Exercising effectively and without injury

Volume One, Issue 29, April 06 - 12, 2007

Health & fitness

By Greg Rothman, M.S. P.T.

As a fitness professional and gym owner, I always pay attention to what’s going on around me when I’m exercising, whether it is at my facility or at other health clubs. In my column today, I’d like to share with you some of the most common mistakes I see people making in gyms, mistakes that could rob you of the results you seek or, worse, cause injury. These problems fall into two categories: exercises that are frequently performed incorrectly, and those that are not advisable to begin with.

The most common mistake that I see applies to almost any exercise that calls for using dumbbells. The problem is not in the exercise itself, but how the weights are picked up and put down. So many people bend over at the waist when lifting dumbbells into position, placing tremendous stress on the lower back and making injury much more likely. Instead, bend at the hips and knees, keeping the lower back in its naturally arched alignment when moving weights to and from a rack or the floor. This movement should resemble a correctly executed squat, rather than the rounding of the back with nearly straight legs that I so often observe. Making this correction alone will help you strengthen your legs and significantly reduce the chances of a potentially serious back injury.

Other problems I see relate to machines that are commonly found in health clubs and gyms. Some of these are simply ineffective, because the movements are incongruous with our body’s natural movements in daily activity, sports, etc. These might be called non-functional exercises. The worst of these is the “lying hamstring curl.” This machine often shortens the hamstrings (the muscles in the back of your upper leg) without strengthening them. To strengthen the hamstrings, do dead lifts or standing cable hip extensions—they are much better choices. Other examples are the seated hip abduction and adduction machines (the ones where you sit and squeeze your hips together or press them apart). In addition to being extremely non-functional and preventing the targeted muscles from developing strength that you can use in ‘real life,’ they can put stress on the lower back. Instead, do a standing version, using a low cable pulley and an ankle-strap attachment.

Other machines are just simply dangerous, putting tremendous shearing forces on the lower spine. These include any of the selectorized machines at the gym (the ones requiring you put a pin into a stack of weights) that have you flex your spine forward or twist at the waist against the force of the chosen weight. Instead, you will develop your abdominal muscles more effectively—and reduce the chance of injury—by performing crunches on a physioball, and doing bicycle crunches (lie on the floor with your hands behind your head, and move each leg in and out to meet the opposite elbow as you use your abs to twist).

There are also a number of exercises that are commonly performed in a way that can be injurious. For example, when using the lat pull-down machine, many people pull the bar down behind their heads. This frequently leads to injuries of the shoulder or cervical spine. To perform this exercise correctly, instead lean slightly back, keep the natural arch in your spine, and pull the bar down to the upper chest while keeping the shoulders from rolling forward. Another similarly problematic exercise is called the military press and is done by pressing a barbell overhead and then lowering it behind your neck. Again, this exercise can cause shoulder problems, including rotator cuff tendonitis or tears, and can put stress on your neck. Instead, this shoulder press should be performed by pressing the bar overhead but lowering it down in front of the face instead of behind the head.

By recognizing some of the worst and potentially most dangerous exercises in the gym, and learning to replace them with better choices, you can make your workouts both safer and more effective. You can also reduce the risk of injury and strengthen your lower body and core musculature by lifting free weights into position properly, bending at the waist and knees instead of at the waist. Because it is difficult to fully explain the recommended movements in the allotted space here, I will make downloadable video clips of the movements available to anyone who emails me for them.

Finally, no exercises generate more questions than those involving your abdominals. More than any other body part, a great midsection seems to be the most sought-after feature these days. My next column will address the most common mistakes people make in the quest for the vaunted ‘six pack,’ and the most effective exercises to develop one.

Greg Rothman, M.S. P.T., is the owner of emPower Fitness Studios (emPowerFitnessNYC.com). He received his masters degree in physical therapy from Columbia University and has 15 years’ experience in the rehabilitation and fitness fields, most recently as the personal training manager and top-level trainer for Equinox Fitness Clubs in New York City. SEND YOUR QUESTIONS about nutrition, fitness and sports injuries/rehabilitation to Greg at emPowerFitness@aol.com.