Here’s yet another fitness tip that will make your workouts both more effective and more efficient …
In preparing for my upcoming presentation at the IDEA Personal Trainer Summit in NYC Oct.6, I’ve been even more sensitive than usual about ineffective and poorly thought out exercises.
Here’s an example of an exercise that’s getting ridiculously popular.
Once you take a scientific look at it, you’ll agree it’s “ridiculous,” too.
The hot, new way to do this exercise at a certain popular club is to do it on a staircase (right in the middle of the gym where everyone can check you out, I guess). I usually see people doing 10 reps on a step, then another 10 on the next step, then another 10 on the next, etc.
From an unscientific standpoint, what’s the point of moving to the next step up? It certainly doesn’t enhance the exercise in any way.
From a scientific standpoint, your gastrocnemius is a fast-twitch dominant muscle. It responds best to high weight/low rep protocols. Doing 80, 100, or whatever magic number of reps only serves to work a low percentage of your total muscle fibers over and over. If you’re trying to gain endurance, go run!
Speaking of running, the gastrocs on ONE leg are strong enough to help propel your whole body forward, as in running or upward, as in hopping. The fact that it’s possible to do numerous SINGLE leg calf raises should automatically tell you that a double leg calf raise with the same resistance (that is, your body weight), can’t possibly be enough stimulus to do much of anything.
Doing this exercise on both legs at once is a waste of time for all but the weakest of individuals. In general, if you can do 20 reps of any (alleged) strength training exercise fairly easily, you’re not getting much out of it.
Jumping and sprinting provide great stimuli for your calves. But if you still feel the need to do more traditional strength training for your gastrocs, use one leg at a time (which will also recruit muscles like your peroneals and posterior tibialis more) and add enough weight so that you can do a maximum of about 10 reps (or so). Smarten up and obey the laws of physiology.
Similar Posts:
- Get This Wrong and You’ll Never See the Results You’re Looking For
- 7 Popular Exercises You Don’t Really Need to Do
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