Why I Prefer Adding Constraints

I believe upper body training has suffered from a functional training rhetoric that is overly dismissive of constrained options. Popular cable-based exercises often integrate the upper and lower body which leads to contributions from multiple joints and muscles. Although this can look like a functional movement, it distributes load broadly and makes it difficult to know how much load is going where.

It also makes it difficult to direct enough loading to one area to facilitate the intended adaptation. It is common for the upper body element of a “functional” exercise to be the end of a kinetic chain that was initiated by the legs.  

That initial push into the ground does much of the work to progressively build momentum meant to travel up through the kinetic chain. The upper body then receives the most assistance from momentum since the velocity variable of the momentum equation has had time and distance to build up by the end of the chain.  

Also consider that this momentum build is initiated from lower body musculature that is usually stronger than the upper body. These elements can lead to an underloading of upper body muscular if you are relying on closed chain, multi-joint, complex exercises commonly performed when using cable-based set ups.

How Constraint Helps to Load the Upper Body

Exerfly’s primary flywheel equipment options are cable-based and allow for non-constrained movement. The Ultimate can be used for vertical set-ups and the RackFly excels with exercises directed more horizontally.  

These set ups allow for greater freedom of movement, which may tempt some to implement too much freedom, especially with upper body work. Adding constraints can improve stability, ease of execution, and help better isolate the joints and muscles to be used during the exercise.  

A properly constrained set up makes it easier to maximize mechanical loading to a more targeted area.  

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Why I Use Flywheel Resistance Training for Dynamic Efforts

I believe flywheel resistance training is best used as an option for dynamic efforts. It excels at facilitating moderate to high forces at moderate to high velocities.  

In the spirit of training everything like everything else for every training quality, whatever upper body work you do for repetition and max efforts can be performed with similar constraints using flywheel resistance. For example, if I had been using a chest-supported row for repetition or max efforts, I would use similar constraints by executing a flywheel supported row for a dynamic effort option.  

A bench could be inclined and set in front of a rack mounted flywheel to allow for 1 knee and hand to leverage the bench for support while the opposite arm rows.

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Adding more stabilizing connection points and better isolating the joints and muscles we want to target can significantly increase the impulse demand to the upper body. This is important when considering the intended adaptation as the functional element of the exercise.  

If sport is the terminal task, and we respect that the kinetic demands of sport are characterized by fast, high forces, then dynamic efforts should reflect progress towards this demand. If too much of your upper body flywheel work is a part of something integrated together with the lower body, you may be underloading upper body joints and tissues.  

For example, if you have built a great foundation of horizontal pressing absolute strength, it may be worth continuing to use the bench as a constraint by setting up a seated one-arm flywheel chest press using the RackFly. Instead of keeping the similar constraint, I tend to see the upper body flywheel options morph into something that looks more “functional” too quickly.

These functional options can often shed too many of the constraints, making the exercise unnecessarily unstable and difficult to load. It is also common to integrate lower body movement into the exercise to help drive some of the force production. Such variations allow for contribution from too many joints and muscles, decreasing the mechanical tension experienced by the primary drivers of horizontal pressing, in this example.  

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How a Lack of Coordination Affects Impulse Exposure in Integrated Flywheel Movements

Flywheel resistance can also be difficult to coordinate. It takes some practice to get used to the yo-yo nature of a spinning flywheel moving at moderate to high speeds. The more integrated a movement, the more difficult it is to coordinate.  

Using a common example like a flywheel split squat to a row, coordination difficulties may lead to such a significant decrease in impulse demand that none of the joints or tissues are being loaded enough to cause an adaptation in speed strength.  

The coordinative challenges present when using flywheel training can also make it difficult to apply active resistance consistently through the entire range of motion. During the concentric portion of the movement, a forceful push or pull can progressively increase angular acceleration of the wheel. Therefore, it is important to be active and aggressive throughout the concentric phase to avoid falling behind the speed of the wheel. The eccentric phase can often be more difficult to coordinate after the direction of spin changes and you try to “catch” the resistance and actively attenuate force for as much of the range of motion as possible.

A well-constrained set-up can ensure that the strategy and impulse exposure are more consistent during each rep, especially during the more challenging eccentric phase.

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More Movement Does Not Always Mean More Function

Even if there is still hesitation to use constraints, it may be worth systematizing when it is beneficial to make an exercise more integrated and when to decrease the number of joints and tissues contributing. It is important to emphasize that force output still matters and is likely the primary determinant of whether an adaptation in the three strengths will occur or not. Creating stable, logical set ups for your upper body-oriented flywheel exercises can provide a higher chance of making changes that show up in sport.

That being said, closed chain, multi-joint, integrated exercises can be very beneficial for athletes when dosed intelligently. If the exercise can be executed with proper intent and strategy, and enough load is being directed to the joints and tissues to facilitate an adaptation, then it is trainable.  

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The Goal Is the Adaptation

Although it is still common to dismiss constrained options as non-functional, sometimes an added constraint or two can help maximize trainability without negatively affecting whatever nebulous definition of function you may have. The functionality is not in the exercise itself; it is found in the adaptation that is meant to occur.

Within my framework, we are looking to facilitate adaptations to absolute, speed, and reactive strengths. Upper body flywheel exercises are no different. By making them less complex, more targeted, and easier to perform, we can facilitate these adaptations more efficiently and effectively.