Thursday, 12 May 2016

Phenomenal Abdominals

   Some years ago I was supplementing my  Fitness Training income by working for a landscaping company. I drove around to different sites in Edmonton and then unloaded 50 pound bags of some type of dirt by pouring the contents into a wheelbarrow. This went on for about a month in October. The rush was on to get work done before the fierce northern winter shut us down. I was showering one night when I noticed something pleasantly shocking in a floor length mirror. It looked as though a plough had run over my midsection. I was ripped in the middle! My once doughy breadbasket had turned to stone!   Gadzooks  -  I had abs!
   Usually I can summon up a vague resemblance to a six pack by tightening up my stomach and squeezing like I' m constipated. In this case I didn't have to tighten or flex. The six muscular ridges just magically appeared when my shirt came off. This hadn't happened since my peak amateur wrestling days.
   Abdominal muscles are the holy grail of exercising for aesthetics. They are the first thing that attracts the human eye to a fit human organism. They are also the body part that that can be the most complex and difficult to train. I have listed some important considerations of training the abdomen otherwise known as the midsection:

  1. The abdominals also combine with the lower back and hips to form the core of the body. 
  2. In just about any sports movement the power comes from the core.
  3. There are actually 4 muscle groups composing the abdomen -The Rectus Abdominus (the front 6-pack), the Transverse Abdominis, The External Oblique, and the Internal Oblique.
  4. Athletes are more concerned about core stability and strength than the actual physical appearance. 
  5. However exercise movements focusing on core muscles usually develop shapely ab muscles as well.  
   There has been a historical progression of midsection training since exercise and fitness became fashionable.

  • The staple of ab exercises used to be the sit up with the feet hooked to an immovable object. 
  • Sit ups utilize the hip flexor muscles to contract the spine thus lessening the abdominal contraction. 
  • Overly developed hip flexors can cause a forward pelvic tilt posture when standing up.
  • Forward pelvic tilt can lead to a postural condition known as 'sway back' in which the abdomen protrudes making even skinny people seem like they have a gut.
  • Sit ups evolved into crunches with the feet not hooked to an immovable object.
  • Legs lifts with bent knees became vogue to also work the lower abs.
  • Exercise scientists theorized that abdominal training should follow the 'All or None' rule in which the abs contract as a whole unit - not by isolating the lower and upper abs. This is also more likely to incorporate all 4 of the abdominal muscle groups.
  • This led to the ab training slogan "Integrate - not Isolate!"
  • Another similar slogan is  "Train Movements - Not Muscles". 
  • Whole body movement such as athletes use became the trend to work the midsection. This may explain my results with the month of intense landscaping work. That also may be why  competitors of MMA, UFC, grapplers and wrestlers often have the most ripped abs. 
  • Medicine Balls, Kettlebells, CrossFit, and Olympic Style Weightlifting  utilize the principle of whole body movements. 
  • Recent studies show that cycling motions from a supine position cause the greatest muscular stimulation of the abs. 
  • Exercise balls and Bosu Balls are also widely used now for Ab work. Fitness Trainers such as Greg Harvey from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada have had outstanding success with clients using exercise balls as training tools.

   An important point to remember - no matter how well developed the abdominal muscles are, they will not be visible if covered with a layer of fat. Some  heavyweight Olympic Weightlifters and Powerlifters have super strong core muscles but also have high adipose layers in the midsection. Therefore you don't see the six-pack look on them. Cardiovascular training or high intensive training can help reduce overall body fat.

    Also important - you can't spot reduce. Thousands of crunches won't burn belly fat. Body fat reduction requires a full body effort. 

 This leads to the age-old important question, What is the best exercise for getting a six-pack looking midsection. The best answer that I can give is: There is none !
Each person is different. Their goals vary. There body structures vary. Some have flexible hips which favor certain movements. Those with tight hip flexors (like me) must experiment to duplicate the results that I got from the landscaping job. 

   Contrary to much media advertising, there is no magic pill (at least not a legal one),  food supplement, sweat girdle, vibrating belt, or electrical device that magically melts belly fat.
Invest the money that you would spend on such claims or buy a gym membership, a bike or some good running shoes.    

Ab training also requires safety considerations. The most important are:
  • Protect the spine
  • At one time it was believed that tightening the lower back while training abs (forward pelvic tilt) protected the spine and made for a better muscular contraction.
  • Recent studies trend towards keeping a neutral or relaxed spine.
  • Comfort should be your guide. You want to attain muscular fatigue but not cause actual pain especially in the back.
As always for you or your Fitness Training clients,
 common sense and safety are the priority. 
Phenomenal Abdominals  !!!
No that's not me and it's not Gerard Butler in '300'..
That is a freestyle wrestling legend in peak condition
 before the most recent Canadian Olympic Trials. 
 


Until next time,

 Keep Fit
Little Bobby Strong















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Friday, 22 April 2016

Your Friendly Neighborhood Fitness Center ?

   In theory it all sounds so convenient. Instead of braving traffic and eating valuable time travelling to a place to work out, just go to your friendly neighborhood fitness center. Ideally this would be located in a fairly affluent urban area. Industrial zones or pedestrian challenging suburban shopping centers are less desirable. This is a recent trend in the fitness business. The business plan appears sound. There are a number of fitness chains now using this unique formula.

   Most such places are open 24/7. Members have an access card to obtain admission. They usually change and shower at home. Security cameras ensure that solitary patrons feel safe if they are working out during quiet hours. Supposedly jacked-to-the-gills muscleheads are discouraged from joining although I can't envision such clubs turning away anyone offering to pay the membership fees.  
   Many people are tired of the concept of mega fitness complexes with the high pressure sales techniques and the January New Year's resolution crowds! The corner fitness center  offers a viable alternative.     Your friendly neighborhood fitness center also offers the services of Personal Fitness Trainers.
   I actually worked at one such business for a few months, The problem was that I didn't feel that the management was giving the support that was promised in my contract, Free consultations were slotted at times that I was officially unavailable. The management in turn wanted me to give up all of my other fitness training related ventures. I was not even going to consider that until I had built up a significant client base from their membership. The head office was in a different part of the city. The lines of communication were minimal. Our expectations differed significantly.
   We mutually decided to make my contract null and void. There was no acrimony on my part. These situations tend to be the norm in the fitness industry.
   Now it turns out that my decision to not give up my other fitness ventures was the correct choice! This particular club has been shuttered by the landlord for being in arrears of the rent!  This also can be the norm in the cut throat world of the fitness industry. The city of Ottawa built a new sports complex for Canadian Football a short distance away. The complex had a mega fitness club as a tenant. This new center combined with possible head office neglect likely drained away many of the existing and potential members. I feel vindicated!
   
   I also feel concern for both the members and the Fitness Trainers. I can only offer some advice for someone joining any private fitness club:

  •  Don't pay for more than a month at a time unless you can afford to lose that money.
  •  If the fitness center goes bankrupt, into receivership or just belly up, your lost fees are low on the payback scale.
  • If you want to quit or sense that the business is in trouble, give at least a month notice or you will still be billed from your direct withdrawal.
  • If the club is part of a chain, your membership may be honored at another club. However it will be in another part of the city. Forget about the convenience factor. 
  • Read your membership contract carefully before signing.
   Fitness Trainers at a club that fails also have some concerns:

  • You may have a number of clients paid in advance with no workout facility.  
  • Another club in the same chain may accept you and your clients. Once again, the convenience factor due to commute time is affected.
  • Fitness Trainers sign a contract that prohibits them from working for a nearby competitor for a specified period of time if they quit or get fired.
  •  The contract may specify that you and your signed clients can only work at another club that is part of the chain.
  •  If not,  you may be able to entice another fitness center to accept you and your clientele.
  • Read your Fitness Trainer contract carefully before signing.
   For members or Fitness Trainers at civic or city run facilities, such concerns are rare.
Fitness is great.....but.....the fitness business can be a shark tank!

 Until Next Time,

 Little Bobby Strong

Your friendly neighborhood fitness center.
Convenient! Uncrowded! Always open!







What's this?  No more convenient club !
The small print below the picture scope reads
"FOR NOT PAY RENT - YOU EVICTED !



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Thursday, 7 April 2016

The Latest Performance Enhancing Drug - Meldonium

   Once again the sports world is rife with drama, scandal and alleged cheating. That's what makes it the best reality show in the world!  However ethics invariably takes a back seat to performance.
Every time I thought that I was ready to post this blog, another development regarding this drug hit the news channels.
    The substance in question is a pharmaceutical called Meldonium.
Meldonium is a drug produced in Latvia for treating heart issues such as angina and heart disease. Like many such medicinal agents, Meldonium increases oxygen flow to and from the heart. This can increase cardiovascular endurance.
   Surprise! Surprise! Outwardly healthy athletes have been using Meldonium as a performance enhancer. In most cases Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED's) were originally created to treat severe health deficiencies. However Machiavellian sports alchemists invariably discover that sometimes these miracle medicines can also improve certain aspects of sports physiology!

 The inventor of Meldonium claims that this drug does not enhance or improve stamina or endurance. It merely protects the heart from the strain and stress of endurance training!
Strange - I always thought that the strain and stress from training was what caused physical adaptation leading to improved function. This is known as the SAID principle.
Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands. Gradual progression leads to improvement.
Taking medication to protect from the physiological after effects of exercise seems to contradict this principle. 
   The World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) finally declared Meldonium to be a banned substance as of January 1, 2016. More surprise - since then world class athletes have been testing positive. Actually  130 athletes have had this drug turn up in their system. This tally increases almost daily.

     The growing list of positive testing athletes seems to take on some nostalgic patterns:
  • A long track speed skating men's world champion..... This Russian speed skater served a 2 year doping ban as a junior. Accidents can happen - more than once! 
  • A male short track speed skating  Olympic and world champion - also Russian.
  • A 16 year old Russian woman figure skater.
  • The biggest test failure - tennis star Maris Sharapova. She claims that she was taking this medication for 10 years for a variety of health ailments. She claims to be unaware that Meldonium became a banned substance on January 1. She lives in Florida but still has links to the Russian sports hierarchy.
  • Up to this time 130 athletes have tested positive for Meldonium.
  • So far 29 Russians have tested positive for this drug.
  • A wrestler from Georgia (part of the former Soviet Union) was one of those with the drug in his system. Amateur wrestling bouts can last as long a 6 minutes. An endurance boost could be an asset.
  • Just yesterday the news broke that 80% of the Russian under 18 hockey team has tested positive for Meldonium. The full team is being replaced by the Under 17 team before the world Under 18 Championships. This of course adds to the tally of 130 athletes and 29 Russians testing positive.
For some reason I remain skeptical. 
  • Is it reasonable to expect that young world class athletes should require heart medication?  
  • Is it possible that the sports communication system did not publicize well enough that Meldonium was recently placed on the forbidden substance list?
  • Are the remnants of the Eastern Block state sponsored doping programs still alive?
  •  Could all of these positive readings all be just a misunderstanding.
  • The Russian sports federation DID test and replace the whole Under 18 hockey team. Could this be a sign of a new vigilance and and a n honest attempt to come clean?
  • Since Meldonium is a recent banned drug it is conceivable that previous medals and championships will not be censured.
  • 2 prominent Russian doping control doctors were about to go public. Both recently died of 'natural' causes. Talk about cleaning house. 
   Meldonium apparently tends to stay in a user's system for up to a few months after it's last consumption. This is supposedly why many athletes are testing positive while thinking that all traces have been eliminated from the body. 
   As a die hard track fan I lived through the Ben Johnson saga where Canadian Olympic type sports federations got serious about getting rid of performance enhancing drugs. The United States Anti Doping Agency took down one of their own legends in Lance Armstrong. Some countries seem to approach the war on doping with a less fervent zeal. This can make for a very uneven playing field.
   I would hate to see full teams barred from Olympics and World championships. Clean athletes may suffer as well. However full teams under suspicion should undergo intensive unbiased doping tests for ALL hopeful competitors.. 
   Sports doping may be a war that will never be won ! The Olympics are coming up this year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Throw in the  corruption that clings to every Olympics, Brazil's current political troubles, the water pollution at many sport venues and the mosquito borne Zika Virus and this summer could get hot and scandalous.There will also be some super athletic achievements.
I just may be spending a few evenings watching the tube for both sports magnificence and potential train wrecks!

If you are a fitness trainer and your client indicates that they are on a heart medication such as Meldonium, you should only continue working with them after receiving a PAR MED X form from a physician. Otherwise if something goes wrong you are liable. I wonder if some of these elite coaches got that memo?
                                       
Unlike steroids, Meldonium does not have masculinizing side effects for
women athletes.............. Or does it ??
Maria.........Is that you ???
(Picture compliments of apartment security cameras. Alcohol may have been a factor)
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Thursday, 11 February 2016

The Curse of the Man Cold



   What is this strange and powerful force? What wretched virus can cause such grief to a living organism?

  • It can take a robust, beast of a man and turn him into a nose-snorting, eye watering, weeping, whining wimp of a human being! 
  • It can topple a fierce, male warrior from his horse in the field of battle and leave him shaking and shivering under a blanket!
  • Male athletes can take a hockey puck to the face or a football helmet to the noggin and cry to get back out on to the field of play. Give the same athletes this virus and they cry the tears of  the woe begotten.
  • It can take a proud, independent man and reduce him to a waif-like creature begging for comfort from the closest mother-like figure!
   What evil sorcery is this? What parasitic succubus can so totally drain a man's very life force?
We are talking about an age old nemesis, an ancient pestilence  - the Curse of the Man Cold!

    Women are able to keep motoring on during a bout of the cold virus. Obviously the female body has some superior immune system response to this ailment or else they only succumb to weaker strains. They also have a common response which is to call the hapless sufferer of the Man Cold a whiner and a 'baby'. Anecdotal evidence and male instinct makes it evident that the virulent strain that attacks us is a much more apocalyptic plague.
   I can speak expertly from my own experience. I can go for more that a year without catching a cold.
However when it hits - it hits hard! Little Bobby Strong with a cold undergoes a metamorphosis  into little bobby weak - a sniffling, sympathy siphoning sissy !

   What does the scientific evidence have to say about this discussion?   One study suggested that men have larger temperature receptors in the in the brain and thus have greater reaction to cold viruses.
Another theory is that women's estrogen helps alleviate cold symptoms. However, other scientific studies dispute such findings as inconclusive.
   Could it be that women are biologically able to endure some types of suffering better than men?
How many men do you know that would not surrender or give up the ghost if they had to undergo the pain of labor?
   The more important issue is how to best avoid catching any type of cold.

  1. Get as much sleep as possible. Getting run down with work and exercise can compromise the immune system.
  2. Avoid over training.
  3. Eat a healthy diet with an abundance of fruit and vegetables.
  4. Wash your hands frequently.
  5. If someone sneezes - Dive For Cover ! 
   What if you get caught in a sneeze crossfire and catch the cursed cold.

  • Ramp up the thermostat. A high body temperature helps fight the virus. That's why your body develops a fever.
  • Seek steam and humidity.   This helps with nasal congestion.
  • Keep hydrated by drinking water.
  • Get vitamin C from natural sources such as fruit.
  • Get as much rest and sleep as you can.
  • Some experts suggest light exercise. My personal experience is that anything more strenuous than a slow walk just makes me sicker. It won't ruin your fitness to take a few days off!   
   This following treatment for the Man Cold is controversial and may not be recommended.

  • Taking a few pulls from a flask of Grandpa Zeke's homemade hooch fresh from the still. It may arguably kill the virus if it doesn't kill you first!

  The common cold and the Man Cold must run it's course. The full virus usually passes in a week to 10 days with about 2 or 3 days of peak misery. Be smart! Ease gradually back into your exercise program. You do not need a relapse.

Until Next Time....Keep Healthy  

 Little Bobby Strong

The wretchedness of the Man Cold !
I neither condone nor condemn this patient's consumption of that
  homemade hooch for medicinal purposes.
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Sunday, 31 January 2016

The Mathematical Trickery of Mega Fitness Centers

  January is a bad time to hit the Fitness Center for anyone wanting to complete a work out in a timely manner! Why is that?

  • Your favorite weight machine is lined up 3 deep with waiting users.
  • You need the Bench Press for a chest pump. You must be joking!
  • You want to do some leg presses to start your workout.  Forget about it!
  • Arm curl machine - Not a chance!
  • New members hogging a machine for many more sets then they need just through lack of knowledge.
  • Hoping to ease the muscles with some rejuvenating sauna heat .Not gonna happen! The newbies are holding the door open and peering in tentatively as the heat escapes.
   What sort of January madness is this? It's called New Year's Resolution time.
 Bears wait upstream to scoop out the salmon as they swim upstream to spawn. Pickpockets wait in anticipation for tourist season. Sex workers pray for the next political convention to come to town. For Fitness Centers, especially the big box suburban mega gyms, January is the month when the money rolls in.

   January is the time when many people decide to make lifestyle changes. Often these lifestyle changes revolve around losing weight and getting physically fit. The hangover guilt from the overeating habits during the Christmas season can be a deciding catalyst for an attempt at a physical makeover. Such aspiring changelings may take up yoga, walking, running, or join a Fitness Center.
The Fitness Center industry is waiting for such aspirants with special deals and supposedly cut rate special memberships.
  The crowds at such a Fitness Center can be a hindrance to a brisk in and out time for regular members. They may also wonder how it is sustainable. The buildings are only so large. There are only so many weights and a finite number of machines. This sudden influx of new members taxes the very infrastructure of such facilities. Unless the Fitness Center expands and buys new equipment it seems inevitable that the place will collapse under the weight of it's own membership numbers.

   Regular members - worry not. Your mega Fitness Club management has used a form of mathematical trickery to boost revenues by planning for failure.  The failure is that of the majority of the new members to give up on their fitness goals within the first month or two.
This is the mega Fitness Center Business plan based on guilt and lack of willpower !

  •  Oversell memberships that will be underutilized and float through the rest of the year. 
  • A certain percentage of new members will pay and never even show up at the gym.
  • A greater percentage will last for a month or even two months but rarely longer.
  • Only a few new members will continue as long time members.
  • The Fitness Center will sell memberships for up to a year with monthly payments.
  • The contracts are usually for a year so quitters just bite the bullet and keep paying monthly by direct bank withdrawal.
  • Rarely do Mega Fitness Centers provide guidance for new members on how to actually get results. They may give a brief weight machine orientation if anything at all.
  • Mega gyms may have Fitness Trainers for new members willing to pay extra for such services.
  • Mega Fitness Centers often hire appraise their Fitness Trainers based on ability to sign up paying customers rather that exercise knowledge. Such Fitness Trainers tend to give out generic 'cookie cutter' training programs that do not meet the clients real fitness needs.

   Good Fitness Center management would try to sign and keep new members through providing some Fitness Training sessions as part of the membership fee. They would appraise their Trainers on technical competence as well as sales skills. New members would receive more than just a walk through orientation.  Such clubs would show greater member adherence   The reason CrossFit clubs are booming is that newcomers gain a sense of belonging. They are not wandering aimlessly through a myriad of machines.
   If you are a prospective new Fitness Club member, do your research! 
Read the fine print of the contracts. Don't sign for a long term commitment unless you are certain that you can adhere. Beware of deals that seem to good to be true. One club in Edmonton, Canada called Family Fitness Center was selling lifetime memberships the day before the club went into receivership. (This was in the 1980's. Lifetime memberships are now illegal to sell in many jurisdictions.)  Municipal facilities or community centers often have fitness facilities that don't require signing long term contracts.

    If you are a steady faithful Fitness Center member just ride out the January rush.
The short term January members subsidize the regular users. You will soon have your elbow room again! Just roll with it and keep pumping up! 

Your Fellow Long Term Member

Little Bobby Strong               
 
Standing room only! The January sales blitz !
 
No worries ! By March there will be lots of elbow room !







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Wednesday, 30 December 2015

Holiday Fitness Guilt

   Yes, it's that time of year. 

  • The Twelve Days of Christmas 
  • New Years
  • New Year's Eve
  • Demanding children
  • Visits to or from relatives and in laws who don't give a hoot if you miss a hard workout because of them
  • Travelling to visit same relatives who will plan your schedule that does not allow for gym time or outdoor pursuits
  • Ample food feasts 
  • Traditional quaffing of Dad Hetke's homemade hooch -  disguised as egg nogg 
  • Mom's Christmas pudding with the extra ration of thickened rum sauce
  • Reduced business hours at the Fitness Center
  • NFL and NCAA Football
  • World Junior Hockey on TV
Mix all of these ingredients together and there is the fear that that hard earned abdominal six pack could turn into a soft bouncing jelly belly!

    Of course, not all families are inactive during this time of year. Many families take time for skiing, skating parties, and other active holiday functions.
If you belong to a clan that will insist on a sedentary season there may be some ways around it:

  • Use shopping trips as a chance for some walking exercise. 
  • Park at the far end of the mall
  • Avoid escalators and use the stairs
  • Cruise the mall before buying the presents
  • Do an extra loop of the mall
  • Offer to take the clan children out for some snow time. (Good luck. Getting today's youth away from their electronic devices may prove impossible.)
  • Turn down that second helping of dessert. Test your resolve. 
  • Maybe you can even convert the clan and organize a morning walk or a post meal skate. !
  • If relatives are nearby, walk instead of drive if the distance is reasonable
   None of these tactics may be effective. The Holiday gravity of gluttony and grog guzzling plus the many demands on your personal time may leave you feeling unfit and sluggish.
 
Get rid of the guilt! It's only for a week or so. Most sensible fitness training programs have built in periods of down time to let the body recover from exercise stress. All those little micro fibers of the muscles need healing time. Use the Christmas Holidays for such recovery. Ideally  active rest with some movement is best. The detraining effect will be minimal.
   You just might have to be patient and determined when you start back up. But it will be possible!
It will be New Year's Resolution time.

Season's Greetings

Little Bobby Strong  
Skip the escalator at the mall. Take the stairs and burn some calories.

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Tuesday, 10 November 2015

Controversial Exercise - The Leg Extension Machine

Pumped up iron aficionados often like to demonstrate their strength in the weight room.
 In my athletic prime I did it too. I used to lift the whole stack on the Nautilus Leg Extension Machine. I don't remember the exact weight but I think it was around 220 pounds or 100 kilograms. It wasn't a single lift but rather a set of 20 repetitions for one set. My quadriceps muscles would be screaming for mercy from the 12 Apostles by the 15th rep. Nothing could seem to match the leg extension machine for carving out the muscles of the front thigh. As for the sacred muscle pump, leg extensions reigned supreme.
  Now, years later, I get episodes of nagging knee pain!  Throughout my years of  sporting life my knees were the rare joints that weren't injured. The evidence for me to  blame Leg Extension Machines is only anecdotal but still compelling. However sports science seems to share my view.
   Performing an exercise such as the squat causes compression force. The load of the weight is spread throughout the body with shoulders through the torso through the legs to the feet absorbing the gravitational force.  The weighted load from a leg extension is at the upper ankle joint. This creates shear force pushing downward directly on the knee joint. Short term damage or sudden injury are unlikely. However years of accumulated grinding could lead to long term instability and in the extreme case conditions of osteoarthritis may occur.  
    The ligaments and tendons supporting this joint are not designed to withstand extreme or excessive shear force. The Anterior Cruciate Ligament(ACL), the Lateral Cruciate Ligament (LCL), the Medial Cruciate Ligament (MCL) and the Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) all provide support for the knee. Ligament tissue receives little blood flow and does not get larger or stronger in response to exercise the way muscle does.
   The Patella (kneecap) shields the underlying meniscus or articular cartilage that lubricates and cushions the 3 bones that join at the knee. Sudden stops, traumatic force or constant overuse can damage the intricate balance of this important location of the human organism.

   The 4 muscles of the upper thigh are called the quadriceps. This is the anatomical profile:
  1. Vastus Lateralis - Outer muscle of the upper thigh.
  2. Vastus Intermedius- Middle muscle of the upper thigh.
  3. Vastus Medialis- Inner muscle of the upper thigh. This muscle can take on a tear drop shape especially using a leg extension machine.
  4. Rectus Femoris - Overlies the other 3 quadriceps muscles. 
   The leg extension machine is an isolation exercise.  It isolates the quadriceps but does not engage the other muscles of the thigh, The hamstrings, the adductors, the abductors and the glutes are not participants in the movement, This exercise also enables movement only through the knee joint. The hip joint is not engaged.Hip flexor muscles muscles such as the Psoas, the Gracilis, and the Iliacus are mostly left out of the equation with the Leg Extension Machine.

   This exercise is not functional to any practical movement or athletic motion. Squats, deadlifts, lunges or even walking or running stairs or hills mimic movements that are more realistic to normal motion. As for building strong muscular thighs, have you ever seen the legs of a sprint cyclist?. Hard brief intervals on a bike are super leg developers. Speed skating and sprint running also develop leg strength. 
   Is there anyone that might find use from the leg extension machine?  Bodybuilders could benefit from such an isolation movement and the effect of creating visible separation of the quadriceps muscles. Even then, bodybuilders usually perform squats or leg presses first and use leg extension machines for fine tuning.  
  *** The most important muscles in lower body locomotion are the gluteus maximus muscles of the buttocks. If these muscles are weaker than the quadriceps then numerous postural problems can occur. The over active hip flexors can pull the body into anterior pelvic or sway back. Many distance runners can be skinny and have little belly fat but the front pelvic tilt makes it look like they have a gut.

 All weight training movements have some potential for risk. Fitness Trainers should be aware of the risk / reward ratios of each prescribed exercise. The type of apparatus used is also a significant factor.
Some leg extension machines are poorly designed and can feel awkward and uncomfortable. Equipment such as Nautilus or Life Circuit are of superior design and safer to use.

    The Leg Extension Machine does build strong and well developed front thigh muscles.
It does not develop functional strength that is specific to every day movement. It is an exercise that should be done carefully. It also should not be the only front thigh exercise used in any training program.

 Until Next Time,....Keep Fit    

 Little Bobby Strong



Leg Extensions do pump up the upper Quad muscles.
Proceed with extreme caution! 









The Multi Hip Machine offers knee and hip flexion
 similar to a running motion. Less risk of long term damage!
 

















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