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3 Exercises you Should Probably Avoid
For most people, the three worst exercises you can do are: bench press, curls and stationary cycling.
Most people would answer this statement by saying, “but that’s all I do at the gym! What's wrong with that?" Well, the problem is that the vast majority of people lead a very sedentary lifestyle. This translates into way too much sitting at a desk, in a car, in front of a computer or watching television. Working or relaxing in a seated position for prolonged periods of time each day causes the body to adopt an abnormal posture. Week in and week out, this leads to tight hips and hamstrings which can cause low back pain and tight chest muscles which pull the shoulders forward or round them and can cause neck pain. Further, the biceps shorten in this position which causes a dramatic loss in range of motion in your arms and shoulders.
An important reason for exercising is to reverse the effects of postural problems brought on by this type of sedentary lifestyle. But, going to the gym and doing bicep curls, bench press and stationary bike actually makes all these muscles tighter. Plus, most people ignore working on their back and glutes which can help alleviate and balance out some postural issues. In effect, the tight and strong muscles keep getting stronger and tighter, while the weak muscles keep getting weaker. So, bench press, biceps curls and stationary bike work to reinforce bad posture instead of fixing it.
What we need to do instead if combat rounding shoulders by strengthening the muscles that keep the shoulders back. We have seen tremendous results by having people do rows and face pulls which works to strengthen the back and pull rounded shoulders back into alignment naturally. Also, we need to stretch the hip flexors, so they do not pull the hips out of alignment and strengthen the glutes to support the lower back. Lastly, when working with the arms we need to utilize a full range of motion to avoid chronic shortening of the ligaments, muscles and tendons.
Terrible posture is not an accident. It is caused by a sedentary lifestyle, bad habits and poorly conceived exercises. But, by doing the right kinds of stretches and workouts, you can reverse these effects.
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