When you walk into most gyms, you see machines. There are
several of them that work the same muscle group but at a different angle. You
can go from a horizontal leg press to a vertical leg press and everywhere in
between. You can stack your leg workouts with so many exercises from different
angles, you'll have a hard time walking for the next three days. If that's how
you choose to build your workout then that is your choice. The question you
have to ask yourself is why.
This doesn't just apply to legs, using free weights as
opposed to machines in all areas, will prove to be more beneficial to your
body. Regardless of your fitness level or what you're trying to accomplish, you
can accomplish more in a shorter amount of time by using compound exercises. A
compound movement requires more than one joint to move at a time. Most machines
isolate a certain muscle, so movement only takes place at one joint. In my
opinion, there are two reasons to isolate muscles. Either you are a competitive
bodybuilder or you have a weak muscle that you're trying to strengthen. Either
way, you can isolate muscles effectively, without the use of a machine.
Moreover, while you're sitting comfortably, your body isn't stabilizing itself
during the exercise, it's getting a free ride. What that means is that your
superficial muscles are developing while your larger stabilizing muscles
aren't. That's not a big deal right? Wrong! Our body moves in patterns and when
you isolate a certain area, you can cause distortions in your natural movements
that can affect your posture, range of motion and possibly lead to injury.
These are factors that can discourage you from working out
or hinder your progress. A productive alternative is to train yourself to move
properly from the start. Use compound exercises that will help to engage more
muscle groups and force your body to stabilize itself. If you use less stable
surfaces such as a stability ball, your body will have to work even harder to
stabilize itself. A squat for example, creates flexion at the hips, knees and
ankles to varying degrees. Nonetheless, it engages more muscle groups than and
machine could ever do. The only problem is that you may not have the ability to
squat properly right away. By placing a stability ball against the wall and
then placing your back against the ball, you can work on your form. Work on
pushing your hips towards the wall as you squat and keeping your heels flat on
the floor. Drive yourself up by pushing from your heels. Practice these often
to improve your mechanics. Observe that are giving you the most without the
ball and try to address those.
If you gear your training to work on compound movements, you
can engage more muscle groups, therefore burning more calories. Hence, you may
increase strength and range of motion, without causing muscle imbalances. So
the next time you are at the gym, steer clear of machines and train your body
to move properly.
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