Do THIS ✅ Not THAT ❌ (pt 3)

There are countless exercises choose from when you want to build muscle, but you have to make sure you are doing them right to get the most gains out of them. I always say; it’s not just what exercises you choose to do, but how you choose to do them that makes all the difference in the world. I put together a small sample of exercises that show how people normally perform them and a slight tweak to each that will make the exercise that much more effective, especially when it comes to safety in some cases.

It starts with the kneeling crunch pulldown.

The kneeling crunch pulldown is a great way to overload the abs using weights. However, the big mistake that I see in the gym when it comes to this exercise is that people simply sit down instead of crunching down. When you sit back, you are taking the work off the abs, which you don’t want to do. Imagine there is a vertical line behind your butt; you don’t want your butt to go past this point. Instead, initiate the movement with your abs.

The second exercise up is the side bend.

This exercise is one that I wish everyone would throw out of their ab training. Instead, I prefer that you use a band anchored to a pull-up bar and perform a side crunch. The resistance of the band will help to overload the obliques in a way that the side bend can’t. So, next time you opt to train your obliques, ditch the side bend, grab a band, and perform the exercise I’m showing you here.

The kettlebell swing is a commonly performed exercise and is an amazing way to train your glutes while getting some conditioning in. The problem, however, is that people will often squat the weight up and down instead of performing a simple hip hinge. The hinge is how you effectively train the posterior chain without compromising the health of your low back. Next time you perform your kettlebell swings, make sure that you hinging your hips to swing the weight instead of squatting it up and down.

The fourth exercise in this do this, not that list is the lateral raise. I’m sure you have heard at some point that you need to “pour the pitcher” when performing a lateral raise. By keeping your pinkies up when raising the dumbbells, you are throwing your shoulder into internal rotation. Internal rotation, plus elevation and resistance is a recipe for shoulder impingement. Instead, I want your thumbs to be above your wrist. This will promote external rotation and keep your shoulders healthy and pain free.

Next up, the face pull.

When it comes to my favorite exercises, the face pull is one that often gets messed up the most. Too often I see people pulling the rope towards their face with internal rotation. This is the opposite of what the exercise is trying to achieve. Instead, try to get as much external rotation of the shoulder as possible. This will help to make your shoulders resilient and less susceptible to injury. Remember, use two ropes in order to get the most range of motion and external rotation possible.

These are just a few exercise technique changes that you can make to make sure you are building the most muscle possible,

For more tips on how to get the most out of every exercise you do, be sure to stay tuned to this channel and remember to subscribe so that you never miss another video from a physical therapist with a pro sports background as a PT and strength coach.

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Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS served as both the head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets. Jeff earned his Masters of Physical Therapy and Bachelor’s of Physioneurobiology from the College of Health Sciences University of Connecticut Storrs. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).