Balance Your Body to Stay Healthy
Tuesday October 26, 2010
As you all work out and exercise, do you focus on working opposing body parts or are you one of those people that says "will work this but I don't like working that body part". There is a lot of functional training out there right now, training that works the full body or many parts of the body at once. Even doing this, there are some parts of the body that may be worked harder than others or we may just choose to skip something that we don't like. OR, one side is working harder than the other side so unilateral training is needed, meaning one arm or one leg at a time. This post though is about working all body parts. I will cover unilateral training in a future post.
So, I am here to say, NOT A GOOD THING to not work all body parts! Many injuries do happen because people work certain muscles more than others & skip others all together. Some people work the "abs" but not the core or back. Other people work the quads (front of legs) but not the hamstrings (upper back of legs). Women may work the chest but not the back. Men love to work their upper body but lots don't put effort into their legs (well, from what I have seen over my many years in the gym). Women love to do their cardio but shy away form weights in general or use way too light weights.
All of the above and more can result in injuries to the back, knees and more. No resistance training can lead to bone loss & osteoporosis along with increased weight gain as we age.
I am not saying get crazy but do try to work all body parts & switch up the order too. For example, many people go hard core on their quads but throw in the hamstrings as an after thought. How about doing your hamstrings first on leg day OR training them on a separate day from quads all together.
OR, I know many train to the typical push/pull type workout or larger muscles first. Why not evaluate your body & see what needs the most work & start with that body part even though it is "not what the rules say".
I do my back last since it is an easy gain for me but many do that first. I have often started with my biceps on bicep day because they have been one of my harder gain areas.
Legs used to be an easy gain for me & also easier to keep tight. With age & hormone changes, that changed also. It is way harder for me to get the results I want in my legs so I had to make changes to my leg routine to accommodate for that.
Evaluate your complete workout & see where you can make changes to balance your body & stay healthy!
Oh, and don't forget the stretching!!! That is integral to keeping away injuries too. Boy do I know that with age! I used to be able to do the splits cold.. now, it takes me 15 minutes of warm up to even start attempting them... but I can still do them! Just saying, when I don't stretch, especially with age, I have way more issues!
Anyone learn the hard way that they were not balancing out the bod & ended up with "issues"? Want to share any horror stories??? I will tell you that when I put less effort in to it, I have way more issues with my hips, hamstrings & knees.
As you all work out and exercise, do you focus on working opposing body parts or are you one of those people that says "will work this but I don't like working that body part". There is a lot of functional training out there right now, training that works the full body or many parts of the body at once. Even doing this, there are some parts of the body that may be worked harder than others or we may just choose to skip something that we don't like. OR, one side is working harder than the other side so unilateral training is needed, meaning one arm or one leg at a time. This post though is about working all body parts. I will cover unilateral training in a future post.
So, I am here to say, NOT A GOOD THING to not work all body parts! Many injuries do happen because people work certain muscles more than others & skip others all together. Some people work the "abs" but not the core or back. Other people work the quads (front of legs) but not the hamstrings (upper back of legs). Women may work the chest but not the back. Men love to work their upper body but lots don't put effort into their legs (well, from what I have seen over my many years in the gym). Women love to do their cardio but shy away form weights in general or use way too light weights.
All of the above and more can result in injuries to the back, knees and more. No resistance training can lead to bone loss & osteoporosis along with increased weight gain as we age.
I am not saying get crazy but do try to work all body parts & switch up the order too. For example, many people go hard core on their quads but throw in the hamstrings as an after thought. How about doing your hamstrings first on leg day OR training them on a separate day from quads all together.
OR, I know many train to the typical push/pull type workout or larger muscles first. Why not evaluate your body & see what needs the most work & start with that body part even though it is "not what the rules say".
I do my back last since it is an easy gain for me but many do that first. I have often started with my biceps on bicep day because they have been one of my harder gain areas.
Legs used to be an easy gain for me & also easier to keep tight. With age & hormone changes, that changed also. It is way harder for me to get the results I want in my legs so I had to make changes to my leg routine to accommodate for that.
Evaluate your complete workout & see where you can make changes to balance your body & stay healthy!
Oh, and don't forget the stretching!!! That is integral to keeping away injuries too. Boy do I know that with age! I used to be able to do the splits cold.. now, it takes me 15 minutes of warm up to even start attempting them... but I can still do them! Just saying, when I don't stretch, especially with age, I have way more issues!
Anyone learn the hard way that they were not balancing out the bod & ended up with "issues"? Want to share any horror stories??? I will tell you that when I put less effort in to it, I have way more issues with my hips, hamstrings & knees.
Posted by truth2beingfit at 10/25/2010 9:00 PM 
Categories: Fitness, Health, Tips, Exercise, Resistance Training
Tags: stretching body workout resistance training Exercise fitness balance health Tips
Categories: Fitness, Health, Tips, Exercise, Resistance Training
Tags: stretching body workout resistance training Exercise fitness balance health Tips
Yay.
my post.
because this one is for me, right?
*skips off to stretch and roll her glutes and never ever ever gloss over that piece of working out again*
Reply to this
We all so need this!
Reply to this
Love that you posted this today..I am in that learning phase of my body and starting the weight - resistance training. How lucky am I that I have SO MANY experts to rely on....
Reply to this
Yahoo for resistance training!
Reply to this
I learned about this a while ago so I have paid attention to working opposing muscles. I don't do as good a job as Jody or Roy, but I make an effort to be well "rounded."
Reply to this
I just need to get my mind well rounded too!
Reply to this
I know I don't pay enough attention to my lower back. And it is rare that in a group fitness class the instructor works on that too. Thanks for the reminder.
Reply to this
Lower back... one of the biggest injury issues for people.. Yup, work that baby!
Reply to this
Hmmm, I am guilty. I do not like to weight train my legs much. I get them a good dose of cardio, but the weights just seem to have a mental wall to get over with me. For the life of me I am not sure why.
Reply to this
Legs are a HARD workout plus men love to show off that upper body & hide the legs.. what I see in the gym...
Reply to this
Guilty with the stretching..I do hate it so I like to pretend to forget it. I know, its not a matter of getting hurt it is when will I get hurt. TY for the reminder!
Reply to this
Sian, so many people are like you.... I do it while watching the news or something else. I do a shorter version after my workout...
Reply to this
Excellent post! I used to not work chest because I figured it was useless.. well then I realized I was being unproportionate since I worked my back, so now I do chest and love it!
Bi's on the other hand.. HATE IT! But I force a couple exercises in there once a week or so
Reply to this
Loved those pics on your post.. I have the same "chest pics as you"..
Reply to this
I do a full body workout 3 times a week. There are some muscles I don't work (like biceps) because they get worked enough with some of the other moves and start to grow more than I would like. I am one of those women who actually can build biceps!
I had to challenge myself to stretch 4 times a week for the rest of the year. I am very lax about it!
Reply to this
OMG, you can still do the splits??? I am so impressed! I haven't been able to do those since I was a teen!!
Reply to this