The Sunday News
Simon Gama
1. Squats
(A) Emphasis: this movement is of the best exercise you can do because it affects most of the major muscle groups of the body. The squat works the thigh muscle groups’ hips and buttocks hamstrings and lower back. The abdominal muscles, upper back, calves and shoulders are stimulated too.
(B) Starting position: Stand erect with a barbell behind your neck, balancing it across your shoulders by grasping the bar knurls near the plates. Place your heels about 15-20 inches apart, toes angled slightly outward.
(C) The movement: Fix your eyes on a point in front of you slightly above eye level and keep them there throughout the movement. Then slowly bend your knees and lower your body into a full squat. Be sure to keep your torso upright. Lie your back flat and head up, keeping your vision fixed on a point. During the whole movement once your thighs have gone past parallel then slowly rise up to the starting position. Always try to keep your feet flat.
(D) Training tip: If you lack ankle flexibility you will find it difficult to balance yourself while squatting. You can make your balance more secure by resting your heels on a 2×4 inch board during movement.
2. Leg extensions
(A) Emphasis: This is the best isolation movement for stressing the quadriceps
(B) Starting position: Sit on the bench with back on your knees against the edge toward the lever arm. Hook your insteps under the roller pads and grasp the sides of the bench with your hand to steady your torso in an upright position.
(C) The movement: Use the quad strength to slowly straighten your legs. Hold this peak contracted position for a slow count of two then lower back to the starting point. Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.
(D) Training tip: You can also do machine leg extensions with one leg at a time. Normally the movement is done with toes pointed straight ahead but you can angle your toes slightly inward or outward as well.
Leg curls
(A) Emphasis; this is the best isolation movement for stressing the biceps femoris (hamstring) muscles.
(B) Starting position: Lie face down on the table with your knees at edge of the pad toward the lever arm. Hook your heels under the roller pads and straighten your arms fully. Grasp the sides of the bench and keep your hips on the padded surface throughout the set.
(C) The movement: Use the leg biceps strength to flex your legs fully as possible. Hold this peak contracted position for a slow count of two, then lower slowly back to the starting point. Repeat the movement for the suggested number of repetitions.
(D) Training tips: You can also do machine leg curls with one leg at a time. Normally the movement is done with toes pointed straight downward but you can angle your toes slightly inward or outward as well.
Hack squat
A lot of people shy away from the hack squat machine in favour of the leg press exclusively and that’s a shame. It’s true, a hack squat is harder.
Think for a second how much weight you can push on this press vs the hack squat but that challenge is what makes it beneficial. Adjust a hack squat machine so that the pads rest comfortably on your shoulders and your back and neck are fully supported.
I place my toes towards the top of the platform to make sure I hit my upper quads as much as possible. I also stand with my feet shoulder width apart. Some people stand with them closer together, but the closer they are the more you start to use your inner thighs.
Action: Unhook the safety handles and slowly squat down towards the platform, keeping your knees directly over your toes on the descent.
If you let your knees shift to one side or the other you put unnecessary shearing stress on the ligaments and tendons of your knees. As you reach parallel or just below reverse the motion and press back up to the start. Without locking out your knees begin the next repletion.
On this exercise, like squats it’s helpful to think about driving through your heels to press yourself back up to a standing position this mental trick helps engage the glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings to generate the power you need to finish each repetition. -Additional information from Online sources.
The writer, Simon Gama is a fitness coach at Bodyworks Gymn in Bulawayo.
