Tag Archives: muscle balance

5 Exercises to Avoid – Part 5

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If you have been following along with my series on exercises to avoid at the gym you’ll know that I have talked about all leg exercises so far.  This week though in the final part of the series, I would like to share an upper body exercise that might not be as effective as you thought.

The exercise is the Biceps Preacher Curl and although it is a good bicep builder and isolation exercise there are a few drawbacks that could lead to injury down the road.

Dr. Kareem Samhouri (a Neuro Metabolic Fitness and Rehab Expert) points out that from a muscle balance perspective, the forward shoulder position of this exercise leads to an increased stretch on the rotator cuff and biceps tendon.  The position of this exercise creates an imbalance between your pecs and lats/shoulderblade stabilizers resulting in a forward shoulder position. This leads to rotator cuff tendonitis, biceps tendonitis, and an increased risk of tears.

This is true for your shoulders and neck.  In this forward position, you are at risk for injury.  Also, like many people who perform this exercise, you may be placing excessive weight into your armpit, which is where your brachial plexus is.  This is the bundle of nerves that controls your arms.

Also, the biceps are being shortened in an over-shortened position for your pecs, reinforcing a common imbalance.

The elbow is only safe when balanced and this is achieved when all the elbow flexors are being worked.  The elbow flexors are your biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis.  These muscles flex your elbow and allow you to rotate the palm of your hand up and down.

Second, there is no functional benefit to doing this exercise.  This is an artificial movement in an abnormal position.  The only purpose to doing the Biceps Preacher Curl is to build the biceps but they only work on elbow flexion.  The biceps is also a supinator (meaning it turns your palm up), so by doing the preacher curl you’re missing 50% of the muscles action.

Finally, the metabolic effect of this exercise is low as it is an isolation exercise using only one part of the muscle.  You aren’t going to be burning many calories by doing this exercise and if your goal is fat loss then there are far more functional bicep exercises you can do that will get your heart rate up.

So what can you do instead?

A great exercise you can do that will hit all of your elbow flexors is the Curl Up, Hammer Down.  The first half of this exercise works your biceps and the last half works your rotators and forearm muscles.

To perform this exercise properly, stand tall with your shoulders back and knees slightly bent.  Keep your elbows at your side with your palms facing out.  Curl up slowly getting a good squeeze on the biceps and then in the top position, you’ll want to turn your palms towards each other.

 

When your hands are in this position it will kind of look like a hammer.  Maintain this position as you slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.

So there you have it.  Another exercise to avoid next time you hit the gym and what you can do instead for a more functional, safe, and effective workout.  I hope you have enjoyed this series over the past 5 weeks and I hope that the next time you workout, the more effective exercises I have shown you will bring you one step closer to reaching your fitness goals!

 

5 Exercises to Avoid – Part 3

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Last week I talked about how the Leg Extension could be doing more harm than good in part 2 of a 5 part series of exercises to avoid.  I will continue on with part 3 this week and talk about another popular exercise in the gym that isn’t as effective as everyone thinks it is.  I will also show you a different exercise you can do instead that will be more functional and have a higher metabolic effect.

What is this popular exercise?

It’s another leg exercise that isolates your hamstrings which are the muscles on the back of your upper leg.  The exercise is a Machine Leg Curl and there are actually a few different versions of it.  The machines that I’ve seen at gyms are the lay down version, the seated version, and the kneeling version that further isolates your hamstrings by doing one leg at a time.  Unless you’re a body builder trying to build huge definition for a competition by isolating these muscles, there really isn’t any use for them and you can get much better results with a compound movement that is more functional and has a higher metabolic effect.

Let’s take a look at the Leg Curl and see the reasons why it isn’t very effective.

First, Dr. Kareem Samhouri (a Neuro Metabolic Fitness and Rehab Expert) says that from a muscle balance perspective, the majority of the force is placed through your distal hamstring (away from the mid-line of your body) rather than your proximal hamstring (close to the mid-line of your body).  This will increase the pressure behind your knee.

Also, you are going to have to change positions in order to recruit your medial hamstrings and glutes which should be used as a muscle pair.

Second, and again with this exercise, there is no real functional benefit to doing the Machine Curl.  It is another isolation exercise and in every day life you are not just using your hamstrings.  Every muscle in your lower body and even your core is used when you stand, sit, walk or run so you’re much better off doing functional compound movements like squats, lunges, deadlifts, etc.

Finally, since this is strictly an isolation exercise, there is a very low metabolic effect.  You just aren’t going to burn the same amount of calories and raise your metabolism up as you would with a functional compound exercise.

As I mentioned earlier, your hamstrings are recruited when you do squats, lunges, and deadlifts.  Another exercise you can do is a Romanian Deadlift or a Stiff Leg Deadlift as I like to call it.  This can be done with two legs or for a bigger challenge that will work on your balance at the same time, you can do this exercise with one leg.

When performing the Stiff Leg Deadlift, keep a slight bend in your knee and bend over at the waist keeping your back straight the whole time.  When you feel a nice stretch in your hamstring muscles return to the starting position standing up nice and tall.  Make sure to never round your back as doing so can cause back injury and take the emphasis off of your hamstrings.  This exercise does work your lower back muscles as well but you want to make sure they are being worked properly by keeping your back straight.

Below is a video of the one leg version.  It is challenging but it will work on your balance as well as your hamstrings.  Take it slow when doing this one and start with no weight until you get used to the movement.

So there you have another popular exercise that might not be as effective as you thought.  Next week I’ll share another exercise to avoid when doing your workout and a more functional exercise you can do instead!

5 Exercises to Avoid – Part 2

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Last week I talked about how the Leg Press could be doing more harm than good in part 1 of a 5 part series of exercises to avoid.  This week, I will continue on to the second exercise and offer a more effective alternative.

The second exercise I would like to talk about is the Leg Extension.

The Leg Extension is another popular exercise in the gym.  Even though this exercise does have some benefit in that it isolates the quadriceps to improve definition, overall it’s not really giving you the benefits that a different exercise would.

First of all, from a muscle balance perspective, the glutes are not being used effectively.  The quadriceps and glutes should be used as a pair.  Also, your hamstrings are not being used either so you are going to be primarily working your quadriceps.  Overdeveloped quadriceps can lead to knee pain or even an ACL injury. (ACL stands for Anterior Cruciate Ligament and is one of the four major ligaments of your knee)

Also, there is no real functional benefit to doing the Leg Extension.  In every day activities you are walking, sitting, and standing which use the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes.  With the Leg Extension, you are just using your quadriceps and this won’t help much in your daily life.

Finally, like the Leg Press, the Leg Extension has a very low metabolic effect.  This is a single joint exercise that is isolation based.  Less muscles used in an exercise = lower metabolic rate.  Your metabolic rate or metabolism is the amount of calories your body burns while at rest.  The higher your metabolic rate, the higher the amount of calories you burn which will ultimately lead to a leaner body so try to choose an exercise that involves two or three muscle groups working together.

So what is a more effective exercise than the Leg Extension?

You can do a barbell or dumbbell squat like I mentioned in part 1 of this series or another exercise you can do is the Lunge.

Below is a video demonstration of the Reverse Lunge which I am putting up as the Home Exercise of the Week as well.  The Reverse Lunge is a little safer on your knees than a forward lunge but it does require some balance.  The reverse motion is a little safer because it takes some of the pressure off your knees since your body weight is moving backwards and away from your knee cap.

When performing the Reverse Lunge, make sure to bring both legs to 90 degree angles.  When you are coming up out of the movement, you want to make sure you are pushing up through your front heel and don’t let your knee go beyond your toes.  Always keep your upper body in an upright position (no bending over or leaning forward).  If you have trouble balancing with this exercise, start by holding on to a chair or put your hand on a wall to stabilize yourself.

So there you have the second exercise to avoid next time you hit the gym.  Try adding a body weight or weighted lunge instead for a much more effective workout that will provide you with functionality and muscle balance while burning more calories!

Stay tuned next week for a third exercise to avoid and it’s more effective alternative!

5 Exercises to Avoid – Part 1

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Over the next several weeks I would like to talk about five popular exercises that can actually be doing more harm than good and offer some alternatives.

According to Dr. Kareem Samhouri, a Neuro Metabolic Fitness and Rehab expert, these exercises create muscle imbalances, have no functional benefit, and wind up your joints in to unsafe positions.

Dr. Samhouri says that if an exercise creates muscle imbalances, this can lead to joint deterioration all over your body and even blunt fat loss.  Once your joints are out of position, your body has sub-sensory pain signals taking place all over the body.  These pain signals tell your brain to shut down the muscles in the area in order to avoid “pulling on the injury” and causing more damage.  The end result is no muscle contraction and weaker muscles.

“Winding up your joint” into an unsafe position involves increased pressure on the labrum or capsule of a joint while performing an exercise.  At the same time, it’s likely that a muscle is being overstretched while being recruited to contract.  Instead, find a position of rest for the joint and then exercise it.  This will assist the natural delivery of nutrients to the joint and joint capsule.

So what are these exercises?

The first exercise I am going to talk about this week is the Leg Press.

The Leg Press is a very popular exercise at the gym and I have done it myself many times over the years.  It may seem like it works all the muscles of the lower body but it really only focuses on your quadriceps (your upper thigh muscles on the front of your leg).

First of all, from a muscle balance perspective, the quadriceps are generally stronger than the hamstrings (the muscles on the back of your upper leg).  At the bottom of the leg press movement, where your knees are bent and close to your upper body, there is increased torsion placed into the meniscus which is the cartilaginous tissue in your knee joint.  This will increase the likelihood of knee injury such as patellofemoral (kneecap) and meniscus damage.

Also, your quadriceps and glutes (the butt muscles) should be used together but in this exercise the glutes aren’t being used effectively.  When you use your quads with a good deal of force and your glutes aren’t activated then you increase the risk of a low back injury.

Another reason why the Leg Press is an exercise to avoid is that it doesn’t have any real functional benefit to it.  Most people who are doing the leg press don’t bend their knees to at least 90 degrees which is needed for getting in and out of a chair.  Also, your abdominal and lower back muscles are taken out of the exercise because you are just sitting and moving the machine with your legs.  Any time you stand up, sit down, kneel and get back up again, your abdominal and lower back muscles are engaged so you will lose a lot of the functional benefit by sitting on a machine instead of using your whole body.

Finally, the Leg Press has very little metabolic effect.  The reason for this is that the amount of muscles involved in the leg press is much less than other lower body exercises.  By using more muscles and joints in an exercise you will increase the metabolic rate during and after your workout.  Your metabolic rate or metabolism is the amount of calories your body burns while at rest.  The higher your metabolic rate, the higher the amount of calories you burn which will ultimately lead to a leaner body.

So what can you do instead of a Leg Press?

A barbell squat or dumbbell squat is a much more effective exercise than the leg press.  Even just standing up from a sitting position on a chair and sitting back down has a very functional benefit to it.

With these exercises you are engaging your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes as well as your stabilizers including the abdominal and lower back muscles.  This makes it much more functional and since you are engaging many muscle groups at once, your metabolic rate will increase during and after your workout.

The key to making this exercise safe and effective is to use proper form throughout.  Make sure you push up through your heels, keep your knees in line with your toes and arch your back up slightly to stay upright.  Start with no weight until you get comfortable with the movement.

So there you have the first exercise to avoid next time you hit the gym.  Try adding a body weight or weighted squat instead for a much more effective workout!

Next week I will talk about another exercise to avoid and it’s more effective alternative!