Not All Exercises Are As Good As You Might Think

Have you ever done an exercise and felt like something was off? Maybe it was pain in your lower back or your knees but you chose to ignore it? Well, that was me in my 20s. As you get older your recovery slows down and the rate of injury is higher with poor technique.

Before I begin I want to share a story about why choosing exercises is a big deal.

There was an NBA player named Brandon Roy. He was a First Team All NBA player that played for the Portland Trailblazers. His career was cut short due to knee injuries. He had a complete game, the mid range, post up and could attack the basket at will. Kobe once described him as the most difficult player to guard.

"He's The Most Difficult Player To Guard, 365 Days A Year, 7 Days A Week. Roy Has No Weakness In His Game." - Kobe Bryant

I've always wondered how his career would have been if he had stayed healthy. I looked up some of his workout videos and here were some of my observations.

It's hard to tell if his career would have been longer if he had selected exercises that addressed some of his weaknesses during his early days. Repetitive stress on the knees can take a toll during the NBA season. Over time your body can break down if you don't train properly. I hope this brings the point that it's essential to be selecting the right exercises.

Common Exercise: The Barbell Back Squat

The barbell back squat is an excellent exercise. However, it's also one of the exercises that many people fail to do correctly. If we prioritize progressive overload over technique it is a recipe for disaster. There is a HUGE skill component involved in this exercise. The bar must be centered around midline the whole time during the exercise. Foot placement and shoe selection also play a role in this exercise. Ideally foot should be shoulder width or a comfortable stance in which you can descend down. Other factors include:

1.) Body Type

Example: Squats

People with long femurs often strain their lower back during squats with poor technique. They lean forward more to keep balance, which puts more load on their lumbar spine. This can lead to back injuries, especially with heavy weights.

On the other hand, those with short femurs put more stress on their knees during squats with poor technique. This means more bending and pressure on the knee joint, which can cause long-term issues, especially in the patellofemoral area.

Both cases are not signs of bad form. They show how different body types need different squat techniques. Understanding this through exercise science and biomechanics is key. Different bodies react differently to the same exercise.

Conclusion

When you start to feel pain, it's a good idea to regress the exercise. Don't make the mistake of trying to copy what you see online. What you see on social media may not be the answer to your problems. Sometimes it may make the matter worse. To trainers, there are no organizations that regulate exercise prescriptions. It's our responsibility to create exercise programs that fit our client's needs and not put them in harms way. There is no one size fits all approach.

Here's a in-depth video on squats by one of the pioneers of resistance training.

Hope this article helped you in some way, happy training. Until next week!

Best,

Alan

Citations:

1. Schoenfeld, B. J. (2010). Squatting kinematics and kinetics and their application to exercise performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(12), 3497-3506.
2. Hartmann, H., Wirth, K., & Klusemann, M. (2013). Analysis of the load on the knee joint and vertebral column with changes in squatting depth and weight load. Sports Medicine, 43(10), 993-1008.
3. Myer, G. D., Kushner, A. M., Brent, J. L., Schoenfeld, B. J., Hugentobler, J., Lloyd, R. S., Vermeil, A., Chu, D. A., Harbin, J., & McGill, S. M. (2014). The back squat: A proposed assessment of functional deficits and technical factors that limit performance. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 36(6), 4-27.