321–330 of 353 posts
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People have muscle imbalances just from bad posture, sitting too much, and exercising with poor form (if they do exercise). Not to mention overall inflexibility that again lends to bad form. Watching videos and doing general exercises will not address these issues. They may actually make them worse.
TIL on HN: doing a little bit of physical activity will make you deformed.
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People have muscle imbalances just from bad posture, sitting too much, and exercising with poor form (if they do exercise). Not to mention overall inflexibility that again lends to bad form. Watching videos and doing general exercises will not address these issues. They may actually make them worse.
This is as much nonsense as the people saying to check with your doctor before doing literally anything in life. People with bad posture and weak bodies just need one thing: start exercising today. Start with weak weights / body weight. Ignore the hand wringing online unless you're 70+.
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A great niche to target would be assistance for people who have a muscle group they don't use because of long-time postural issues or simply never having learned to use it. For an issue like this, it doesn't work to simply do an exercise that supposedly works the muscle. Even if the muscle is the limiting link in the lift, if your body isn't using it, it won't get stronger. For example, my mid-upper-back was lax beca…
Do you really need exercises to target niche muscles ( can understand if you are doing rehab post injury or actually bodybuilding to enter a contest)? Most folks who want to be fit, only need to focus on compound movements ( bench/incline presses, squats, deadlifts, pushups, pullups) which target all muscle groups.
Thanks OP for sharing my website! Please be gentle with me. This is a project website that I built out of frustration a few years ago. I know there are things that need improving and a lot of things that could be adjusted. I work full time at Brave Software (brave.com) and simply don't have time to put a ton of effort into MuslceWiki. I do however have a big backlog of videos to add and I've slowly been working on an…
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Smart people tend to overthink things, i.e. looking for exercises that isolate smaller muscles. If you have neck, back, or posture issues the chances are you will benefit greatly from just lifting weights. Before I started training I had terrible back pains and spontaneous spasms in the neck, which went away within weeks of regular training. Moreover, if I ever miss training for too long the pain returns. Focus on bu…
On the other hand, I spent a year ramping up my bicycling, and then went on a 7-day trip spanning 535 miles. I did some serious damage to my knees because while my main cycling muscles had the strength for the trip, some of my stabilizing muscles did not. I couldn't get back on the bike without knee pain for months. Now I am totally out of shape. I could go to PT, as I was given a referral, but it's expensive, and I…
There's a lot of benefit to finding someone that teaches you both what to do and how to do it, and is also better informed and more competent than most fitness trainers. The good ones will also walk you through a basic physiology course so you can understand the why of it all (why did I become injured, why does this prevent or reduce the risk of a future injury).
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Smart people tend to overthink things, i.e. looking for exercises that isolate smaller muscles. If you have neck, back, or posture issues the chances are you will benefit greatly from just lifting weights. Before I started training I had terrible back pains and spontaneous spasms in the neck, which went away within weeks of regular training. Moreover, if I ever miss training for too long the pain returns. Focus on bu…
I train regularly (5 days a week), back still hurts. It is super possible to have imbalances even with regular training. Muscles that are weak will not be engaged during compound lifts unless specifically made to engage, either through isolation exercises, or through awareness. A personal trainer or physical therapist can help with either path.
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In general I agree that compound movements are the best, but in my personal experience most people have postural weaknesses and habitual movement patterns that they just might not be aware of that even compound movements have a hard time addressing. When you start exercising your body may overcompensate for these weaknesses by recruiting muscles that might be less than ideal for the movement, which can lead to injury…
I agree about posture, see too many people with postural issues, almost makes me want to tell them to go see a physical therapist/personal trainer. Body awareness, I realized is only possible if you have been athletic all your life, for most people that awareness is just not there. Yoga is great - it stresses strength, flexibility and balance. And the complex movements bring attention to those "weak" muscles. I do it…
Yoga definitely is great and I practice asana 5x per week. I will say that my injury came up during an asana class, though, and it wasn't until I really targeted my weak scapular muscle groups that it got better.
Couple quotes for those that don't enjoy spending hours in the gym: > “You do not need to do many different exercises to get strong - you need to get strong on a very few important exercises, movements that train the whole body as a system, not as a collection of separate body parts. The problem with the programs advocated by all the national exercise organizations is that they fail to recognize this basic principle:…
Yes follow the Rippletoe routine and get big legs and tiny upper body, this is exactly what every guy who enters the gym is looking for. I don't know why I always see strength focused routines being promoted when probably 95% of dudes who start working out do so because they want to be ripped. Do a push/pull/legs routine (I like https://www.themuscleprogram.com/push-pull-legs-workout/ but I do deadlifts on pull day i…
The consensus seems to be that it's not important, and probably a mistake, to eat a massive amount of food - you don't really need to be in a caloric surplus to put on muscle, though it does make it easier. But then you end up with a lot of weight you need to lose, which is not fun.
And besides, for most guys, I think losing weight is actually more important than gaining muscle if trying to look better. Obviously this depends on the person, but being at a low body fat percentage with a regular-ish amount of muscle is a look that's closer to what most people find appealing, as opposed to being heavier but with more muscle (and probably as opposed to having too much muscle, which is also a negative for most people).
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On the other hand, I spent a year ramping up my bicycling, and then went on a 7-day trip spanning 535 miles. I did some serious damage to my knees because while my main cycling muscles had the strength for the trip, some of my stabilizing muscles did not. I couldn't get back on the bike without knee pain for months. Now I am totally out of shape. I could go to PT, as I was given a referral, but it's expensive, and I…
PT may be expensive, but a good therapist is worth it. I abused my body by basically not moving throughout my 20s, and even once I got in shape I was prone to various injuries. The PT got me through a lower back injury, a hip injury, a shoulder injury, and a leg injury. These were not caused (except for the back) by traumas (in the case of the back, trauma exacerbated an existing issue), but mostly by some combinatio…
This is a big part of why I have avoided it thus far... I have a hard enough time getting a doctor that I feel like cares about my issues (rather than just getting me out the door as quick as possible) enough to listen and understand. I don't want to spend a bunch of time and money trialing different therapists. I wish there was a resource for this online.
I agree though, if I plan to continue the type of cycling I did last year, it's probably going to become a necessity.
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PT may be expensive, but a good therapist is worth it. I abused my body by basically not moving throughout my 20s, and even once I got in shape I was prone to various injuries. The PT got me through a lower back injury, a hip injury, a shoulder injury, and a leg injury. These were not caused (except for the back) by traumas (in the case of the back, trauma exacerbated an existing issue), but mostly by some combinatio…
> There's a lot of benefit to finding someone that teaches you both what to do and how to do it, and is also better informed and more competent than most fitness trainers. The good ones will also walk you through a basic physiology course so you can understand the why of it all (why did I become injured, why does this prevent or reduce the risk of a future injury). This is a big part of why I have avoided it thus far…