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e Gym is great! It is generically designed to suit all of our needs and fitness goals by providing many different exercise machines and free weights. With little ME time in our lives, I cannot stress to you enough the importance of exercising efficiently. Below, I share my personal professional opinion to assist you with weeding through the options and choosing the most efficient exercises/machines for the weight lifting portion of your fitness program. For maximum results, it should be combined with good nutrition, cardiovascular exercises, and of course kicked off with a physician consultation.The secret to maximizing your weight lifting routine is to use basic compound (or multi joint) exercises that involve as many muscle groups as possible. By using more muscles, including the prime movers & assisting muscles, the body works harder, burns more calories, and builds more muscle tissue. Further advantages are saving time and avoiding over training. Isolating (or single joint) exercises should be incorporated into the routine based on individual needs and goals, such as particular problem areas that need ‘extra attention’ or to diversify your workout routine*.
It is simple to distinguish between single verse multi joint exercises. Lets look at the leg extension. To do this single joint exercise, you sit on the machine and bend at your knee joints to isolate and work on the quads (front of thighs)-hence the title single joint exercise. Some other examples would be biceps curls, triceps push down (also known as triceps extension). In order to use the squat machine, a multi joint exercise, you bend at the knees and at the hips utilizing multiple joints. Some other examples would be the lat pull down, bench press, shoulder press, & dead lift.
Lets say X has an average lean body with a problem spot of flabby abdominal. He goes to the gym and works hard doing leg extensions (single joint exercise), where he isolates and concentrates on his quads muscle. He then moves on through the rest of the leg machines available until he has just enough time for a few abdominal exercises. Although, this approach is way better than not working out at all, it is not tailored for his particular needs and thus, time and results are not maximized. Since quads are not a problem area for X, quads need not be selected as a muscle to isolate and thus, the leg extension is in a sense a waste of time. To maximize workout efficiency, X should choose the squat over the leg extension because it is a simple compound (or multi joint) exercise. With squats, he gets to work his quads among other muscles such as glutes, lower back, hamstrings, and abs. By doing 3 to 4 sets he is building more muscle tissue, burning more calories, plus, has more time to give attention to the trouble spot -his abdominals.
In conclusion, just because the Galaxy (or any other) gym is providing us with many options, that does not mean every machine is right for every person at every workout. What it does give us is the opportunity to tailor a weight lifting program and to diversify from time to time. Since you can now assess which exercise machine / technique out of the many options are isolating (single joint) exercises verse simple compound (multi joint) exercises, you should do your basic weight lifting routine based on your body type & fitness goals. You are doing great getting to the gym, your options are there, now seize the opportunity to exercise right by maximizing your weight lifting results faster and minimizing the possibility of over training.
Use that extra time to enjoy the summer!
*Please note, some exceptions apply. For example, the abs (Rectus Abdominus & Obliques) & calve muscles are best exercised through additional isolating moves even though they are being used as stabilizers in many simple compound exercises.
If you have any questions regarding this issue please submit it to the Galaxy News Attention: Josef Weinstein and I will be happy to respond.
-Please always consult your physician before engaging in any kind of weight training or cardiovascular activity.
How To Maximize Your Fitness Routine