Home Fitness What Are Stabilizer Muscles (and Do You Really Need to Train Them)?

What Are Stabilizer Muscles (and Do You Really Need to Train Them)?

by Universalwellnesssystems

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you may have heard Dumbbell exercises are better than barbell exercises. “Stabilizers” or that free weights are better than machines Same reason.but what that is stabilizer muscle? aAre they really neglected in machine exercises? Is it that important to train?

What are stabilizing muscles?

This becomes ambiguous as there is no actual agreement. any stabilizer muscle that is. This 2014 study I searched the literature for references to stabilizer muscles I put together a definition. Here’s what they came up with:

Muscles that contribute to joint stiffness by co-contraction and exhibit early onset of activation in response to perturbations via feedforward or feedback control mechanisms.

Well, stabilizer muscles Stabilizing muscles. what muscles are they? That’s a tough question. You can find many studies on “lumbar vertebrae” [lower back] stabilizer” or “trunk [core] stabilizer” or “knee stabilizer”. But these are not specific muscles. that’s all Stabilize your joints. for example, This study Knee stabilizer names four muscles that are part of the quadriceps and hamstring muscle groups (the large muscle groups on the front and back of the thigh respectively).are they stabilizer, or Just the muscles that move the legs?

A stabilizer in one exercise may be the primary driving force in another

This is why machines are less concerned about ignoring muscle “stabilization”.When doing various quad exercises Doing a variety of hamstring exercises will definitely work the quadriceps and hamstring muscles that act as knee stabilizers when running and jumping.

Or use another example: one leg exercise like stepsUps and lunges are great for working your abductors (hip muscles) and adductors (inner thigh muscles). put Weight on it. But even if a person has never done one-legged exercises, doing exercises that target them as primary movements, like the adductor and abductor machines, can take a toll on those muscles. can do.

Being stable is about coordination, not just strength

Looking back at the research on knee stabilizers, scientists have a theory that it’s better to use the stabilizer muscles when running or jumping. It is also related to your ability to activate your muscles when you need them.

So the way to stabilize your knee is to do exercises like running, jumping, pivoting and cutting, not just free weight exercises. (Think of a soccer player running around a cone or rope ladder.)

In other words, training Not only is it important for strength, but it is also important for joint stability. If you want to be stable and steady while performing certain movements, you need to train. your brain Drive these muscles in the right order at the right time.

Strength and stability are sometimes mutually exclusive

What should you do at the gym? You may find that strong people usually use a combination of different exercises. They may squat down or sit on a bench with a barbell, but finish off with the barbell. dumbbell bench press leg extension. Workouts are continuous, Put your strength in one corner and other stability, and each thoThese exercises fall into different points on that continuum.

Take the bench press for example.in the barbell bench press You should use your legs to stabilize your torso, your torso to provide a stable base for your arms, and your arms to move your weight. Despite training his pecs and triceps as his main movers, many shoulder, core, back and leg muscles are involved as stabilizers.

If you do something like a dumbbell bench press with your back to a yoga ball, you can use the stabilizer more. I have to work harder to keep everything stable, but as a result I can’t use nearly the same weight. Increase stabilizer training, but reduce main mover training.

The opposite is true for a chest press machine. There you don’t have to do much to stabilize your body at all. Your pecs and triceps are no longer limited by what your stabilizer can handle, so you can “lift” even more weight. (Of course, you have to be careful with that. Machine labels cannot be compared to barbell or dumbbell weights; The mechanism is different. )

So you have totraining” What is your stabilizer?

my view Is this: meIf you train every part of your body, no matter how you train, intention You will be training all your stabilizer muscles. Yes, even if you run routines for all machines.routine only must be fine-Rounded.

If you’re sticking with “functional” exercises that require a lot of stabilization, you probably are. many For your stabilizer without really thinking about it. The trade-off is that you may not be giving a lot of work to the main movers of each exercise.

You can easily get the best of both worlds by doing a variety of exercises. If you don’t do anything that makes you feel uneasy, Add some single leg exercises, Make carry, or other slightly erratic work routine. (no need to stand on bossis possible if you want, I guess.) And with a lot of stability work, try some machines Also occasional barbell exercises to make sure you’re building strength too.

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