When Exercising Right Looks Wrong III (Back)
Hopefully, if you read my last article I got you thinking. Thinking about different ways to train, not necessarily using machines, but using your entire body with each exercise. We talked about the changes exercise science has brought about and the risks of continuing to train the way we currently do. Our bodies, as I alluded to, were not designed to be cramped into a one size fits all machine and forced to move in a specific pattern. That pattern unfortunately is single jointed, and those of us in the know understand that even putting food in your mouth requires 3 major and around 24 smaller joints. We need to train the same way that our body was designed to operate. Back exercise is one of the scariest groups of improper exercise concepts that I know of. To fully understand the back is way beyond the scope of this article. The 'back' is considered the Thoracic and Lumbar Spine and all the supporting muscles. Some of these muscles are global, meaning they assist with movement of the trunk / torso. Some are stabilizers, meaning they aid in keeping the spinal joints in the proper alignment. Many of the muscles act as synergists, they help other muscles do their job. Many of the back muscles have numerous tasks. The Latissimus Dorsi or lat, for example is the only muscle in the body that has direct attachment on the shoulder and pelvis. Many of the thoracic or middle back muscles cross the thoracic and lumbar spines and attach into the pelvis and sacrum. The eminent researcher Professor Stuart McGiIl states, "Evidence from tissue-specific injury generally supports the notion of a neutral spine (neutral lordosis) when performing loading tasks to minimize the risk of low back injury." The spinal column, devoid of its musculature, has been found to buckle at a load of only 90 newtons (about 20 pounds) at LS.3,4 However, during routine activities, loads 20 times greater are encountered on a regular basis. Panjabi says, "This large load-carrying capacity is achieved by the participation of well coordinated muscles surrounding the spinal column."1 Spine stability is greatly enhanced by co-contraction of antagonistic trunk muscles (e.g., abdominal and extensor muscles). Co-contractions increase spinal compressive load, as much as 12% to 18%, or 44ON, but they increase spinal stability even more by 36% to 64%, or 2,925N.6 But when load is at a minimum, such as when the body is relaxed or a task is trivial, the motor control system is often "caught off guard" and injuries are precipitated. Low back injury has been shown to result from repetitive motion at end range: According to McGiIl, it is usually a result of "a history of excessive loading which gradually, but progressively, reduces the tissue failure tolerance." What the research shows is actually simple, we continually load our body, in faulty posture, to the end range of movement. This increases the forces on the spinal joints by hundreds of pounds. Over time the joints become so repetitively overstrained and damaged that injury from a trivial task is inevitable. So what exercises help or hurt the back? The first thing to understand is that the paraspinal muscles are dominated by slow twitch muscle fibers which means there is no need to work extensor muscles for strength, rather focus on endurance or time under tension. This equates to stabilization type exercises for back strength, not thousands of repetitions of back extensions on various types of equipment. (spine 93) Try performing quadraped opposite arm and leg extension exercises, vary your hold times to target the paraspinal muscles. Add planks and side planks into your routine, but remember to always fire the glutes and maintain neutral spine. To strengthen the back, focus on always maintaining proper abdominal bracing and a lordotic lifting posture. This means that the best way to strengthen your back and abs for that matter is to change how you think. Every exercise you do is now a back and abdominal exercise. Perform your rows standing or sitting on a ball, keep your abs braced, head up, knees bent and shoulders back. For that matter, always keep the abs braced and the back flat, never round or hunch your shoulders. Do not lean back with the exercise, proper abdominal contraction will counter any extension moment and protect the back while strengthening the abs. Unfortunately the commercially made machines 'designed' to strengthen the back actually place repetitive stresses on the spine and disks while encouraging hyperextension. The best way to achieve a strong back is to build strong abs and lumbar muscles with high endurance and coordination. The back was never designed to be strong, it was designed to have high muscular endurance and lots of help from the abdominal wall and hips. 1. Panjabi MM. The stabilizing system of the spine. Part 1. Function, dysfunction, adaptation, and enhancement. / Spinal Disorders 1992;5:383-389. 2. McGiIl SM. Resource manual for Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 3rd ed. Williams and Wilkins, 1998. Bryan Fass, BA, ATCL, CSCS, NREMT-P
Bryan Fass holds a bachelors in sports medicine, is a Certified / Licensed Athletic Trainer, Nationally Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Nationally Registered Paramedic. Bryan is also a highly skilled soft tissue and Myofascial Release therapist, And has over 10 years of experience in clinical and fitness settings. Specialties in Spine and postural re-education. Precision Fitness is an advanced personal fitness, corrective exercise, post-rehabilitation, and sports performance facility with locations in Cornelius and Mooresville. http://www.lakenormanfitness.com
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Exercise and Losing Weight for Life ? Avoid the #1 Mistake Everyone Makes!
Do you ever feel like you are working out so hard and nothing seems to happen? You just can't seem to lose that last few pounds, increase your benchpress or tighten up those triceps. Why?
Yoga
Yoga traditionally conjures up images of long hair, loin cloths and incense burning in a darkened room with strange music playing! It had an almost cultish persona. Nowadays your gran is quite likely to tuck her Yoga mat under her arm and head on down to the local gym for an hour of Yoga and meditation. Yoga is coming out of the darkened room and is being embraced in it many forms by old and young alike.
Flattening Your Stomach in Four Easy Steps
You look at it every day and wish it would just go away; that little pouch below your belly button that keeps staring back at you. You do crunches, sit ups, the works, and yet there it is just "hanging around." There are all sorts of cute names for it: snack pouch, spare tire, love handles, and the list goes on. All you know is that you want it gone.
Online Fitness Coaching
If I were to tell you that you could burn away as much fat as possible by sitting at your computer twiddling your fingers and toes, would you believe me? Well I sure hope you don't!
Unstable And Proud Of It! Power to the Push-Ups!
When I get finished teaching you this never-before-seen version of the push-up, you're going to think that either I'm crazy or a genius or both! Of course, the results you'll get from it will speak for themselves.
After WLS: Walking for Wellness
Step for step, mile for mile, walking is the best cardiovascular activity you can include as part of your weight loss surgery success story. Walking is easy, accessible, inexpensive, individual and effective. It is the gold-star sport for real people with real lives. Formerly stigmatized as cheap transportation and a senior citizens' sport it is now a credible and fashionable form of exercise. And it's been around for a long time ? anthropoids stood upright and put one foot in front of the other thousands of years ago and we haven't looked back since.
How to Get Better Exercise Results By Improving Hydration
Water and Exercise
10 Workout Mistakes Cheaters Make
"When I'm lifting free weights, I tend to go pretty fast on the downward motion when I'm supposed to be using more control," says Beth Pekol, who works in banking in Chicago.
An Introduction to Tennis
Is tennis good for you?
Lose Weight - Stay Fit and Stick With It!
Health and nutrition experts continually advise us that the more we exercise the healthier we will be. In magazines, the doctor's office or on television we are never far from information showing us how to exercise, what to eat and how to lose weight. One constant rule, in the expert's opinion, is that regular physical activity is an essential element to successful weight loss and fitness maintenance.
The Truth about Spot Reduction
At any point, we can pick up the latest fitness magazine or see a television ad for the newest "abdominal reducer" exercise. These gimmicks are feeding on society's obsession with a "six pack" and everyone is searching for the answer to lose those love handles.
When Exercising Right Looks Wrong II
Enter any health club and a concept is very apparent, the same exercise performed again and again. Crowded floor space taken up by machines designed to make exercise easier, and a thought process called 'gym science' which involves no science at all. My last article touched on some of the thought processes or lack of thought that goes into proper exercise. With the advent of the computer exercise science has changed drastically. Particularly needle EMG (electro myo-gram) testing, this is where a hair thin needle is inserted into a muscle and its electrical and contractile properties are measured. The results of these studies have drastically changed how we exercise. Exercises that we did in the past have been proven ineffective and better exercises have been proven more efficient and effective.
Forget Exercise - Go Play
Can't seem to get the energy or motivation to exercise? Forget exercise - go play. For most of us exercise is a chore. So many people hate to exercise, or just can't get motivated to start an exercise program. If you are one of those, forget about exercise, go play.
Your Guide to Joining the Right Gym
Whether you want to look good on the beach this summer or loose the pounds the thanksgiving turkey puts on, a gym membership could be just the ticket.
Exercise & Motivation, Part 2: Overcoming Inertia & Getting Started
In the first article in this series (http://tinyurl.com/8ztbo), we gave you an overview of the stages of change in Prochaska's Transtheoretical model. The first three of these stages are all about getting started. They apply to anyone who's not actually regularly exercising at the moment. If you were active in the past, but don't now (i.e. you're in the "Relapse" stage), then, motivationally speaking, you're in one of these stages. Just as a reminder,
the stages are:
The Cool Down - Recover Faster & Avoid Injury!
Many people dismiss the cool down as a waste of time, or simply unimportant. In reality the cool down is just as important as the warm up, and if you want to stay injury free, it's vital.
Rotator Cuff: Exercises and Strategies to Prevent Injury
Have you ever experienced a dull ache or sharp pain in your shoulder or upper arm? Maybe you are unable to sleep on one side because your shoulder wakes you up at night. Perhaps, you have discomfort reaching behind your back to tuck in your shirt or grab your wallet. If so, you may be suffering from a rotator cuff injury.
How to Start a Walking Program
Did you know that walking is the number one participation sport in the world? Walking is one of the best things you can do for overall health and wellness. When you walk you use more muscles than any other sport. In fact, walking uses almost all of the 650 muscles and 203 bones found in the human body. So what are you waiting for?
Monitor Your Body Fat Levels For Results
A very important aspect in really finding out if you're on the right track or not, is to monitor your body fat levels. Go to your local sports store and buy some body fat calipers to test your fat levels. Record these levels along with your body weight each week and start to monitor these changes. You want to make sure you're building quality muscle mass and burning that extra body fat.
Get Fit From Home!
--------------------
Things Around The House
--------------------
|
