"Well man, you're never going to get big if you don't do ( insert highly touted exercise here.)" A common phrase. But what if every time you attempt this exercise you can't walk for a week? ( And not because your muscles are sore?) Or your joints sound like a bowl of rice crispies while doing it? Body structure certainly plays a role on what exercises will work best for you. Sometimes you just need to tell your work out partner "No." Here is a list of some exercises that may be causing you pain, and some valuable alternatives.
Good-Mornings
Meant to be a hamstring and glute exercise, some lifters swear by them; some lifters, however, swear at them. One of your hamstring muscle group's functions is hip extension. An example of this is if you bend over to pick something up with semi straight knees by sticking your glutes out, then bring them back in as you lift it. Your glutes are also involved in this movement. The good-morning tries to mimic this movement, but the position of the bar can place undo stress on the lower back. A good alternative if this exercise is causing you issues is a Romanian Dead lift. It works your body through the same movement, but since the bar is closer to your body as you go through the movement, your lower back will have much less stress. A Romanian dead-lift is similar to a straight leg dead lift but you stop the movement slightly below the knees. ( Whenever your upper body is about parallel to the floor. If you feel it in your back, you're going too deep.) Another alternative is Rope Pull Throughs on a cable system.
Straight-Bar Curls
Highly touted as a "mass builder" for the biceps, some people may feel an almost shin splint like sensation in their forearms from this exercise. This is caused by a lack of flexibility in the wrist, followed by the wrist being forced into an extreme position caused by the straight bar. If you're experiencing this problem, a good alternative may be using dumbbells ( Which will allow your wrists to be in a more natural position.), or an EZ curl bar. (However an EZ curl bar might also place your wrists in an unnatural position.)
Behind-the-Neck Shoulder Press
Very effective at working the posterior deltoid, traps, and rhomboids. However, this exercise can place undo stress on the cervical vertebrae, rotator cuff, and is all around a very high risk exercise. Some alternatives may be face pulls, which work the exact same muscle groups, or sitting backwards on a machine shoulder press ( Chest into the pad) so the angle is similar to that of a free bar behind the neck press without the risks.
Barbell Squats
First off, I am a big believer in the barbell squat. It is a fantastic exercise. But if you have rotator cuff problems or herniated disks, sciatica, or other back or shoulder problems, the squat may not be for you. If the problem is shoulders, a safety squat bar may be a solution. ( Pretty cool bar that allows for better hand placement specifically to not stress the shoulders.) Or if the problem is your back, there is a pretty cool device called a belt squat that allows you to squat with the weight underneath you instead of on your back compressing your spine or aggravating any injuries. Other options are certainly a heavy leg press or hack squat. ( If you have back problems, going below parallel on either will probably aggravate them.)
Conventional Stance Dead-Lift
Many people get great hamstring and glute recruitment out of this exercise, but if you're struggling to use anything but your lower back, and feel and sound like a bowl of rice crispies, some alternatives may be widening your stance, ( Semi sumo, sumo.), or Hex bar dead lifts. If these alternatives still give you issues, remember there are other alternatives to work the hamstrings and glutes.
Barbell Bench Press
Once again, I am a big believer in the barbell flat bench. However, if you have a previous shoulder injury, or if you have perfected your form and are still having issues in your elbows or shoulders, there are some valuable alternatives. Dumbbells, for one, can allow for more natural movement in the shoulder girdle, as they don't force your hand placement into one fixed position. Or if you can find a machine press that doesn't give you any joint pain, that too can be a valuable alternative.
Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Touted as one of the only ways to hit the medial head of the deltoid, stopping when your arms are parallel to the floor in the movement can cause impingement of the AC joint. Other options may be to bring the dumbbells through a full circular motion and touch them together at the top of the movement above your head. ( Called an "Around the World") Another option is a "neutral grip dumbbell press." To perform this exercise, bring your elbows in tight, with your hands in line with your shoulders. Face your palms inward towards each other. This is called a neutral grip or semi-supinated grip. As you press, let the dumbbells travel in a slight arch towards your head. When done right, you should feel awesome muscle recruitment in your deltoid's medial head.
Close-Grip Bench Press
Awesome for building triceps and chest strength, but many people complain of wrist and shoulder pain while doing this movement. A couple simple tricks might fix this. First, if you have problems in your wrists, try widening your grip. Most people think your wrists need to be practically touching for this exercise to be effective. Look at the angle too close of a grip places your wrists in. Then imagine the beating they receive throughout the exercise. Widen your grip until there is no pain in the wrists. Also a more narrow grip requires more flexibility in the shoulder girdle to touch the bar to your chest. Widening your grip can also help with shoulder pain. Also, touching the bar lower on your chest compared to the spot you hit with your normal grip may be helpful. Lastly, stopping short of a complete lockout can keep the shoulders back and avoid putting strain on them.
Skull Crushers
While we're on the subject of triceps, lets talk about an exercise that is almost legendary. Results of doing these can include gains in triceps strength and size, and tendinitis. There are about 1,000 solutions, which can include adjusting the angle of the bench to an incline or decline, changing the spot you lower the bar to, (behind-the-head, French-press). using dumbbells, changing where you stop the motion, changing your grip, ect. If you are having an issue with your elbows, a great alternative for a similar movement is using a rope to do French Presses off of a cable pulley system. Because the tension from the cable is constant, this can be better on your joints compared to using free weights where the tension on your muscles may disappear before suddenly reappearing due to bar position in the movement.
...
Remember, sometimes more than one road can lead to Rome; but if an exercise hurts you in a bad way, yet your form is good, it's better to do something else regardless of what anyone says. If they want to be ridiculous, you have to be ri-FIT-ulous
No comments:
Post a Comment