What Makes An Exercise 'Dangerous'?
Just like the title of the article says, this week I wanted to dive in to this concept of ‘danger’ and exercises.
When I first started as a Personal Trainer in 2010, strength training machines, specifically the seated leg extension were deemed ‘dangerous’.
I remember telling clients “avoid this machine because it’s going to put a lot of stress on your _____” or “You could do this movement, but you need to watch out for ____ so you don’t hurt yourself”.
After 12+ years, I have an official statement on ‘danger’ and exercise.
There are no bad movements, exercises, or machines…there are only bodies that aren’t designed or that aren’t ready for what that movement, exercise, or machine provides.
Let me break this down.
I don’t think there needs to be blanket statements made about exercise and that goes both ways. To say that something is the ‘best’, ‘worst’, or ‘dangerous’ just paints an unfair and uneducated picture in your brain.
There’s always a reason to justify the claim, but there is always specific context that disproves that same claim.
I remember the seated leg extension was deemed a machine that is ‘bad for your knees’. Well, it turns out that if you have knee pain, issues with your patellar tendon, and some other specific knee issues, that seated leg extension actually turns out to be pretty beneficial.
See what I mean by specific context?
But what about the last part of the statement? “There are only bodies that aren’t designed or that aren’t ready for what that movement, exercise, or machine provides”.
If you’ve been keeping score at home, then you saw my ‘What the hell am I doing” article on movement assessments last week. That article touched on how movement assessments help me, you, or anyone making an exercise decision, on what movements ‘fit’ your body the best.
Here’s an example using overhead pressing.
On the left side of the photo I am performing a standing dumbbell overhead press. A pretty common exercise you’ll see in any gym. To many, this is a ‘safer’ alternative to the barbell overhead press.
Great, right? Hold up.
If you look at the curved line in my lower back you’ll see I am totally extended trying to keep the weight up on my shoulders. I have to really arch to get my ribs and chest under the weight so I don’t fall over. Because of this, you can see the angled straight line on the front of my body that shows my ribs pointed away from my body.
Now, to be clear, I am not saying that I can’t perform the exercise like this. I totally could.
What I am saying is that when we talk about ‘dangerous’, this specific movement given the capabilities of my body, could be a bad idea over time.
So what do we do? Like I mentioned, if you read the article last week, you gather some information and make a better choice on how to perform the overhead press.
In case you didn’t read that article, here’s what I am talking about.
On the right side of the photo you’ll see I swapped to a landmine overhead press. The angle of the landmine allows me to position my body underneath the weight in a more ideal position.
See how those two red lines are parallel with each other? That means my shoulders, ribs, hips, and legs are all ‘stacked’ and I can handle the weight with more stability and strength.
Yay, fitness!
What can you do to self assess?
Take a picture or video of yourself raising your arms. As your arms go up, take note of where your lower back and spine start to move with your arms. Here’s mine below…
If your upper arm is inline with your ears, that first dumbbell overhead press fits your body. If your arm stops in front of your face, like mine does, that landmine would be a great choice.
Bringing it full circle and back to my officially official statement on exercise and ‘danger’.
Your best bet for longevity in your training sessions is to make sure the exercises fit your body, not the other way around.
If you can get in to good body positions, you can train with comfort.
More comfort means you can give more effort.
More effort leads to better results.
Better results leads to motivation.
That motivation breeds consistency.
It all adds up.