Matt Hank

I come across a ton of bogus training programs that only use modality, promise unrealistic results, or do not structure their program based on scientific principles.  Be a smart consumer when choosing a fitness/sports performance program to be apart of.  For example, if you’re an athlete looking to get stronger or improve your speed/quickness it wouldn’t logically make sense to use fancy equipment where you’re in seated, prone (on your stomach), or supine (on your back).

Here is an example of an expensive (I mean $10,000 expensive piece of equipment) machine that is suppose to improve your strength and power while not making you sore.  This machine only does concentric movements – you pull then you push.  I’m going to clue you in on a secret…athletes don’t function this way.  Instead, their movements involve a loading (eccentric muscle action) phase followed by a powerful transformation movement (concentric phase).  Therefore, you are training your body on this piece of equipment in a way that you wouldn’t perform during your sport.  In addition, last time I checked most sports (besides cycling and rowing to name a few) are performed in upright stranding positions where your body has to react to gravity and move in multiple planes of motion.  Again, this expensive, fancy piece of equipment does not allow you to do this.

Here is fitness example about evaluating a training program with some logic before you participate.  Many females come into a training with similar goals such as working on their hips, butt and thighs (at least this is what I have seen over the past 9 years of training).  Many trainers will cater their exercise by doing a variety of different leg lifts in every position – side lying leg lifts, on all fours kicking your butt up in the air with the small pink dumbbell between their knee, and standing cable leg raises, just to name a few.  Want to know a more effective and functional approach to targeting the hips and butt…wait for it…it’s called squats and lunges.  Squat and lunge variations are performed in an upright position (more functional) and recruit more muscles than isolate exercises (more effective).  Anytime you see a trainer doing special isolated exercises or using a fancy piece of equipment that isolates those trouble spots just remember there is usually a more effective and functional approach.

“Hello lady, do some squats or lunges and stop wasting your time with this silly exercise!!”

Train Hard-Train Smart
www.asap-pt.com

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 9th, 2009 at 5:07 pm and is filed under Exercise Demonstrations, Fitness Equipment, Program Design, Strength Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.