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Select a muscle and it provides the exercises to workout the selected muscle

musclewiki.com

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Re: Select a muscle and it provides the exercises to workout the selected muscle

#311
post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

The thing is - there would not be a one-size-fit-all exercise for each muscle group; you would rather need an exercise for each combination of A, B in "muscle A is weak but surrounding muscle B is strong"

I'm not sure if the B dimension affects exercise choice. If it does, it could be covered by providing a short list of exercises to try for activating each muscle group A. That way the user doesn't have to figure out which muscle(s) B are compensating, which could be challenging for a lot of people who need this information. In my case, I'm still not sure exactly how my body was compensating for the muscles in my back that weren't being utilized.

Re: Select a muscle and it provides the exercises to workout the selected muscle

#312
post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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 (which happened in my case).

For me personally, one of those postural imbalances turned into an injury (shoulder), and I found doing exercises that targeted a very specific muscle (infraspinatus) really helped in my recovery.

I think everyone could benefit from spending some time exploring their body by targeting muscles that may be easy to ignore in larger compound movements, if only for bringing awareness to them (which should benefit the main movements in the long run by making them more efficient).

Re: Select a muscle and it provides the exercises to workout the selected muscle

#313
post #292

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:…

I think that those "silly" annoying small exercises targeting different muscle groups definitely have a role in later allowing you to perform more complex moves without injury. I hate them, but since my back is a bit deformed since birth I have no choice and I suggest others talk to a physio before breaking their backs, pelvises or whatever. I have seen multiple people messing themselves up because their bodies weren't properly "prepared" for those exercises. I guess what I'm saying is there are no shortcuts. Hard work, time and diligence.

Re: Select a muscle and it provides the exercises to workout the selected muscle

#316
post #292

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:…

I get what you're saying (and I'm a low-key fan of Rippetoe, if not quite a disciple), but if you dig into this guy’s project, you’ll see that most of the results are "systematic basics" — bench press, dips, the almighty squat — and not spot training.

Re: Select a muscle and it provides the exercises to workout the selected muscle

#317
post #292

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 instead of legs day) and eat a massive amount of healthy food (protein, fruits/veggies, good carbs) til you build up that muscle, then do something like intermittent fasting/caloric deficit to drop the fat once you've put on the muscle.

Or go the Rippetoe route and wonder why the dude at the gym next to you is getting more swole even though you're picking up more weight. Your choice!

Re: Select a muscle and it provides the exercises to workout the selected muscle

#318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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…

[deleted]

Re: Select a muscle and it provides the exercises to workout the selected muscle

#319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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 once a week with weight training and it has improved my flexibility and kept me injury free.

Re: Select a muscle and it provides the exercises to workout the selected muscle

#320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

again: how will someone have a muscle imbalance if they don't even have much muscle to begin with?

I answered your question. Are you a specialist in the field? I have done extensive physical therapy and rehab, this is what they taught me.
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