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Four Common Exercises That Will Get You Hurt

SATURDAY, 27 JUNE 2009
Submitted By: Mariangela Silvestre

There are so many exercises out there to choose from, how do you know which ones are safe and worth your time and effort? Today, Luka Hocevar, a Renton fitness expert and boot camp instructor, is revealing the most common machine exercises that are sure to get you hurt and therefore, you should avoid.

Hocevar claims, “One of the biggest concerns we fitness professionals have are sheer volume of machine exercises that make up the typical workout for the average gym rat. Machine exercises limit you to a fixed range of motion and do not appropriately prepare your body for everyday ‘functional’ movement in multi-planes of movement.”

This might sound counterintuitive to many of us who have been misinformed that machine exercises are safer to perform because of a smaller learning curve and the relative ease in which you can adjust resistance for your current fitness level.

Hocevar goes on further saying, “The claim that machine exercises are safer than using free weight or body weight exercises is absolutely absurd. Machine exercises do not force you to engage the key stabilizer muscles surrounding your joints that are heavily responsible for keeping them strong and stable. In reality, machine exercises are setting you up for muscle imbalances and short and long-term injuries that will slow your results to a grinding halt. Plus, by not engaging as many muscles, machine exercises limit fat burning and lean muscle growth potential.”

Hocevar shares four common exercises he wouldn’t be caught dead doing, and they all involve overpriced, bulky machines that fill the floors of the typical health club:

1.) Abs Machine

Crunches in this machine will be a sure-fire way to hurt your neck and back and they don’t provide the stabilization work your core muscles really need to function optimally, improve posture, and to prevent injury.

2.) Back Machine

Most people already use their backs way too much during most exercises and this machine just reinforces that. People are better suited doing exercises that strengthen their gluteal muscles like hip extensions and deadlifts in addition to stretching the hip muscles which are commonly tight and restricted.

3.) Leg Extension Machine

This exercise will put you on the fast track to patellar tendonitis in the short run and knee surgeries and arthritis in the long run. Your best bet is to focus on lunging exercises to build firm, toned legs and stable knees.

4.) Elliptical Machine

This machine truly only has use for people that are significantly overweight and/or de-conditioned. If you are within 10-20 pounds of your ideal body weight you are better suited performing intervals on a stationary bike or via outdoor running. For those folks who prefer to workout at home, use body weight cardio exercises like stationary running and jumping jacks.

For more details on this news, please visit www.prlog.org.

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