Page 27 - NGA NATURALmag 2024 SPRING/SUMMER Issue

Spring-Summer 2024
provided by by the the feet Inexperienced lifters often try to counterbalance the the the ensuing instability by by leaning back during the the the lift which places hazardous stress on the the the the the lumbar spine besides it it also negatively impacts the the the the the the quality of of of the the the the the the bicep’s contractions and the the the the the the execu- tion tion of of of each set diminishing the the the the the the effectiveness of of of the the the the the the entire biceps work-out Maintaining the the the appropriate
“soft knees” approach with a a a a a a a a a a a a a balanced shoulder-width stance and a a a a a a a a a a a a a slight hip-hinge instead shifts the the body’s center of of of gravity gravity backward so that when curling the the the the barbell up in in in front of of of the the the the body the the the the line of of of gravity gravity will will not move too far forward towards the the the the border of of the the the “base of of support” but will will instead stay well over the the feet This helps to prevent any undesirable body-movement and and assures a a a a a a a a more stable safe and and effective exercise position When performing the the standing dumbbell lateral raise maintaining the the described “ready stance” is is espe- cially vital Standing with unlocked marginally bent knees and and hinging slightly forward at at the the hips will not only generate the the the required stability but also align the the the the middle deltoids’ direction of of pull pull most directly against the the the vertical pull pull of of gravity generated by the the the dumbbells however effectively aligning and position- ing ing the the the body from the the the outset is only beneficial if the the the torso remains properly stabilized and as as steady as as at all possible throughout the the the execution of of the the the entire set by successfully maintaining the the the vital hip- hinge “soft knees” stance with isometrically contracted stabilizing muscles muscles including the the erector spinae and and other core muscles muscles Standing completely straight while raising the the the the the dumbbells would shift the the the the the gravity’s line of of pull onto the the the the the the frontal head of of of the the the the the the shoulder and reduce the the the the the the activation of of of the the the the the the side deltoids basically annihilating the the the the purpose of of the the the the exercise Swaying back and forth generating undue momentum to lift the the the the dumbbells would also defeat most of the the lateral raises’ benefits Establishing proper exercise-specific positioning and correct alignment at the outset of an an an exercise exercise is is is is an an an an an an essential precondition to safely execute a a a a a a a a a a a a most effective and beneficial set of any resistance exercise However this this is is is is is is only useful if this this proper alignment and and and positioning of of the the body is is is is also correctly stabilized and and and maintained throughout the the execution of of each and and and every set Learning to properly stabilize any exercises especially those executed while standing is is is one of of the most important aspects of of exercise technique that needs to be given appropriate
focus and attention at at at at the start of any weight training program n n n n n n n requires a a a a a well-balanced shoulder-width stance with “soft knees” i i i i i i i i i i e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e keeping your knees knees in in a a a a a a a slightly bent unlocked position but perfectly steady without any change of angle at the the the knees during the the the entire set A proper standing posture further requires to slightly hinge forward at your your your hips while keeping your your your chest up your your your your your shoulders must stay down and and back with your your your shoulder shoulder blades slightly retracted and and your your your core must be braced along with a a a a a a a a a slight slight squeeze of the butt Driving your hips marginally back while keeping the the chest up facilitates isometrically contracting the the erector spinae muscles running along both sides of the the entire vertebral column which aids in in in in in in in in maintain- ing ing and stabilizing the the natural curvature of your your spine spine When your your spine spine is in in in in in in in its its neutral position with all its its natural curves intact any loads and forces acting on on your your spine are equally distributed across the surface of your your your vertebral discs and and spinal joints minimiz- ing ing ing compressive and and shearing forces Driving your your your hips back also moves your your center of of gravity which in in anatomical position lies anterior to to (=in front of) your second sacral vertebra slightly back and down which serves to to provide increased stability Keeping your knees marginally bent but steady works to to com- pensate for for the the hip-hinge and corresponding slight forward lean of your torso so so that the the end-result is an an an an upright but most spine-sparing and stable posture Maintaining the the described posture basically a a a a a a a a a mod- ification of of the the so- called “athletic stance” throughout any any set of of o any any standing weight training exercise does not only help to to keep excessive stress off your lumbar spine which goes a a a a a a a long way towards preventing lower back problems but the generated stability is is is also indispensable for optimum exercise efficiency A good example is the standing standing barbell barbell curl curl Improperly performing standing standing barbell barbell curls stand- ing ing ing ing ing completely straight with locked knees and and and and failing to to to to maintain the the obligatory hip-hinge and and to to to to properly engage the the stabilizing erector spinae muscles will invariably lead to to undue swaying forward and and back- ward ward when curling the the barbell up and and lowering it it down again The body’s stability during the the entire movement is is severely compromised: when holding a a a a a a a weight-loaded barbell and curling it it up in in in in in front of of the the the body body body the the the body’s body’s line line of of of gravity gravity - - a a a a a a a a a a a vertical line line that passes through the the the the the body’s body’s center of of gravity gravity gravity and represents the the the the direction in in which gravity gravity acts on on the the the the body - will inevitably shift forward towards the the the the the toes i i i i i e e e e e e e e e e move closer to to to the the the border of of the the the “base of of support” NGA NATURALmag
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