There are litterally thousands of abdominal exercises out there ranging from your basic crunch to super advanced ab exercises like hanging feet to bar raises. Whatever your fitness level is however there are certain exercises that you should just stay away from.
I recently joined a gym that was near our new house so I could play basketball and swim more for workouts. I went this weekend to get a quick workout in and noticed one machine that was always being used. In fact at one point there was one person just standing and waiting to use it while another member finished up. This exercise was a Torso Rotation Machine. This wasn't the exact one but you can see the video below with an explanation of what machine I am talking about:
I couldn't belive so many people were using this peice of equipment. I"m actually surprise the manufacturers would even make it. There are a number of reasons you should NEVER use a piece of equipment like this. This exercise is an open chained exercise that involves lumbar rotation.
First the lumber rotation part. If you watch in the video as she does the exercise you can see that the movement is coming from the lower back. The worst position for the lumbar spine to be in is flexed and rotated. Most people have a flex lumbar spine due to the constant sitting we tend to due. So if you are already flexed you want to avoid rotation, especially with resistance.
Now for the open chain part. Open chain exercises are those in which the hands or feet are free to move while closed chanined exercises are those where the hands or feet are fixed, usually on the ground. Open chain exercises are single joint isolation exercises and are rarely performed in everyday life. Closed chained exercises are much more function multijoint movements that will burn more calories.
Instead of the torso rotation machine you can try a standing cable rotation. This will train the abs much more effectively and safely. Because the feet are fixed on the ground the rotation will be much more natural. The power is generated from the ground, through the feet, up to the hips, through the core and out through the shoulders. Here you see the rotation is occuring at the hips and shoulders for a much lower risk of back injury:
That's it for now. Try this exercise for in your next workout and let me know how it goes.
You Stay Healthy San Diego,
Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training
My Workout Creator
I recently joined a gym that was near our new house so I could play basketball and swim more for workouts. I went this weekend to get a quick workout in and noticed one machine that was always being used. In fact at one point there was one person just standing and waiting to use it while another member finished up. This exercise was a Torso Rotation Machine. This wasn't the exact one but you can see the video below with an explanation of what machine I am talking about:
I couldn't belive so many people were using this peice of equipment. I"m actually surprise the manufacturers would even make it. There are a number of reasons you should NEVER use a piece of equipment like this. This exercise is an open chained exercise that involves lumbar rotation.
First the lumber rotation part. If you watch in the video as she does the exercise you can see that the movement is coming from the lower back. The worst position for the lumbar spine to be in is flexed and rotated. Most people have a flex lumbar spine due to the constant sitting we tend to due. So if you are already flexed you want to avoid rotation, especially with resistance.
Now for the open chain part. Open chain exercises are those in which the hands or feet are free to move while closed chanined exercises are those where the hands or feet are fixed, usually on the ground. Open chain exercises are single joint isolation exercises and are rarely performed in everyday life. Closed chained exercises are much more function multijoint movements that will burn more calories.
Instead of the torso rotation machine you can try a standing cable rotation. This will train the abs much more effectively and safely. Because the feet are fixed on the ground the rotation will be much more natural. The power is generated from the ground, through the feet, up to the hips, through the core and out through the shoulders. Here you see the rotation is occuring at the hips and shoulders for a much lower risk of back injury:
You Stay Healthy San Diego,
Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training
My Workout Creator
