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Popular, Yet Unsafe
Exercises |
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By Juliette Woodmansee - Fitness Director -
LHP Yacht & Racquet Club |
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If you are new to resistive
training, or even if you have been lifting weights for decades, you should
read this article. As an Occupational Therapist with 11 years experience
with physical disabilities and injuries, I have seen several common
injuries that were facilitated by improper weight lifting techniques. Now
as a certified personal trainer I see some popular yet unsafe exercises
done everyday. Our bodies are structurally designed to handle physical
challenge, but there are limits to the durability of the human structure,
and naive newcomers to resistance exercise may unwittingly begin a gradual
process of connective tissue degeneration. Unfortunately, mistakes are not
limited to newcomers.
One of the most common mistakes I see at the gym is behind the neck "Lat
Pulldowns". When I started working out years ago, it was common to pull
the bar down behind the head. However this causes an abnormal stress and
stretch on the anterior capsule of your shoulder joint (front of the
shoulder). I have also seen people perform this exercise by leaning way
back as they pull the bar towards their chest (looking towards the
ceiling) and as the bar raises they let it yank them up. This movement
pattern can also cause common shoulder/back and neck injuries including
rotator cuff tears.
The correct way to perform "Lat Pulldowns" is to sit up straight with your
shoulders back and down and your focus forward. From here, lean back
slightly - about 10 degrees - from your hips so you don't hit your head
with the bar. Keep your torso steady and use your core muscles to hold you
securely as you slowly contract through your back and drive down with your
elbows to pull the bar down to your upper chest. When pulling the bar
down, focus on using your latissimus dorsi (the muscle running from the
back of your armpit to your lower back, which pulls your arm down from a
raised position. Resist the weight on the return, controlling the motion
all the way through the negative portion (the way up) of the repetition so
you feel a comfortable stretch, not a yank, at the top of the movement.
Don't use momentum to pull the bar down to your chest.
Another common mistake I see at the gym is the regular crunch. Common
mistakes are arching of the back when lowering the head, pulling with arms
around the back of the head, tucking chin down towards chest when rising
up, and breath holding. Helpful reminders are, unlace your fingers and
just barely touch them to your ears. Lift your chin off your chest, look
at the ceiling and tilt your pelvis slightly so that your lower back comes
into contact with the floor. From here, exhale as you lift your head and
shoulders off the floor (using your abs!) and inhale as you return.
Doing a few focused crunches that hit your abs is better than jerking
through hundreds of sloppy ones.
Good luck,
Juliette |
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