5 strength training mistakes you never knew existed

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Avoid them while doing rows and presses - and you will forget about injuries and pain in the shoulders.

These common mistakes were described in 5 Form Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making on T ‑ Nation by Dr. Joel Seedman, an expert in neuromuscular communication and strength training mechanics.

According to Seedman, such technical flaws are common among beginners as well as experienced athletes and coaches. They interfere with the full activation of the target muscles and put the shoulder joints at risk.

1. Abduction of the elbows while pulling on the block

It is often said that during this exercise, you need to lower the handle as low as possible - before touching the chest. To fulfill the prescription, many lean back and extend their elbows beyond the line of the body.

In pursuit of a wide range of motion, athletes forget that the main goal is to load the latissimus dorsi as much as possible. And for this you need to maintain the correct position of the shoulders, shoulder blades and body.

Here's what to do:

• Bend over in the thoracic spine. Upper back extension will automatically force you to straighten your shoulders and lower them with your shoulder blades. This is the most stable and safest position for the shoulder joints.
• Pull the handle towards the sternum, not towards the collarbone. When you pull the handle towards the top of your chest, it prevents you from properly straightening your shoulders and lowering your shoulder blades. As a result, the trapezoid and biceps take up most of the load. By pointing the handle towards the sternum, you can fully activate the latissimus dorsi, including their lower part.
• Keep your forearms upright. Regardless of the grip or the width of the arms, the elbows should point down, not back. Do not place them on the sides, otherwise your shoulders will curl inward, which will increase the stress on your joints.

If you follow all these rules, the handle of the block trainer will stop a few centimeters from your chest, but at the same time the latissimus dorsi will receive maximum load.

2. Reducing the elbows without attention to the shoulders and shoulder blades

During any deadlifts and presses, many athletes try to keep their elbows closer to the body. This makes sense, since the "wings" spread out to the sides can actually harm the shoulder joints.

But if you deliberately bring your elbows together and at the same time do not follow the correct posture, then you run the risk of performing exercises in a clamped position - as if you were doing in a cramped box. Because of this, the shoulders will rotate inward and move forward, which will spoil the technique of movement and increase the load on the joints.

If you are in the correct position, the elbows will indeed be close to the body. But this will happen naturally, not because you are trying to squeeze them.

So first of all, straighten and lower your shoulders. As the arms are extended at the shoulder joints, the shoulder blades will turn inward more and more, and the elbows will take an ideal position without your attention.

It doesn't matter if you press a barbell or dumbbells, do push-ups from the floor, on the uneven bars, pulls to the chest or pull-ups - the position of the elbows should be determined by how your shoulders and shoulder blades move, and not vice versa.

3. Increasing the range of motion while pulling towards the abdomen

Many athletes and bodybuilders try to pull the handle as close to the stomach as possible during this exercise and pull the elbows back strongly.

It is believed that this can increase the load on the muscles and pump the mobility of the shoulders. In reality, too much range only reduces the efficiency of the movement, spoils the mechanics and can cause inflammation of the tissues around the joints.

At the extreme point of the horizontal pull or similar bent-over motion, the elbows and triceps should not protrude far beyond the core line.

Too much range creates unnecessary tension in the neck and also forces the shoulders to rotate inward, which reduces their stability and increases the risk of injury. At the same time, this movement does not properly load the latissimus dorsi - the target group in these exercises.

For an experiment, try a pull to the stomach, bringing the shoulders only to the line of the trunk, and with all your might, strain the lats. And then repeat the same, pulling your elbows back as much as possible. You will immediately lose the feeling of the lower part of the lats - they will go out of the game.

The same goes for the other phase of the movement, in which you return to the starting position with your arms outstretched.

If you push your shoulders forward and round your back, your back muscles no longer activate or stretch. Instead, tendons, ligaments and connective tissues around the shoulder and scapula are loaded, which is extremely undesirable and traumatic.

Therefore, in any phase of the pulling motion, keep your chest and shoulders straight and try to maintain a neutral upper back position.

4. Rounding the upper back during the chest press

So that during the press from the chest, the shoulders are in the most advantageous and safe position, it is important to bend well in the thoracic spine.

A neutral or rounded upper back will cause them to rotate inward. This puts joints at risk and can cause pain in the neck, arms, and even the lower back.

In this case, it is important to bend not in the lower back, but in the thoracic spine. To remove the arch in your lower back, tighten your abs and glutes as you move. This will provide you with a rigid and stable chassis.

If you want to check if you have enough chest deflection, try a kettlebell bench press with the kettlebell turned upside down and holding the bow. Due to the instability of the projectile, you will only be able to perform the movement if there is enough deflection. Otherwise, the weight will lose its balance and fall.

5. Changing the position of the shoulders depending on the grip

It doesn't matter how wide your arms are or where your hands are turned - your shoulders should be straight and turned outward, your shoulder blades should be lowered, and your elbows should be close to the body.

Often, experienced athletes deliberately change the grip in order to perform the exercise along a different trajectory and provide the muscles with an unusual load. However, this approach will force your joints to work in conditions of insufficient stability, which increases the risk of inflammation, injury and pain.

Instead of deliberately changing your technique, try fatiguing the target muscles first. This will help to load them to the fullest without the risk of injury.