Often-Neglected Muscle Groups

Many people, especially in commercial gyms, perform what I call the "mirror" workout. They only focus on the muscle groups they can see while standing in front of a mirror. This usually entails the chest, biceps, abdominals, and quadriceps, if they do any lower body exercises at all. With this approach, nearly half of the body's musculature is neglected; not only does this lead to asymmetrical development and appearance, but it can create significant muscular imbalances and increase the risk for injury. The human body is a wonderfully adaptive machine, but it functions best as a unit rather than just a collection of parts. This is why we perform whole-body workouts at Total Results.

We believe it is important to strike a balance between pushing and pulling exercises so that we work both anterior (front) and posterior (rear) muscle groups. Although some clients may have contraindications (such as shoulder difficulties), we advise working through horizontal and vertical planes of movement. All workouts include exercises for both the upper and lower body, and whenever possible we incorporate movements for all three trainable regions of the spine: cervical, thoracic, and lumbar. The order and selection of exercises may vary somewhat from client to client, but our philosophy and approach are the same.

One critical muscle group that is often left out in a typical gym rat's routine are the hamstrings. These are the muscles located on the posterior thigh that are responsible for knee flexion, hip extension, and rotational movement. The biceps femoris rotates the lower leg outward, while the semimembranosus and semitendinosus rotate the knee inward when it is bent. The quadriceps muscles often garner more attention than the hamstrings, and because there are four muscles in the quadriceps compared to three in the hamstrings they are usually trained more often. This is a mistake! Anytime you pick up your foot to walk or run you are engaging the hamstrings. In fairness, most Leg Curl machines (which is the most effective exercise to train the hamstrings) in commercial gyms are poorly designed. You are usually stuck with either a prone machine (in which you lie face down and flex your knees behind you) that can irritate your back, or you will have a seated version with an improperly coupled movement arm (the pads on the movement arm should not rotate). One other option is to perform a stiff-legged deadlift with a barbell, but that also poses some dangers for the spine. The MedX Leg Curl machine at Total Results is ideal. It has a floating seat (to minimize knee irritation), a coupled movement arm with fixed pads that opens and closes for safe and easy entry/exit, and a resistance curve that enables you to effectively target the hamstrings and calves through a safe and pain-free range of motion.

Your neck muscles play a critical role in your posture. A recent term has been created called "tech neck"; this is kyphosis (an abnormal curvature of the upper spine) that is caused by hunching over to look at your phone or sitting at a computer for long stretches of time. This can lead to neck and shoulder pain, stiffness, and headaches. There are a few things you can do to avoid this. One, leave your phone in your pocket for a while. Two, take intermittent breaks from sitting and be aware of your posture if you work on a computer. Three, strengthen your neck muscles, especially your posterior neck muscles. Most neck exercise machines are a death trap; they improperly load the musculature without providing any stabilization for the trunk (it is impossible to safely and effectively address the cervical musculature without stabilizing the trunk). Additionally, the neck muscles are a delicate muscle group and can easily be injured, so these exercises should always be performed under the supervision of an instructor. We have the capacity to perform both cervical extension and flexion with our MedX neck machine. It comes equipped with an indicator for your axis of rotation (enabling an easier determination of seat settings), a swivel movement arm pad, adjustable starting movement arm positions, and handles to provide trunk stability. Many clients are slightly unnerved the first time they use this machine, but if instructions are followed it is perfectly safe to train as intensely on this exercise as it is on the Leg Press.

Grip strength is something that we need to work to improve as we age. This plays a role in our ability to open jars, carry groceries, and perform other tasks of daily living. According to Dr. Peter Attia, author of the book "Outlive," grip strength is a non-invasive biomarker of aging and longevity. At Total Results clients work to improve their grip strength by performing the Pulldown, Compound Row, and Bicep Curl exercises, but I have also found the Shoulder Hang exercise to be a useful tool for improving grip strength. This serves multiple purposes; initially I used it only with clients who experienced shoulder problems. After incorporating it into my own daily routine I also found that it also functions to place your spine into traction, thus opening up the spaces between vertebrae and relieving compression. However, in addition to these benefits the Shoulder Hang can improve your grip strength. Our Nautilus Multi-Exercise machine accommodates this action quite well, and it is safer than performing a farmer's carry with dumbbells.

Speaking of spinal vertebrae, low back pain is still the number one cause of missed work days. People experience a variety of causes of low back pain, from simple muscle weakness to structural problems such as pinched nerves, sciatica, herniated discs, and more. Traditional machines that supposedly target the lower back muscles are poorly engineered; they typically involve more of the hip and leg musculature than that of the lower back. In order to meaningfully load the deeper muscles of the lower spine, specifically the multifidus, quadratus lumborum, and the erector spinae muscles, the pelvis must be immobilized to a significant degree. This will also reduce quadricep and hip involvement. Our MedX Lumbar Extension machine accomplishes this feat with a revolutionary design, and it is so unique that nothing in a commercial gym comes close. Clients have experienced major improvement in just a few workouts, and performing this exercise under the supervision of an instructor will ensure that this is accomplished safely.

If you feel that you aren't getting the most out of your exercise experience, come and check out Total Results. Train your entire body, not just what you can see in the mirror. Whatever your individual goals are, we can help you achieve them safely and efficiently. It's time to start thinking differently. Think Total Results.