The subject I address this week is not one that will ever garner a question. "Well, why ever not?" your inquisitive mind asks. It's because the subject is neglect, and, by definition, you will never think to ask about it. So anyway, here goes my rant ...
Bear with me as I wax philosophic for a moment. We, as human beings, are constantly being bombarded with one side of things. Skinny is good, fat free anything is good, Kerry is good, Bush is good (this column is non-partisan), working out is good.
Well, yes; many of those things are good. However they are only good if you know the entire story, or if you exercise moderation and balance. What I'm getting at is that all too often people do something they think is good for them, when in reality they aren't covering all the bases or they are going to an extreme - which can actually lead to something bad. Example:
The so-called "meathead syndrome" is one in which a male works out religiously only the muscles he can see when he stands in front of a mirror wearing Adidas warm ups and no shirt. This translates into endless sets of flat bench, standing barbell curls, and crunches. Sometimes, the enlightened ones will do some shrugs to get the "monster traps" that look so appealing in wife-beaters, but other than that, they are enormously imbalanced.
This neglect of certain muscles groups is rampant in the gym, and is more dangerous than many think. Muscle imbalances can affect posture, leading to back pain, joint pain, and muscle pain. They can cause progress on the focus groups to stagnate. For example, your body may actually resist chest development due to an underdeveloped back.
The upper back is a commonly neglected body part, along with the rear delts and lower back. These muscle groups all contribute to good posture and athletic performance. All pulling activities involve these groups, so if you think you are going to be able to lift that keg all by yourself without properly working out your back, you've got another thing coming pal.
Sadly, there is a body part that suffers from even more neglect than the back. You guessed it: It's your legs. If I had a dollar for every guy I saw in the gym with a lower body that was disproportionately smaller than his upper body... well, I'd have a lot of dollars. So work your legs. And your back.
The best way to make sure you aren't a victim of muscular neglect is to sit down and think (don't stop reading, I just want you to think for a minute or two, I promise) about your workout. Every muscle in your body moves you in a certain way. Well, it's also true that there is a muscle in your body to move you the opposite way.
biceps/triceps, back/chest, quads/hamstrings, lower back/abs ... there are a ton of opposing muscle groups to work.
Plan workouts accordingly, making sure you hit each muscle group at least once a week. You can train opposing muscle groups on the same day (have an "arm day"), or you can train coordinating muscle groups on the same day (think a "push" day and a "pull" day). You can toss biceps in with chest, you can train calves with back, you can throw quads in when you train shoulders. Just make sure that you hit everything in some way, shape, or form.
So next time you decide "it's bench day, baby!" stop and think (last time I'll ask you to think) about whether or not you are training the muscles you can't see. Muscles that, though invisible to you, the shirtless Greek god standing in front of the mirror in track pants, are no less important to your health, your aesthetic value, and your performance.
