Good Ideas Gone Bad

I'll be the first to applaud people for making it to the gym. But that's where my applause usually stops. I can not applaud people for doing something that I totally disagree with. I can not applaud people for doing something that I know is 100% wrong. I can not applaud people for increasing their injury risk while doing something that just makes me shake my head. Yes, I know their intentions are good. But it's only the intention that is usually good, because the result is usually bad or in some cases non-existent.

Good idea to squat. I love squats as an exercise and always will. But it's a bad idea to squat with bad form and an even worse idea to squat with bad form and load on the bar. Get the chiropractor on line one. Please, take the time to learn how to squat properly.

Good idea to use the foam rollers. Foam rolling may not be quite as effective as massage, but it's pretty damn close and can be done on a more routine basis. But it's a bad idea to use the foam roller as an unstable surface training device, unless you're practicing for a lumberjack competition. Please, use the appropriate training toll for the appropriate function.

Good idea to do some static stretching. The one aspect of general fitness that is probably neglected the most is flexibility. If you want to keep the injury bug away, your muscles need to have some length. But it's a bad idea to stretch with lazy or careless form. Just like with any other forms of exercise, posture and technique need to be taken into account. If not, you're not doing yourself any good. Just because it feels good where you think it's supposed to, doesn't mean it's actually good for you. Getting drunk on a Friday night feels pretty good, but the hangover on Saturday morning doesn't.

Good idea to do some single leg work. Doing some some single work will identify and hopefully balance any asymmetries from left to right sides. But it's a bad idea to only do quad dominant single leg work. Yes, there are hamstring or posterior chain dominant single leg exercises such single leg Romanian deadlifts and Valslide reverse lunges.

Good idea to incorporate some core work into your training routine. Your core can be the weak link that is preventing you from having success with exercises such as push ups or deadlifts. A weak core doesn't allow proper energy transfer from the upper body to the lower body or vice versa. But it's a bad idea to think that doing crunches, reverse crunches and back extensions are good exercises to strengthen your core. Think of the primary role of your core in the first place which is stability. None of these exercises train stability. Employ some plank, wood chop, odd object lifting, uneven loading instead.

Remember good ideas donnot always wind up with good results.