Exercise junkies beware.

[Frankie]

Healthy Living Sunday, April 10, 2011

The 6 exercise machines you must avoid

Walking into the gym and expecting a great workout is like walking into the supermarket and expecting a gourmet meal. The basic ingredients are there, but like they say in the infomercials, results may vary. With working out, as with cooking, a little bit of smarts, dedication, creativity and knowledge will make all the difference between perfect pasta and a gelatinous ball of mush.

For this list of no-no exercises, we consulted Stuart McGill, PhD, professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario; Nicholas DiNubile, MD, author of FrameWork: Your 7-Step Program for Healthy Muscles, Bones, and Joints; and trainer Vern Gambetta, author of Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning.


http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/healt...avoid-2470714/


1. Seated Leg Extension



What it's supposed to do: Train the quadriceps. What it actually does: It strengthens a motion your legs aren't actually designed to do, and can put undue strain on the ligaments and tendons surrounding the kneecaps.

A better exercise: One-legged body-weight squats. Lift one leg up and bend the opposite knee, dipping as far as you can, with control, while flexing at the hip, knee, and ankle. Use a rail for support until you develop requisite leg strength and balance. Aim for five to 10 reps on each leg. (If you are susceptible to knee pain, do the Bulgarian split squat instead, resting the top of one foot on a bench positioned two to three feet behind you. Descend until your thigh is parallel to the ground and then stand back up. Do five to 10 reps per leg.)


2. Seated Lat Pull-Down (Behind the Neck)



What it's supposed to do: Train lats, upper back, and biceps. What it actually does: Unless you have very flexible shoulders, it's difficult to do correctly, so it can cause pinching in the shoulder joint and damage the rotator cuff.

A better exercise: Incline pull-ups. Place a bar in the squat rack at waist height, grab the bar with both hands, and hang from the bar with your feet stretched out in front of you. Keep your torso stiff, and pull your chest to the bar 10 to 15 times. To make it harder, lower the bar; to make it easier, raise the bar.


3. Seated Hip Abductor Machine



What it's supposed to do: Train outer thighs. What it actually does: Because you are seated, it trains a movement that has no functional use. If done with excessive weight and jerky technique, it can put undue pressure on the spine.

A better exercise: Place a heavy, short, looped resistance band around your legs (at your ankles); sidestep out 20 paces and back with control. This is much harder than it sounds.


4. Seated Leg Press



What it's supposed to do: Train quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings. What it actually does: It often forces the spine to flex without engaging any of the necessary stabilization muscles of the hips, glutes, shoulders, and lower back.

A better exercise: Body-weight squats. Focus on descending with control as far as you can without rounding your lower back. Aim for 15 to 20 for a set and increase sets as you develop strength.


5. Squats Using Smith Machine




What it's supposed to do: Train chest, biceps, and legs. What it actually does: The alignment of the machine—the bar is attached to a vertical sliding track—makes for linear, not natural, arched movements. This puts stress on the knees, shoulders, and lower back.

A better exercise: Body-weight or weighted squats. See "Seated Leg Press" above.


6. Roman Chair Back Extension


What it's supposed to do: Train spinal erectors. What it actually does: Repeatedly flexing the back while it's supporting weight places pressure on the spine and increases the risk of damaging your disks.

A better exercise: The bird-dog. Crouch on all fours, extend your right arm forward, and extend left leg backward. Do 10 seven-second reps, and then switch to the opposite side.

[Silock]

Maybe -- it's hard to gauge because one is a repetitive stress type of danger and the other is bad form danger. But that's not because the squat is inherently dangerous. It's because people are reeruned and don't bother to learn the proper form, or let their egos get in the way.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by Silock

Maybe -- it's hard to gauge because one is a repetitive stress type of danger and the other is bad form danger. But that's not because the squat is inherently dangerous. It's because people are reeruned and don't bother to learn the proper form, or let their egos get in the way.

Good point. I guess I've never heard anybody say, "Hey Bro, what are you leg extensioning these days".

[Brock]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

Good point. I guess I've never heard anybody say, "Hey Bro, what are you leg extensioning these days".

Of course not. It's not really all that useful of an exercise, but to act like it's some kind of unnatural movement and put it at number one of a list of exercises that shouldn't be done is completely ridiculous.

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Admittedly, I am sure no expert on the subject. But it is my understanding that building muscle in those areas accomplishes several things, especially when you get older.

1) helps with keeping joints solid, and supports them
2) muscle helps burn fat

Are these not correct? Heck, I see the frailest of woman using 60 to 80 lbs. on those machines. Aren't you looking for the right amount of resistance for your particular body?

Personally, I have seen a big improvement in those areas, so there must some validity to it. Big muscles are not really an option or desired. But the improvement I have seen in my ability to do a lot of activities is well worth the effort.

Previously, I would find my hips hurting on extended drives in the car 6-12 hours. Now, if I keep current with my workouts on those machines, it is not an issue.

Meh, you are only going to put on so much muscle from that machine. Stick with your meat and potato lifts. If your worried about your joints stretch, take a yoga class.

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by Silock

110% agreement there.

Just saying that lots of people **** up their shoulders doing BB bench press, but they do it with bad form (elbows flared out, too high up on the chest, etc.) and then blame the exercise instead of their bad form.

Very true. You will still lift longer if you use dumbbells primarily.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by Brock

Of course not. It's not really all that useful of an exercise, but to act like it's some kind of unnatural movement and put it at number one of a list of exercises that shouldn't be done is completely ridiculous.

I'm with you. I do it with the entire stack and have for many years and it hasn't caused an injury yet.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by Brock

Of course not. It's not really all that useful of an exercise, but to act like it's some kind of unnatural movement and put it at number one of a list of exercises that shouldn't be done is completely ridiculous.

Except it IS an unnatural movement. You don't do things that mimic leg extensions (at least not with resistance) when you aren't doing leg extensions. You're talking about an open chain movement versus a closed chain movement. Your foot isn't planted on the ground, so you can't recruit all of the necessary muscles to stabilize your knees (like the hamstrings). So, your quads end up pulling your knee slightly out of alignment. Add weight to that, and well, it's bad.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

Very true. You will still lift longer if you use dumbbells primarily.

I don't disagree. I use BB now because my gym doesn't have a very good selection of DBs (only 5 lbs increments) and they only go up to 100 lbs.

[Demonpenz]

I have been doing squat lately 12 reps 150 pounds or so, I am not in good shape to be lifting, watched some youtube videos. Man it's hard to do stuff like walk to the fridge to get some pancakes when your legs are sore.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

Meh, you are only going to put on so much muscle from that machine. Stick with your meat and potato lifts. If your worried about your joints stretch, take a yoga class.

I will stick with what is working for me, and I enjoy. Thanks though.

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

I will stick with what is working for me, and I enjoy. Thanks though.

I thought you said you hurt yourself doing that. My bad.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

I thought you said you hurt yourself doing that. My bad.

I did, when I was using too much weight. That is how I learned. I also said that it is helping me. No bad at all.

See, as I mentioned earlier, I was pretty ignorant on the subject and unlike some people will admit it. I hired a PT for 6 months, and one thing I did notice, when a particular weight became too easy for me, he would step it up.

Well, once I let him go, I started stepping it up too much, that is when I hurt myself on both occasions.

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by Silock

Maybe -- it's hard to gauge because one is a repetitive stress type of danger and the other is bad form danger. But that's not because the squat is inherently dangerous. It's because people are reeruned and don't bother to learn the proper form, or let their egos get in the way.

The ego's + testosterone = reeruned. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I had to threaten to kick people out of the gym if they kept doing something because I knew they were going to hurt themself. Finally only after that with the whole gym staring at them like the dumbass they are will some of them get it. I have had others just leave though all upset. Freakin lame.

[Omaha]

Originally Posted by Brock

Of course not. It's not really all that useful of an exercise, but to act like it's some kind of unnatural movement and put it at number one of a list of exercises that shouldn't be done is completely ridiculous.

I'm not sure why you're clinging to the fact that it's a natural movement, but the article states that it "can put undue strain on the ligaments and tendons surrounding the kneecaps." This is not new information. This has been fairly common knowledge for at least 10 years.

[Frankie]

The best of all exercise machines:










If you are a mouse that is.