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Choosing the WRONG Exercises
 The
exercises most bodybuilders focus on the most, are the ones that cause the
most problems. But before we share with you what those exercise are, let’s talk
real quickly about what bodybuilding is…
The
goal of bodybuilding isn’t to get as big as you can,
or at least to us it isn’t and shouldn’t be, but to build a balanced body that
is as strong as possible in every way. For example, while being freakishly big
may get people’s attention, it serves you no purpose at all… while on the other
hand, what if you were not only big, but also extremely strong and powerful,
lightning fast, flexible, and agile enough to kick ass if needed?
So many bodybuilders build massive amounts of muscle yet
are so unbelievably weak and
inflexible. The point is, the exercises you choose
and how you perform them not only
determine how big, strong, and flexible you
are, but also affect how your body functions and whether or not you suffer from
aches, pains, and injuries like
back pain
and sciatic pain.
Ok, here they are… the exercises that create the most
problems and are most likely to lead to back pain:
2.
Leg Extension
While there are others, these are the two that cause the
most damage.
There are several reasons why these exercises made our
list of the “worst bodybuilding exercises”.
-
First, all of them target areas that already tend to
get worked a lot in everyday life and often times are overdeveloped and by
focusing so much on these exercises you end up creating
muscle imbalances, or
worsening existing muscle imbalances, which pull your bones and joints out of
their normal position and this leads to uneven pressure and wear and tear on
your muscle, ligaments, tendons, bones, and joints and will sooner or later
lead a break down or injury.
For example, chronic overuse of the bench press, coupled
with little or no exercises targeting the upper back, leads to an
overdevelopment of the chest and a lack of strength and development in the upper
back…
-
This all too common combination leads to what we call
“Turtle Back”. You know what we’re talking about, when the shoulders are
pulled so far forward, lats are as wide as barn, and from behind, their back
looks like a giant sea turtle shell!
This “Turtle Back” posture can create neck, upper back,
and shoulder pain and injuries.
-
Plus, how many times during your day are you forced to
lie on your back and push up a bar loaded with weights? There are so many
better
exercises for chest development that not only stimulate more muscle,
but also build more usable strength.
Now let’s talk about the fabulous thigh builder, the leg
extension…
-
Not only does it place an unbelievable amount of strain
on the knee joint, but it also will quickly overdevelop the quads, which are
already getting far more work than their counterpart, the hamstrings. An
imbalance between the quadriceps and hamstrings, which is also extremely
common in bodybuilders, is a key contributor to back pain. This imbalance is
easily identifiable by what people often call “Bubble Butt” or “Ghetto Booty”.
So hopefully you can see how important it is to choose
your exercises wisely. We strongly recommend you cut out these exercises, or at
least cut back on using them and add in targeted
exercises
for the opposing muscle groups and targeted
 stretches for those
tight, overdeveloped muscles.
The key to eliminating back pain, or any other ache, pain
or injury for that matter, is to bring your body closer to balance…
What good is muscle if you can’t use it? How many more
workouts are you going to miss because of back, neck, or shoulder pain? How much
bigger and stronger could you be if back pain and other injuries weren’t ruining
your training?
Just imagine how bad things will be 10, 20, or 30 years
from now if you don’t make changes to your training now… but don’t take our word
for it, ask some of the older bodybuilders who are paying the price now... you
can spot them easily at the gym because they limp around trying to find
something they CAN do.
Related Links
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