Your workout can build your body -- or break it. Which path are you on?




By: Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S., Workout Photography by: Beth Bischoff











As
a physical therapist, I'm the go-to guy when my buddies' bodies start
to fail them. Just last week, my friend Tony called complaining of
upper-back pain after his last few workouts. When he described his
weight-lifting program, the problem was obvious to me.



Tony was packing on muscle in a completely unbalanced fashion. Not
only did 80 percent of his routine consist of pushing motions (bench,
incline press), but most of his gym time was directed at his chest and
shoulders. And he'd been doing it for years. The back pain was his
body's way of begging for a new workout.



As I explained to him, your body and its joints are held in place by
opposing muscle groups (for example, chest and back, quads and
hamstrings). These groups work together to control movement. If one
becomes stronger or tighter than normal, that dominant muscle group
will overwork its counterpart--that is, you'll have a muscle imbalance.
You don't want a tug-of-war between muscles every time you move.
Nagging discomfort can mean you're at a much greater risk of injury.



Tony came to me too late -- he needed a ton of time and work to undo
the damage he'd done. For you, the key is to check yourself before you
wreck yourself. You must identify and repair imbalances before they
cause pain. That's what the following self-tests and corrective
strategies are for.



For each muscle imbalance the self-tests reveal, perform the
stretches twice a day--for instance, first thing in the morning and
after your workout. Complete the entire corrective program for each
imbalance three times a week until you can pass the test. You can also
do these as a warmup before your regular workout.



















SUPINE PEC TEST
Lie
on your back on the floor with your hands behind your head. Let your
arms relax. They should lower to the floor and rest comfortably. If
they don't... YOUR PROBLEM IS... protracted shoulders. You look more like Notre Dame's hunchback than like one of its defensive linemen. THE CAUSE:
You've spent too much time training your "mirror muscles" (pectoralis
major and minor), on the front side of your body, while neglecting your
upper-back muscles (middle trapezius and rhomboids).

















FIX YOURSELF
Step 1:
Stretch your pecs. Holding a pair of 5- or 10-pound dumbbells, lie
faceup on a 10-degree incline bench and lower the weights out to the
sides with your arms extended. Hold for 30 seconds. Step 2:
Strengthen your middle trapezius and rhomboids. Follow the above
stretch with a prone dumbbell lateral raise. Lie chest down on the same
bench you just used to stretch your pecs. Raise the dumbbells out to
the sides and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Hold for a count
of six and lower the weights to the starting position. Do a total of
six repetitions.



















Go to the next page for the Thomas Test...

















THOMAS TEST


Lie faceup on a bench and bring both knees to your chest. Grab your
right knee and hold it at your chest. Let your left leg straighten,
then lower it by relaxing your hip. Test both legs, and if either leg
can't lower to the bench...



YOUR PROBLEM IS... tight hip flexors, which can result in hamstring strains and back pain.



THE CAUSE: Prolonged sitting and avoidance of
single-leg exercises, such as lunges, have caused your hip flexors and
butt muscles to weaken. Hip-flexor tightening has caused your pelvis to
tilt forward, which places more stress on your lower spine. If the
front of your belt sits lower than the back, consider yourself a
sufferer of this most common muscle imbalance.

















FIX YOURSELF
Step 1:
Stretch your hip flexors. Kneel on your right knee with your right arm
extended overhead. Contract your right glutes until you feel a
comfortable stretch in the front of your right hip and thigh. You can
intensify the stretch by bending your torso directly to the left. Hold
the stretch for 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side. Step 2:
Activate your gluteus maximus (butt) muscles. Lie on your back with
your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Grab your right knee
with both hands and pull it to your chest, then lift your hips by
driving your left heel into the floor. Hold the up position for a count
of 6 seconds, then lower your hips to the starting position. Repeat six
times. Perform the same sequence on the other side if it tests tight.

















SINGLE-LEG SQUAT TEST


Balance on your right foot and suspend your left foot out in front
of you. Keeping your right foot flat, lower yourself as far as possible
into a squat while reaching forward with your left foot. If your right
knee shifts inside of your big toe as you lower into the squat
position...



YOUR PROBLEM IS... a knock-kneed posture. This
causes your knees to drift inward when you squat, putting you at great
risk of suffering a noncontact knee injury, because your ACL is under
maximum tension.



THE CAUSE: You have tight adductors (groin muscles) and weak gluteus medius muscles (smaller muscles in the buttocks).

















FIX YOURSELF
Step 1:
Stretch your adductors. Spread your legs wide and, keeping your right
leg straight, lower yourself into a side lunge by bending your left
knee and pushing your hips back until you feel a comfortable stretch in
your right groin area. You can intensify the stretch by turning your
shoulders to the left. Hold this position for 30 seconds. Repeat the
stretch on the other side as needed.



Step 2: Strengthen your gluteus medius muscles. Place a stretch band (available at www.performbetter.com
or elitefts.com) around your lower legs and perform side steps for 10
steps to the right and 10 to the left. Repeat for six sets in each
direction. You also need to perform single-leg exercises, such as
lunges, split squats, and stepups, while keeping your kneecap in line
with your big toe.



















Go to the next page for Apley's Scratch Test...

















APLEY'S SCRATCH TEST


Reach behind your head with your right hand and try to touch your
left shoulder blade. Then put the arm down and bend it behind your
back, again trying to reach your left shoulder blade. Complete the same
movements with your left hand touching your right shoulder blade. If
you fail to reach a shoulder...



YOUR PROBLEM IS... tight internal or external
rotators, a common ailment for men who lift weights. The tightness
reduces shoulder rotation and can cause pain.



THE CAUSE: Stiff latissimus dorsi and pectorals
will reduce your shoulders' external rotation (reaching behind your
head). If your rotator-cuff muscles are stiff, it will hamper your
internal shoulder rotation (reaching behind your back with your arm
down).

















FIX YOURSELF
Step 1:
Hold a towel with two hands behind your back -- one hand near your
head, the other midback. Walk your hands as close together on the towel
as you can. Then try to rip the towel, pulling with both hands for a
count of 10. Relax, then try to move your hands even closer together
and pull for another 10 count. Then reverse hand positions and repeat.
This move fixes both external- and internal-rotation problems.

















WALL TEST


Stand with your feet about 12 inches from a wall and rest your back
against it. Place your right hand on the small of your back, palm
facing the wall. Then tighten your abs until your palm is pressed
against the wall. In this position, your body should have four points
of contact with the wall: your tailbone, palm, upper back, and head. If
you have to tilt your head back to reach the wall...



YOUR PROBLEM IS... kyphotic posture -- also known as slouching.



THE CAUSE: Your abdominal and chest muscles have
shortened, while your back extensor muscles and spine have weakened.
Sitting for extended periods of time leads to this imbalance.

















FIX YOURSELF
Step 1: Mobilize your spine. Lie across a foam roll (available at www.performbetter.com)
or a thick PVC pipe so that it's perpendicular to your spine at the
lower part of your rib cage. Reach overhead so your spine extends over
the roll and hold for a count of 10. Move the roll up your spine about
2 inches, then repeat. Continue this process until the foam roll
reaches the base of your neck.



Step 2: Use this dynamic backward lunge to stretch
your abdominal, groin, and chest muscles. Hold a single 10-pound
dumbbell with both hands. Step back with your left foot until your left
knee nearly touches the floor. As you lunge, turn your torso to the
right and reach up over your right shoulder with both hands. Then
return to a standing position. Repeat for a total of 15 reps on both
sides.

















Step 3:
Perform a single-arm dumbbell row with external rotation. However,
instead of pulling the dumbbell to your rib cage, pull it to a position
by your ear, allowing your torso to rotate upward. Repeat for a total
of 15 repetitions with a lighter-than-normal dumbbell. Then switch arms
and repeat.






menshealth.com