3 Common Exercises to AVOID in the Gym

All of the following exercises can yield both exercise and tone for the body, depending on gender, diet, and exercise flow/routine.

SQUATS:

Starting with the so-called "King of All Exercises" we begin with squats.  Squats are a great exercise to tone the legs, or grow muscle.  Promoting full-body benefits, the legs incorporate heavy lung capacity and energy, thus burning more calories that, let's say a dumbbell curl or a chest press.  This fact leads many not to want to perform them.  "The lactic acid burn is too much pain", or "the upper body is more important", or my favorite "I will train legs on my own, but I want you to train my upper body."  These statements mentally block the individual from the best results in the gym because of the neglect or the half-hearted efforts of the workout.   It's a good fundamental exercise for some, if kept in check. The problem is that too few people keep them in check, and many people just aren't built for them.  Consider the position: A weighted bar on the lumbar region of the spine, in addition to the stress on the knees (if the knees bend out over the placement of the toes).

Along with the bench press and the deadlift, the squat is one lift in which guys really pile on the plates for low reps. The bottom line is if you're always going heavy, eventually there will be a straw that breaks the camel's or, in this case, the bodybuilder's back. You can cover all needs by performing alternative exercises such as the lunge, 45º leg press, hack squats, or vertical leg press.

HEAVY BARBELL CURLS:

Straight bars put too much pressure on inner elbows. If you have elbow pain, chances are it's from a straight bar. Using a straight bar to perform curls forces you into an un-natural position. Consider the position: If you stand talking to someone, your knuckles or palms aren't naturally facing forward, but instead at your sides with your palms facing each other, and the natural position for a curl is for the thumbs to come up higher than the pinkies, which a cambered bar resembles greatly.  Dumbbell preacher curls are an excellent exercise. Dumbbell preachers both restrict your movement (by bracing your arms against a bench) and provide for more freedom, as you can rotate your wrists.

BEHIND-THE-NECK SHOULDER PRESS (Free Weight Bar):

Overall, pressing behind the neck is an un-natural position.  Consider the position: With free weights, the bar can lose balance and hyper extend your shoulders too far backward.  Too heavy of a weight, and you use the neck to press the weights back up, which isn't safe. Instead of these, I recommend military (front) presses or dumbbell presses, both of which work deltoids much more safely.  Additionally, never lower the weight below chin level, instead keep your arms bent at 90º. You'll notice this is about as far as you can go without your shoulders dropping. All that's happening between your chin and your chest is an upper-pec movement and a whole lot of potential damage. I usually perform military presses on a Smith machine, which lets me roll my palms back and find a more natural position. Dumbbells allow for greater freedom of motion.  

A great alteration: "Arnold Presses": -Starting with my palms facing each other and twisting my wrists on the way up so my palms face forward. 

Zeke Samples, IFA, CSN, CPR, IDEA

Surreal Body Solutions, LLC

803.322.7649

www.SurrealBodySolutions.com 

& contributing health and exercise author

Personal Training | Nutrition | Supplements | Motivation

The Distinct Phases of an Exercise Movement

Did you know there are three phases of an exercise movement?  All three are not just important in helping you exercise, but understanding how to use each one in your workouts is vital to experience the best results and reap the physical benefits. 

Using either one phase alone (isometric) most of the time during your workouts, or using a blend of all three of them gives you variety and changes up the tempo.  Do you ever feel like you experience a few consistent weeks where you just aren't sore like you were in the past?  It could be because the tempo of the workouts needs to change and the use of the exercise phases need to be incorporated.

If you are using the same tempo on the concentric portion of the movement that you are using on the eccentric portion of the movement, then a variety of count could be altered.  There are many varieties of tempo and repetition range.  A constant one second count (concentric) and one second count (eccentric) could be altered with a one second count (concentric) and three second count (eccentric).  

The Three Phases:
- Concentric (Contracting)
- Eccentric (Extracting)
- Isometric (No Movement)

    Resting/Isometric (1)      Concentric/Isometric (2)     Complete Repetition (3)

Using the bicep in the following example, I will describe the three parts to visually help you understand the correct path of each phase:

Concentric :
- Bringing the wrists from by your side to a horizontal plane, or bent at 90º, contracts the bicep muscle (Concentric).  Continuing to raise the wrists to your shoulders will complete a repetition, this leading you to a full concentric movement.  Concentric training is expressed through the use of performing repetitions.

Eccentric (The Movement of Negatives):
- When lowering the wrists back down to your side, you are performing a eccentric movement.  The muscle is returning back to its starting point.  

Isometric (Flexing - Not Moving):
- The isometric movement in a bicep curl is best represented by holding the arm at a 90º angle.  Because the bicep has contracted as the arm bent to obtain this angle of 90º there is a greater resistance and a better result of fatigue than there is when the arm is at your side (and flexing). 

Try using a variety of these phases or exercise tempos in your next workout.  At Surreal Body Solutions, we are always incorporating a variety of these tempos.  To make it unique and special to our client's specific needs, we choose which tempos to use for the different exercises within not only one muscle group, but also the hundreds of muscles in the body.  The body can respond to different tempos, different timing, and different exercise methodologies.  Hopefully with this overview, you can now see the importance of the phases and have begun to imagine how they could apply to your own workouts.  

Zeke Samples, IFA, CSN, CPR, IDEA

Surreal Body Solutions, LLC

803.322.7649

www.SurrealBodySolutions.com 

& contributing health and exercise author

Personal Training | Nutrition | Supplements | Motivation

3 Tips to Prevent Achilles Tendonitis

Although runners experience tendonitis more commonly than those of us who use other equipment to get our cardio workouts in, you might have felt pain in your Achilles tendon.  Achilles tendonitis is one of the most common running injuries.  

Here are a few tips to help protect you from injury:

Replace your running shoes before they lose the ability to protect your tendon.  Many runners suffering from tendonitis are 'heel strikers'.  The sole located at the back outside margin of the shoe wears compressing the mid-sole.  The result to the body, is overstretching of the tendon during this 'heel strike'.  Look for this wear and tear before it is too late.

Maintain proper form.  Foot strike is a small part of your running form.  The role your upper body plays in balance and posture is more important.  Avoid stress on your tendon by keeping an upright posture looking forward; however, don't lean forward- you don't want your head in front of your feet.

Get the right running shoes.  Get shoes that can absorb the shock and force of heel strikes.  A shoe with a low profile around the heel provides more support and shock absorption to the heel and Achilles tendon.

Here are a few stretches to help protect you from injury:

In Health, 

Zeke Samples - IFA, - IDEA

Surrealbody@gmail.com

Pre-Exercise Stretching Importance

 Did you know pre-exercise stretching is generally unnecessary and likely counterproductive?  Most people stretch to prime muscles for the workout to come, but there are some misconceptions that stretching before an activity will prevent injury.

Muscles may actually lose flexibility when they are overworked.  This can create a risk for decreased strength, especially if you are doing weight-bearing activities.  

  

Most people should consider adding more warm-up routines and cutting back from intensive stretching before exercise.  For example, an exercise that includes light stretching, like jumping jacks, can prepare the body for intensive activity without making the muscles vulnerable to overwork.  Then spend more time on recovery stretching afterwards.  

"If someone is jogging or walking, I recommend a gentle warm-up that takes less than a minute to stretch the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves," says Richard Cotton, the national director of certification at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). "I feel better when I do that, but I wouldn't mandate it for every client. There is value in stretching to increase range of motion and enhance activities of daily life."
 

Stretching has benefits because when combined with flexibility training it can give people a wider range of motion in their joints.  This can help in daily activities, balance and posture, which are important in preventing falls and injuries as people age.  I can help tailor the amount and type of stretching based on your individual need.

In Health, 

Zeke Samples - IFA, - IDEA

Contributing author for www.FitAphrodite.com

surrealbody@gmail.com