Disclaimer: The exercises on this page may not get you "jacked," nor may they be the best way to progressively overload the muscle you are working out, but they are some of the best exercises that I've used on myself and my clients to activate the muscle being worked.
Muscle activation is a valuable piece of a successful and enjoyable workout that I often see missing in peoples' routines. It's kind of like eating a piece of food but not being able to taste it. You know that by eating the food you are nourishing your body (the goal), but you aren't able to enjoy the flavors the food provides (the added bonus). The same applies with lifting without muscle activation. You lift to change your appearance or feel good (the goal), but you are unable to feel the actual muscle you are working go through its full range of relaxing and contracting (the added bonus). Believe me, once you actually feel the muscle you are working, your exercises will become much more enjoyable. Did you read the bit on my other page about stretching? If so, you are well on your way.
One may think that feeling the correct muscle during an exercise should come naturally, and I too believed that for many of my fitness years, however this is not so, and I often find that most people who simply just do the exercise without thinking about and using the muscle they are working either:
a) hit a strength and aesthetic plateau for that muscle
b) have incorrect form
c) hurt themselves because they used a muscle that wasn't suited to do that exercise i.e. blowing out a shoulder during a bench press
So how does this happen? Primarily lack of use for that particular muscle. For the most part, all of us are in a repetitive daily routine. During our routine we use the same muscles to complete the same tasks, makes sense right? Our brain now becomes very efficient at activating the muscles we always use, and very good at deactivating the muscles we aren't using. Eventually, you have to reteach your brain how to contract the deactivated muscles (activation exercises), and deactivate the active muscles (trigger point therapy). I highly doubt this is proper science I am spewing off to you but from my experiences, it makes complete sense.
Now because I do not want any of the three above scenarios to happen to you which is why I included this section. The following exercises for each muscle can be incorporated into any part of your routine, you can use them before the routine to activate the muscle you are working, during the routine to re-active a muscle you can no longer feel working, or at the end of the routine to burn out the muscle. If you are applying the exercises before or during your routine do not perform them to failure because that muscle won't be able to work for your other exercises any longer! You are simply "waking the muscle up."
One may think that feeling the correct muscle during an exercise should come naturally, and I too believed that for many of my fitness years, however this is not so, and I often find that most people who simply just do the exercise without thinking about and using the muscle they are working either:
a) hit a strength and aesthetic plateau for that muscle
b) have incorrect form
c) hurt themselves because they used a muscle that wasn't suited to do that exercise i.e. blowing out a shoulder during a bench press
So how does this happen? Primarily lack of use for that particular muscle. For the most part, all of us are in a repetitive daily routine. During our routine we use the same muscles to complete the same tasks, makes sense right? Our brain now becomes very efficient at activating the muscles we always use, and very good at deactivating the muscles we aren't using. Eventually, you have to reteach your brain how to contract the deactivated muscles (activation exercises), and deactivate the active muscles (trigger point therapy). I highly doubt this is proper science I am spewing off to you but from my experiences, it makes complete sense.
Now because I do not want any of the three above scenarios to happen to you which is why I included this section. The following exercises for each muscle can be incorporated into any part of your routine, you can use them before the routine to activate the muscle you are working, during the routine to re-active a muscle you can no longer feel working, or at the end of the routine to burn out the muscle. If you are applying the exercises before or during your routine do not perform them to failure because that muscle won't be able to work for your other exercises any longer! You are simply "waking the muscle up."
Chest
Back
Straight Arm Lat Pulldown: This exercise teaches you how to lock your back when your shoulders are in extension (down at/behind your torso) |
Superman to Scapula Retraction: This exercise teaches you how to pull with your lats, not with your arms. |
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