Welcome to article number 4 in our
series “Bodybuilding Sins That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts”. In
this article we are going to talk about how bodybuilders tend to create
massive muscle imbalances and what you can do to not be one of them.
If you missed the first articles,
you can read them by clicking on the links below.
Here’s a breakdown of the articles
to look for:
Article #4 - Targeted
Exercises
What is a Targeted Exercise and Why
You Need To Be Doing Them?
While performing three different exercises for each area of the chest
may sound “targeted” and it may work great for targeting the chest
itself… this is NOT what we mean by targeted…
What we are talking about is
choosing exercises with more than just size increases in mind…
remember, there is far more to muscle than just how it looks… You can
be really big, but also weak, slow and inflexible.
To drive this point home some more,
remember the “Turtle Back Syndrome” we covered in article #1? So many
body builders are plagued with this gruesome condition and they don’t
even know it! Are you?
The Turtle Back condition is a
direct result of too much focus on building up the pecs and lats and
not enough focus on the upper back. Also, the lack of focus on
flexibility in the chest and shoulders makes it even worse…
Not only does this look stupid, but
it sets you up for back, neck and shoulder problems like rotator cuff
tears and the like… and I know you don’t want any of those!
So by targeted, we mean exercises
that will not just develop muscle strength and size, but more
importantly work towards correcting muscle imbalances which will mean
less pain and missed workouts, better performance and function, and
most of all better and balanced total body development!
So How Do You Find Out Which Ones
You NEED To be Doing?
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As we discussed in the previous
article on “Targeted Stretching”, it’s very important to know before
hand what stretches you actually NEED to be doing… the same applies to
exercises… and
the ONLY way to find out what specific areas you need to target is to
perform physical evaluations so you can pin point the weak muscles that
need strengthening and the tight muscles that need stretching.
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We have developed a series of simple
assessments you can do yourself to identify the muscles imbalances you
have… and
while they are intended for people suffering from back pain or
sciatica, as a bodybuilder you stand to benefit greatly because you
train so hard, you are far more likely to experience injuries like
bulging and herniated discs, rotator cuff tears, knee pain, etc…
Plus, even if you don’t have any
pain or injuries now, it would be very wise to learn how to assess
yourself so you can target your training now before you create an
injury, which not only will slow down your training and progress, but
it can also become a life-long struggle with pain and a serious loss of
your strength, size and fitness.
So be sure to check out our website
to learn more about how you can quickly and easily identify and
eliminate any muscle imbalances you have http://www.losethebackpain.com
