By Dr. Antonio Parolisi
First part
The best exercise does not exist !!! There is the best exercise for each individual subject.
To each his ...
Many times we have heard or read expressions such as "the squat is the king of all exercises " or " the flat bench is the best exercise for the chest", or other similar phrases. Personalized training based on the composition in terms of muscle fibers, has a fundamental importance in the planning of personalized programs but this approach, it must be recognized, is addressed to an audience of athletes in which the main objective of their trainers is to lead to top level performance of each individual athlete.
This philosophy can also be reported in a context that is not strictly competitive or with objectives that are not as important as an athlete's, but in people dedicated to fitness for the well-being of the body.
But what matters is that the form of the protocols must absolutely be different ...
In the field of physical preparation everything is allowed; just think of the incredible amount of athletes who use doping to excel or improve in their specialties; and here I am not referring only to bodybuilding but to all sport: from horse riding to table tennis (...). This makes us understand that to reach a high level in athletic preparation the end justifies the means. Even if people are aware of the problems that arise from this approach, the goal is king! This view is absolutely condemnable .
Unfortunately the physical preparation is not a simple thing and managing the performance of an athlete who has cost millions of euros to a sports club makes it even more delicate.
The athlete must return at any cost! This is the only thing that counts for the managers of the company or for those who manage the business of that field. They will therefore be made to perform exercises that give great strength and make large muscle masses grow, even though they may prove to be harmful to the bone structure or to the muscles themselves and ligaments, because maybe the execution is incorrect or inappropriate to the biomechanics of that individual; or at the least joint problem we will intervene with cortisone infiltrations or other methods that will temporarily solve the problem, but in reality they tend, simply, to mask it. After some time, the pain will recur, perhaps even worse, as the cause, so the primacy of the problem was not resolved but only buffered. The thing that matters, however, is that the athlete must make the contract during the entire period of engagement; what will happen then does not count. There are many such stories around, even big names in the world of football, basketball, bodybuilding and in all other fields. It is really very sad but unfortunately it is the reality of sport and not only in that of high level.
Fortunately (or unfortunately as some may say) not all personal fitness trainers are dedicated to the athletic training of professional sportsmen. Indeed, most of us train the classic 55-year-old Mrs. Linda who asked the trainer for help, perhaps on the advice of her doctor, to lose "a little body weight", so feeling "better" when wakes up in the morning or goes out shopping on the street. The menopausal lady does not ask to run the 100 square meters in 9 "27 but wishes to achieve goals that give her a condition of well-being, following a" regular diet "and not just" chicken breast and rice in white ", because the Ms. Linda must not "pull herself" to aspire to the Miss Olympia final, when, so to speak, the excess of amino acids, especially sulphurous ones, can cause serious problems of bone decalcification to menopausal women, but this is another history...
This was to understand that too often training protocols or inadequate exercises are proposed, not to mention inappropriate food plans, for people who are not athletes and who seek health and good physical fitness in the gym without extreme athletic pretensions.
I repeat, "the best exercise does not exist, there is the best exercise for each individual subject".
It is very likely that Mrs. Linda can also do a squat with a decent load, but to know it you need to test the subject through "flexibility tests" that will guide us towards a specific training line for the subject in question.
It is all very well that the squat is generally considered an excellent exercise for the lower limbs, trunk and back (and this is why it is defined by many as the king of exercises), but if the famous lady, for example, had inflexible quadriceps muscles or quite retracted, this would cause the aforementioned muscles to reach out at a point of the sling and, by way of compensation of the anterior chain which is put under tension, pull the torso forward, causing it to arch too much back and causing, probably, a lumbar overload.
In this case, before intensifying the thigh muscle mass at all costs, it would be a priority to try to increase the elasticity of the entire front chain or at least increase the flexibility of the quadriceps muscles to allow the lady to perform an adequate squat with a greater joint excursion.
If the retraction was too important it would be advisable to focus the entire session on the overall postural recovery integrated with aerobic exercises and, if necessary, exercises for the lower limbs limiting the movement to the point where the muscles begin to compensate, making for example a partial squat therefore with a very short range of movement.
For a bodybuilder, who performs complete squats sometimes even in the entire squat, the previous exercise could be almost ironic as the "dance of here" but as I stated before, Ms. Linda does not want to run the 100 square meters in 9 "27 let alone grow thighs like those of Ronnie Coleman, he just wants to feel better in his body by improving physical efficiency, so his well-being is a priority, not his performance in the gym or on the field.
The previous example of the quadriceps was only to give an idea as in the lower limbs, as in the rest of the body, retractions, therefore muscles that are not very flexible can be found everywhere.
It is very important to assess the ability of a muscle to stretch to understand which exercise can give maximum benefit with minimum risk. It is not certain that only because our fitness studio or our gym has 83 isotonic machines, of which 27 for the lower limbs, I must use them all and insert them in rotation in training programs and change exercise only when I am tired. It does not work like this!
Every good trainer must take care of their clients not only by giving them the opportunity to increase their muscles or reduce body fat with every available means; he must above all advise and operate in such a way that each method or work approach gives the maximum benefit by minimizing the possible risks deriving from the practice of physical activity.
Flexibility tests should be applied to all muscle districts and where it is reduced, special attention should be paid to increasing and limiting the ROM (Range of Motion) at the point where the muscle cannot stretch and compensates by pulling its imbricated continuities with it. throughout its chain of belonging.
Therefore, choosing the best exercise for each individual subject is not an easy task, especially if you are dealing with people with very marked postural problems; this does not take away from the fact that if an individual is free from muscular tensions or postural problems he cannot practice a complete squat with high loads without it affecting his back or other parts at risk. Once again, fitness words are "personalization"! Plan training programs with scientific criteria but above all by respecting the subjectivity of each individual person.
CONTINUE: Part Two »
