athlete can survive. The goal is to create the right adaptation.

Quality Over Ego

Athletes can sometimes associate a heavier barbell or completing every prescribed movement with a better workout. But more weight, more reps, or a harder variation does not automatically mean better training.

Instead ask:

• What is this workout supposed to develop?
• If the goal is strength, we may need heavier loads and longer rest periods.
• If the goal is power, we need high-quality repetitions.
• If the goal is conditioning, we may need to control the load so the athlete can maintain the intended pace.

The same exercise can create a completely different stimulus depending on the load, reps, rest, and execution.

Effective programming requires more than following numbers on a page. It requires understanding why those numbers and movements were selected in the first place.

Modify the movement. Adjust the load. Control the intensity. Maintain the intent.

The best training decisions are those that keep the athlete working toward the session's purpose, even when the original prescription needs to change.

Don't chase the prescription. Chase the target stimulus.