What is a base and why is it the basis of all workouts in the gym

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

Anyone who comes to the gym for the first time feels like they are in a horror movie. From all sides one and the same whisper of fanatics can be heard: "Do the base", "Only the base", "Hammer on the simulators, do the base." We decided to figure out what is in this database and why everyone is advising to do just it.

The basic complex, or base, consists of three exercises: squats, bench press and deadlift. These are multi-joint exercises, that is, when they are performed, several muscle groups are included in the work. Squats engage the lower body, bench press engages the upper body, and deadlifts involve the most muscles in the upper and lower girdles.

Squats

Squats are considered the main exercise of the base. Their story began at the beginning of the 20th century in Europe with Henry Steinborn, a famous strongman and weightlifter. Once in a concentration camp during the First World War, he had the opportunity to exercise and, having built a homemade barbell, began to squat. Despite the poor nutrition, after a while he noticed an increase in mass and strength indicators only due to this exercise.

The baton was taken over by renowned trainer Mark Berry, who noticed that squats added 22 kilograms of mass to his relatively small body. Then he began to promote squats among his charges, making them the main exercise in the training program of athletes.

Having reached the working weights of 130-250 kilograms, the athletes began to gain muscle mass very quickly. Of course, pharmacological support and nutrition at that time were very different from those that exist today, so many modern athletes would laugh at the growth rates of their predecessors.

Finally, Roger Eells took the third and final step in popularizing the squat. In the 1930s, he conducted research showing the importance of breathing technique in exercise.

This effect in the growth of strength and muscle mass is achieved through the involvement of a large number of different muscles. When squatting, almost all muscle groups of the lower body are included in the work: quadriceps, gluteal, calf muscles, as well as stabilizer muscles.

The main problem of squats, as well as other basic exercises, is considered injury. At the beginning of the 20th century, a study was conducted that proved that squats stretch the knee tendons, making them less mobile. But the last major completely refuted this information, proving that with the correct technique, the exercise is absolutely safe.

Bench press

The bench press began to be used in the athlete's program around the same time. Surprisingly, the technique of performing the exercise from the 1900s to the present has not changed so much, and the results have grown from a maximum of 160 to almost 500 kilograms. The record in the bench press without equipment belongs to Eric Spoto, who squeezed 327.5 kilograms. Eric himself looks like this:

The bench press works the pectoral muscles and triceps. Variations in performance on benches with different slopes allow you to shift the load to the sections of the pectoral muscle: upper, middle, lower. In addition to the triceps and pectoral muscles, the biceps, lats, front delta and forearms are also involved in the exercise.

Deadlift

The deadlift is the hardest exercise in terms of technique. It involves more muscles than any other: the back extensors, thigh muscles, trapezium, forearms and biceps.

Most often, deadlifts are divided into three exercises:

1. Classic traction - works the muscles of the back, hamstrings and buttocks.
2. Deadlift - knees are not involved, and the load is transferred to the back.
3. Sumo pull - the load falls on the hips.

Due to the fact that the technique of performing the exercise is quite complex, it can lead to the greatest number of injuries. I will leave the description of the ideal technique to professionals, just give a couple of basic tips:

1. Do not round your back.
2. Do not grip the barbell with an open grip.
3. Be sure to warm up before doing the exercise.

Useful Tips

Basic exercises are considered not only effective, but also the most traumatic. Therefore, here are some tips to help you avoid injury:

1. Be sure to warm up before doing each of these exercises.
2. Squats, bench presses, and deadlifts all have complex techniques. Do not be lazy to find out all the subtleties before doing them.
3. Don't try to lift a lot of weight just because someone else, grunting and puffing, squeezed more than you.
4. A negligent injury can stay with you for life.
5. Use equipment only if you know what it gives and how the execution technique changes due to it.
6. If you are working with heavy weights, do not be ashamed to ask you for a safety net. The etiquette in the gym is designed in such a way that no one will refuse you.