Sunday, March 1, 2015

Winter Fitness Group Challenge - Week 4: Pull Exercises



Let's get straight to it: if you think that this week isn't as important as the following past three weeks - you're making a big mistake.

I wish my back was that big.
When I speak about pull exercises, this is not simply "lift things up and put them down," but rather holding your body still while contracting concentrically your back musculature. Let me break it down like this:
  1. You have to halves of your body: the left and right (which we can visibly see)
  2. You also have a front and back (the front we can almost always see and the back - almost forgotten)

Whether your goal is weight loss or adding lean muscle mass, ignoring your back is a huge mistake. Talk to professional bodybuilders, firefighters, ballerinas, dancers, construction workers, or athletes and they'll all mention how much they train their back. If they don't, they might have a good chance of either lower back pain or rounded shoulders. 


Your back musculature, which includes everything from your hip complex up to your neck is vital to everyday living, great posture, upper body and lower body strength, and overall wellness. The latissimus dorsi, lower trapezius, medial trapezius, upper trapezius, posterior deltoid, rhomboids, and multifidus muscles are all important. Stabilizing the hip complex can even prevent and eliminate lower back pain. The biceps even get involved during pull exercises (let's make a special note that you should not just focus on bicep curls. They do not make your back stronger and only account for 1/3 of your arm size) My little PSA.



This Weeks Goal: 
Utilize Pull Exercises Three Times a Week

So this week, I am setting aside the following dates as open one-on-one practice
to get to know a few pull exercises that can benefit you, no matter the goal.
Here are the five days I will make available: 
Monday, March 2nd: 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm (at the free weights office)
Tuesday, March 3rd: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm (at the free weights office)
Thursday, March  5th: 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm (ask front desk to contact me)
Friday, March 6th: 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm (at the free weights office)
Sunday, March 8th: 11:30 pm - 12:00 pm (at the free weights office)

Remember you have to either submit a reply below with the date you want to come in or respond via email at jshapiro@ymcanyc.org. 

 


1 comment:

  1. HI James, I"ll be at the Y today,i will look for you about 7:00pm,by the free weight office

    ReplyDelete