Strengthening a Better Way ?

Go into any modern gym and you will see a host of shiny machines designed to ensure that your strengthening routine is as effortless as possible you can even sit and read a magazine whilst you exercise !

The whole idea of strengthening is to increase your power to help you live a healthier life , to work or to enable you to perform better in your sport . There are three big problems with these type of machines - They only provide isolation exercises i.e. they only target a specific muscle whereas , in reality , no one muscle works in isolation .

They do not target the smaller stabiliser muscles which are essential for joint stability.

Also , these fixed access machines continually work the same muscle fibres if you were to use free weights or a cable machine , as these fibres tired , your arms or legs would turn slightly giving them a chance to rest . If you use these for any length of time the fibres become overused and you are on the road to injury as they do not allow the body to work in the way that it is intended .

Paul Chek , the American therapist , was of the opinion that these machines should be melted down and turned into dumbells !

A More Integrated ApproachConsider the two most used machines in the gym the leg press and the hamstring curl ; Where in life do you ever do these movements ? What's the point ? People who use these can often move huge amounts of weight but bend down to pick up a waste basket at work and they put their back out or spend more time on the injury bench than on the pitch .It is essential to bring all the muscles into play that are required for a particular task . This means moving off the machines and onto a different type of equipment . I recently read an article by the British action film actor Jason Statham who was training with a guy who was ex-special forces where the exercise regime was all about climbing , pulling , throwing , pushing , hitting tyres with heavy hammers , working with heavy ropes and kettlebells etc. and every day was a completely different routine and yet carefully controlled and monitored .This type of exercise is known as Functional Strength TrainingThey are simply exercises that mimic the movements that you want to get better at . An example of this would be that if you had trouble getting off the sofa then a squat with weight would be better than a leg extension machine . It also re-trains the nervous system . The brain ( which controls muscular movement ) thinks in terms of whole motions , not individual muscles it forces the muscles to fire in the correct order and with the required strength to achieve a particular task .You don't have to go to the extremes that the above actor did you can do them in the gym . The types of of equipment used are ;

Clubbells

Cable machines

Dumbbells

Medicine & stability balls

Kettlebells

Resistance tubes

Rocker & wobble boards

Slideboards

TRX equipment

It is , however , unlikely that most gym instructors would know much about this but it is worth questioning them you may have to go to a strength and conditioning expert ( a friend of mine , who has long been an advocate of this type of training , recently opened a state of the art gym apart from running and rowing machines not a single fixed axis machine could be seen and all his staff were themselves weightlifters ) . Have a look on YouTube to see what it's all about .

The way we exercise today is based on 1980's bodybuilding where , in the case of men , they must have a big chest , a six-pack and big biceps . Proponents of functional exercise consider this outdated and unatural ( if you want to know what human beings were designed for look at huntergatherers , they are lean and wiry ) .Many of the staple exercises are now either gone or replaced ;

* Squats with bar on the back replaced by single leg exercises* Sit-ups replaced by exercises without bending at the waist* Leg curl removed completely* Back extensions removed completely* Bench press- replaced with cable exercises

Does it Work ?In 2009 the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research published a research article about functional verses fixed training equipment functional users had a 58% increase in strength over the fixed form group . Balance was 196% greater and there was a 30% decrease in joint pain !

The isolation exercises that machines provide only really have a use in remedial therapy where a particular muscle is weak and needs to be strengthened to allow the joint to work properly . Why on earth the modern gym industry has gone in this direction is beyond me . Try something different and be healthy .

Val O'HalloranMassage Therapist