3 BIG WORKOUT MISTAKES
BIG by Kurt Rawlins, CSCS KurtRawlinsFitness.com
workout mistakes
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Isolation Exercises
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Isolation exercises include movements at only one joint in the body. Bicep curls are an example of an isolation exercise. The elbow is the only joint where there is movement during a bicep curl, and the biceps muscle is the only muscle worked during the movement. A dumbbell fly, isolating the pectoralis major muscle, is also a good example of a single-joint isolation exercise. The reason isolation exercises are typically a mistake is that they often take the place of compound, multi-joint movements. An example of a compound movement would be a squat or a pull-up. Compound movements involve multiple muscle groups. The squat utilizes the quads, hamstrings, glutes and low back. This is what I call a “big-bang” exercise because you get a lot of “bang” for your buck training so many muscles with just one movement. Training multiple muscle groups is just one advantage of compound movements over isolation movements. By training so many muscles, you will burn more calories with compound movements. As a general rule, the bigger the muscle, the more energy it requires to contract. It makes sense that working so many muscle groups at one time would burn more calories. Studies have also shown compound movements to be superior to isolation movements in mobilizing fat stores for energy. This is because compound movements (especially lower body exercises like squats and deadlifts) stimulate a stronger hormonal response from the body. Yes, that’s right. Lifting weights causes your body to release hormones both during and after exercise. The function of one of these hormones, growth hormone, is to increase the utilization of fatty acids as well as the breakdown of body fat. This just means your body will use fat stores for energy after your workout much more efficiently with compound movements (Baechle and Earle 56-57). 2
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No Program Change
Many people who weight train on a regular basis never really cycle their workouts. By that I mean they do the same basic exercises for the same number of sets and reps every single time they workout, for the entire month, for the entire year, and in some cases the entire decade. Exercising in this manner will achieve marginal results at best. This is because the body is very intelligent, and adapts to any stimulus very quickly. Once the body adapts to your workout, you will burn less calories to complete the same movements. In essence, you have become efficient. You want to be inefficient, so you can challenge your body, burn more calories, and activate more muscle fibers. So…what may stimulate muscle strength and growth initially will eventually yield diminishing returns. Oh no! What now? Change your program! If you are not sure how to do this, then seek professional guidance from a fitness coach or trainer (or just finish reading this article). This can be done in several ways. You can alter your:
• Sets • Reps • Rest periods between exercises • The pace of the exercise • The exercise itself
For example, if you have been doing flat barbell bench presses for the chest and shoulders, switch it up and start doing push-ups for a month. Or do barbell bench press on Monday, and push-ups on Wednesday. Or instead of doing 4 sets of 5 reps on bench press, do 3 sets of 20. Or do it on an incline. Or slow down the pace at which you do the bench press. As you can see…there are several variables with which to work. Choose one, two, or however many variables you want and try changing it up for 6-8 weeks. Then change it again. Cycling your workouts will keep your body off-guard, prevent overtraining, and maximize results. Note: If you are training for something very specific, like maximal strength or sports performance, then you need a specific program and workout cycle. These tips are for those exercisers who are interested in general fitness.
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Over-Pushing
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Over-pushing? Does that mean working out too hard? No, actually. I mean literally pushing too much. Specifically, utilizing too many pressing movements that train the front of the body while neglecting the backside of the body. The fact that you can’t see your back in the mirror is probably one of the main reasons it is often undertrained. Guys love to train the “beach muscles”, i.e. the chest and arms. What a lot of guys don’t realize is that they’re setting themselves up for some orthopedic issues in the future. If you don’t train the back side of the body as much if not more than the front, you create a muscle imbalance, which leads to all sorts of issues. For starters, a weak upper and mid-back will not have adequate strength to keep the shoulders back and down, the correct position in good posture. Instead, the shoulders will round, and the chest cavity will cave in. If this posture is maintained for a period of several years, the bones will actually form to this position. Once the bones have set themselves in a rounded shoulder position, it is virtually impossible to reverse the effects. On top of that, rounded shoulders can lead to impaired breathing and shoulder impingement. Poor posture in the shoulders can force the body to compensate and lead to excessive arching in the low back, causing the hamstrings to chronically tighten. I bet you didn’t think doing too much bench press would tighten your hamstrings, did you? This cause-and-effect relationship clearly demonstrates how the human body is a “kinetic chain” and how what happens at one part of the body can truly affect something much farther down the chain. What now? Make sure your pulling movements outnumber your pushing movements 2:1, if not 3:1. For example, if you are doing a bench press, you should do a rear deltoid movement as well another rowing or pulling movement to compensate for the bench press. Again, seek out a professional coach or trainer if you are unfamiliar with postural exercises for the upper back and back of the shoulder. Visit KurtRawlinsFitness.com for more health & fitness tips. 4