I was a personal trainer for many years before becoming a Chiropractor. I have seen trends come and go, and they all seemed like fads. Resistance training has always been an important component to workout patterns, and research shows that this training is essential for people to be optimally healthy. But is traditional weight training the best way to go about it? Or is it really just another fad? For that matter, are newer models of exercise like CrossFit or P90X fads?
The form of weight training that is the standard these days is a muscle isolation type which has been made popular by body builders from the 70s. They perform strict movements which isolate different muscle groups like the pectoralis major in the chest, or the biceps brachii in the arms in order to gain strength and size. This kind of training is effective at gaining strength and improving health to a point. It was my standard of exercise for many years and I received a lot of benefit and a great deal of strength from it. There was also a lot of crossover to other activities as well. These exercises aren't bad, but as I will demonstrate, they are somewhat limited.
First and foremost, the muscles of the body are not meant to work in isolation. Strength gain is more than simple cross sectional force that can be applied through a muscle. What matters more is the ability of the body to coordinate all of the muscles in the body to produce force in a given movement. The weight training I am suggesting relies on functional body movements more than isolation to improve the ability of the body to work as a coordinated whole.
Think about when you lift something with your hand. This would be a biceps curl in a traditional movement, but is the biceps really working independently? Of course it's not! Not only are there quite a few other muscles that support the arm directly like those in the chest, shoulder, and upper back, but the muscles of the spine and legs must operate in order to balance all of the other forces. When you lift your arm, your center of gravity changes, and other muscles must compensate for that.
The exercises of the body builders are very sport specific. They are attempting to generate as much size and strength as they can, with an emphasis on size rather than on function. Are they strong? Sure, but they aren't as functionally adept as someone who practices CrossFit, for example. CrossFit is an example of a workout type that emphasizes function and form over sheer strength. It makes no sense to be able to curl 100 lbs in the gym, if you can't bend down to tie your shoelaces, or reach behind your back.
A common exercise done in CrossFit is the thruster. This movement requires a weight of some kind that is propped up at the shoulder. You perform a full squat where your thighs go beyond parallel and then come back up. At the top of the squat, you press the weight overhead. What muscles get worked in this exercise? A better question might be: What muscles aren't? This exercise uses legs, arms, core, and everything in between to do it well. I have never been so functionally capable since I started training with CrossFit.
Some caveats: I don't believe CrossFit is for everyone. It is very intense, and there are other forms that also apply this functional concept, but without the intensity. I would encourage people to check out Mark Sisson's Primal Fitness Blueprint at his website.
The form of weight training that is the standard these days is a muscle isolation type which has been made popular by body builders from the 70s. They perform strict movements which isolate different muscle groups like the pectoralis major in the chest, or the biceps brachii in the arms in order to gain strength and size. This kind of training is effective at gaining strength and improving health to a point. It was my standard of exercise for many years and I received a lot of benefit and a great deal of strength from it. There was also a lot of crossover to other activities as well. These exercises aren't bad, but as I will demonstrate, they are somewhat limited.
First and foremost, the muscles of the body are not meant to work in isolation. Strength gain is more than simple cross sectional force that can be applied through a muscle. What matters more is the ability of the body to coordinate all of the muscles in the body to produce force in a given movement. The weight training I am suggesting relies on functional body movements more than isolation to improve the ability of the body to work as a coordinated whole.
Think about when you lift something with your hand. This would be a biceps curl in a traditional movement, but is the biceps really working independently? Of course it's not! Not only are there quite a few other muscles that support the arm directly like those in the chest, shoulder, and upper back, but the muscles of the spine and legs must operate in order to balance all of the other forces. When you lift your arm, your center of gravity changes, and other muscles must compensate for that.
The exercises of the body builders are very sport specific. They are attempting to generate as much size and strength as they can, with an emphasis on size rather than on function. Are they strong? Sure, but they aren't as functionally adept as someone who practices CrossFit, for example. CrossFit is an example of a workout type that emphasizes function and form over sheer strength. It makes no sense to be able to curl 100 lbs in the gym, if you can't bend down to tie your shoelaces, or reach behind your back.
A common exercise done in CrossFit is the thruster. This movement requires a weight of some kind that is propped up at the shoulder. You perform a full squat where your thighs go beyond parallel and then come back up. At the top of the squat, you press the weight overhead. What muscles get worked in this exercise? A better question might be: What muscles aren't? This exercise uses legs, arms, core, and everything in between to do it well. I have never been so functionally capable since I started training with CrossFit.
Some caveats: I don't believe CrossFit is for everyone. It is very intense, and there are other forms that also apply this functional concept, but without the intensity. I would encourage people to check out Mark Sisson's Primal Fitness Blueprint at his website.
No comments:
Post a Comment