10 Machines You Shouldn't Use

[Shark22]

Here's a video showing all you guys the PROPER way to totally bulk up your shoulders to massive proportions by an expert:

YouTube - How to Build and Bulk Up Massive Shoulders

need more variety

 

[geofalcon]

I saw this article on MSN and thought it would make a good post. Any personal trainers out there? How do you feel about these machines? Some agree with and other I don't.

10 Machines You Shouldn't Use
Search Results - MSN Health And Fitness

Stationary machines are designed to limit what you can do wrong. But overtraining and injury are still possible.
By the Editors of Best Life

Defenders of stationary equipment argue that machines are designed to limit what you can do wrong. But seated machines often put heavier loads on the back and joints than is necessary, and almost always miss the mark when it comes to replicating the movements found in everyday life, according to Ultimate Back Performance and Fitness, by Stuart McGill, PhD, a professor of spine -biomechanics at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario. For this list of exercises, we consulted McGill; Nicholas DiNubile, MD, author of

FrameWork: Your 7-Step Program for Healthy Muscles, Bones, and Joints; and trainer Vern Gambetta, author of Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning.

1. Seated Leg Extension

What it's supposed to do: Train the quadriceps

What it actually does: It strengthens a motion your legs aren't actually designed to do, and can put undue strain on the ligaments and tendons surrounding the kneecaps.

A better exercise: One-legged body-weight squats. Lift one leg up and bend the opposite knee, dipping as far as you can, with control, while flexing at the hip, knee, and ankle. Use a rail for support until you develop requisite leg strength and balance. Aim for five to 10 reps on each leg. (If you are susceptible to knee pain, do the Bulgarian split squat instead, resting the top of one foot on a bench positioned two to three feet behind you. Descend until your thigh is parallel to the ground and then stand back up. Do five to 10 reps per leg.)

2. Seated Military Press

What it's supposed to do: Train shoulders and triceps

What it actually does: Overhead pressing can put shoulder joints in vulnerable biomechanical positions. It puts undue stress on the shoulders, and the movement doesn't let you use your hips to assist your shoulders, which is the natural way to push something overhead.

A better exercise: Medicine-ball throws. Stand three feet from a concrete wall; bounce a rubber medicine ball off a spot on the wall four feet above your head, squatting to catch the ball and rising to throw it upward in one continuous motion. Aim for 15 to 20 reps. Alternative: Standing alternate dumbbell presses. As you push the right dumbbell overhead, shift the right hip forward. Switch to the left side.

3. Seated Lat Pull-Down (Behind the Neck)

What it's supposed to do: Train lats, upper back, and biceps

What it actually does: Unless you have very flexible shoulders, it's difficult to do correctly, so it can cause pinching in the shoulder joint and damage the rotator cuff.

A better exercise: Incline pull-ups. Place a bar in the squat rack at waist height, grab the bar with both hands, and hang from the bar with your feet stretched out in front of you. Keep your torso stiff, and pull your chest to the bar 10 to 15 times. To make it harder, lower the bar; to make it easier, raise the bar.

4. Seated Pec Deck

What it's supposed to do: Train chest and shoulders

What it actually does: It can put the shoulder in an unstable position and place excessive stress on the shoulder joint and its connective tissue.

A better exercise: Incline push-ups. Aim for 15 to 20 reps. If this is too easy, progress to regular push-ups and plyometric push-ups (where you push up with enough force that your hands come off the ground), and aim for five to eight reps.

5. Seated Hip Abductor Machine

What it's supposed to do: Train outer thighs

What it actually does: Because you are seated, it trains a movement that has no functional use. If done with excessive weight and jerky technique, it can put undue pressure on the spine.

A better exercise: Place a heavy, short, looped resistance band around your legs (at your ankles); sidestep out 20 paces and back with control. This is much harder than it sounds.

6. Seated Rotation Machine

What it's supposed to do: Train abdominals and obliques

What it actually does: Because the pelvis doesn't move with the chest, this exercise can put excessive twisting forces on the spine.

A better exercise: Do the cable wood chop, letting your heels turn freely with your torso. Aim for 10 to 12 reps.

7. Seated Leg Press

What it's supposed to do: Train quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings

What it actually does: It often forces the spine to flex without engaging any of the necessary stabilization muscles of the hips, glutes, shoulders, and lower back.

A better exercise: Body-weight squats. Focus on descending with control as far as you can without rounding your lower back. Aim for 15 to 20 for a set and increase sets as you develop strength.

8. Squats Using Smith Machine

What it's supposed to do: Train chest, biceps, and legs

What it actually does: The alignment of the machine — the bar is attached to a vertical sliding track — makes for linear, not natural, arched movements. This puts stress on the knees, shoulders, and lower back.

A better exercise: Body-weight squats. See "Seated Leg Press."

9. Roman Chair Back Extension

What it's supposed to do: Train spinal erectors

What it actually does: Repeatedly flexing the back while it's supporting weight places pressure on the spine and increases the risk of damaging your disks.

A better exercise: The bird-dog. Crouch on all fours, extend your right arm forward, and extend left leg backward. Do 10 seven-second reps, and then switch to the opposite side.

10. Roman Chair Sit-Up

What it's supposed to do: Train abdominals and hip flexors

What it actually does: The crunching motion can put undue stress on the lower back when it is in a vulnerable rounded position.

A better exercise: The plank. Lie facedown on the floor. Prop up on your forearms, palms down. Rise up on your toes. Keep your back flat and contract your glutes, abdominals, and lats to keep your butt from sticking up. Hold this pose for 20 to 60 seconds.

awesome post.

 

[JoeGraft]

I TOTALLY AGREE!! GREAT POST!!!

Mr Hernon
what about the guy who can't squat heavy due to lower back problems? I rely on the leg press for my leg mass
thank you in advance

 

[Chrysler]

You forgot mention the SNACK MACHINE

Oh shit, LOL!

 

[MADDmuscle]

learn something daily

 

[detroitflash]

good read bros

 

[treny]

I believe some of it but not all.. but a good read.

 

[zavian7495]

jacobs ladder! heart attack waiting to happen

 

[ZILLAMAN]

interesting posts alot of dif opinions

 

[mandalay]

I think a lot of that depends on the person, I go really heavy on leg extensions sometimes, never had a knee ache or pain. How is that not a natural movement, every step you take you have to straighten your leg

I agree shoulder presses should never be done behind the head or directly overheard. Same with pulldowns.

This was probably written by the same people who say not to stretch with toe touches because its a "static stetch".

 

[gunsxl]

I think a lot of that depends on the person, I go really heavy on leg extensions sometimes, never had a knee ache or pain. How is that not a natural movement, every step you take you have to straighten your leg

I agree shoulder presses should never be done behind the head or directly overheard. Same with pulldowns.

This was probably written by the same people who say not to stretch with toe touches because its a "static stetch".

I agree....

 

[BillHilton]

The goal of why we do what we do is to maximize the growth of each muscle.

That necessarily means doing some things that are not "natural" motions

 

[TheTruth31]

Man, I use half of those. Is this crap true?

 

[Viking55]

Aloha,

I rarely use machines anymore because of their limitations and restrictions through natural planes of movement. However with certain types of injury patterns I've encountered through the years, they have served me well during initial phases of rehab. However that's it. Freeweights, med balls, bells, correct core work with calisthentics for warm-ups is the way to go

If a person is healthy and injury free I start them with baseline non-machine exercises.

V55

 

[juicedup2408]

i always like free weights wayyyy better

 

[bagua]

Leg extensions are a tough one. Having had meniscus injuries more than once over the last twenty years I have had the opportunity to rehab many times. Extensions are always part of the rehab process but always with lighter weights.
The ironic thing is I had a physiotherapist tell me to do them in the same week my surgeon told me not to.
I am heading for knee replacements sometime in the new year and know they will be part of the rehab process with very light resistance. So will body weight squats. That doesn't answer much at all.:banghead:

 

[veritas_praevaleo]

The leg press one is bullshit,and Smith Squats training chest and biceps?WTF

 

[fedaykin01]

Well, I'm no IFBB pro, but I agree with the no shoulder presses, about 66% of the time.

It has to do with the anatomy of your shoulder. First, understand that the shoulder is actually comprised of several joints. 1) the glenohumeral joint (the ball-in-socket joint that everyone thinks of0 2) the scapularthoracic joint (shoulder blade and the back of your rib cage) 3) sternoclavicular (where your collar bone meets your sternum) and 4) acromioclavicular (where your collar bone ends and meets your acromion process of the shoulder blade. This is where your delts attach)

For the purpose of our discussion, I will ignore scapular rhythm just because it is a little easier to understand. I can elaborate later if someone would like.

So, for our discussion the Glenohumeral joint (GH) and the acromioclavicular joint (AC) are the most important. The acromion process of the scapula acts as a "roof" under which your rotator cuff (most specifically the supraspinatus) has room to move. As you raise your arm overhead, the head of the humerous (arm bone) articulates along the surface of the glenoid (socket of the GH). It is your rotator cuffs responsibility to stabilize the head of the humerous as your arm moves over head. as your arm moves overhead, it closes down the space under the "roof". Without loading and under normal conditions this isn't a big deal as there is plenty of room. But, under more intense situations (loading, extreme stretch, a rotator cuff that isn't firing correctly or poor scapulothoracic rhythm) the supraspinatus may be pinched inbetween the acromion and the humerous causing trauma.

What the problem is: There are a few types of acromions, depending upon how you want to break it down. I say there are three. A flat acromion, a curved acromion and a beaked acromion.

A flat acromion is good and overhead presses are no problem for populations with this type of acromion. There will be plenty of space under the roof so to speak, provided you do not injure it (shoulder "seperation" or something similar) and do not develop calcium deposits (bone spurs) due to large amounts of trama. It is my bet that most high level athletes in overhead sports have this type of acromion. It allows them to perform for long periods of time with relatively low injury, even overhead.

A curved acromion is probably the most typical. No real problem with sporadic overhead work, but still have to be careful. I wouldn't make overhead pressing a staple, but every once in a while is ok.

A beaked acromion is terrible. These poor fellows will probably have trouble with their shoulders all of their life in some fashion or another.

Let me know if that makes sense. i'm a biomechanics nerd with a degree, so...

 

[fedaykin01]

The leg press one is bullshit,and Smith Squats training chest and biceps?WTF

haha, ya, smith machine squats for chest and biceps... haha. the leg press one is actually less bullshit than you might think though. Watch someones lowerback when the do a leg press sometime. you will see their hips push forward slightly at the bottem of the lift. This does place undue pressure on the intervertebral discs. The spine can handle a lot of flexion and it can handle a lot of loading, but it doesn't handle the two of them at the same time very well.

 

[Cantkill]

so so true. wish i would have paid more attention to the seat leg extension. thought going stack meant i was nice and strong until i hurt both knees at the same time. possibly bursitis but might be patellar tendon strain.