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Working specific muscles is a terrible idea for the typical person looking to improve general fitness. The major compound movements are almost always what you w

by User23 4y ago

Working specific muscles is a terrible idea for the typical person looking to improve general fitness. The major compound movements are almost always what you want: barbell squats, overhead press, bench press, deadlifts, barbell rows, chin/pull ups, and dips[1]. Those will fix your posture problems among other things. From there you can work your way up to showing off on rings, glute ham raises, standing back bends, and even a planche progression if you really want to break the ice at parties. I mean sure, if you’ve got the genetic gifts, the drive, eight hours a day to spend in the gym, and probably the gear to be the next Mr Olympia and you just need some hypertrophy on those posterior delts to put you over the edge then by all means target specific tiny muscle groups. On the other hand if you just want the usable strength to handle life’s unexpected challenges then compounds all the way. Edit: If you're a true beginner, get a good coach. Frankly I think beginners would be better served by a site on how to identify a good coach than one on how to do the movements. [1] If you're a beginner you likely won't be able to do pull ups or dips unassisted, so either find a gym that has a machine that can give you assist, or use rubber bands. In fact if you're truly out of shape you might not even be able to do a proper bodyweight squat. If so, no problem, you can either assist by using rings, or progress with a leg press machine.

mattbaker 4y ago
This site is about finding specific exercises for specific muscles though, and I think it works really well for that, I’ve used it off and on for years. There are plenty of reasons an individual may be looking for exercises to hit a specific muscle. I agree compound lifts are great for people interested in pursuing general fitness but there are plenty of people who can benefit from this. I’ve used it because I needed to strengthen specific muscles after injuries or to protect from re-injury and wanted to explore options. I’ve also used it to mix up lifting routines by having multiple exercises I can rotate through that hit the same muscles. Clearly I’m a fan :) Just like being in the gym, it’s important not to judge how others are working on their bodies^. You never know the story behind why someone is doing what they do. ^unless they’re putting themselves in honest to god danger of course!
- User23 4y ago
  Agreed. And from looking at it this seems to be a very good site. For example the bench press page[1] includes some very important tips on a wildly popular movement that will help people avoid rotator cuff injuries. And of course I agree that you shouldn't give a specific person unsolicited advice unless they are clearly endangering themselves. But this is a general discussion site, and generally speaking I'm going to stand by the claim that most people should focus on compound movements and not isolated ones. And this looks to be a good site for information on those, so that's great. In fact, this site appears to be less focused on specific isolated movements than exrx.net. For example I didn't find anything nearly as specific as, to give just one example, the dumbell rear lateral raise[2]. Incidentally, that's a remarkable movement on account of even monstrously strong men have to use relatively light weights to perform it properly. [1] https://musclewiki.com/barbell/male/chest/barbell-bench-press https://musclewiki.com/barbell/male/chest/barbell-bench-pres... [2] https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidPosterior/DBRearLateralRaise https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidPosterior/DBRearLate...
  - Salgat 4y ago
    I remember using exrx a decade ago to build a workout routine with dumbbells that hit all muscles. Such an excellent resource.
oarfish 4y ago
Any source that strength training "improves" posture? I don't believe there's even an accepted definition of what "good posture" is supposed to be. I hear this touted often and have never read of clinical data that would support the idea that "muscle imbalances" are a thing and cause of perceived undesirable body position.

by User23 4y ago

mattbaker 4y ago

This site is about finding specific exercises for specific muscles though, and I think it works really well for that, I’ve used it off and on for years. There are plenty of reasons an individual may be looking for exercises to hit a specific muscle. I agree compound lifts are great for people interested in pursuing general fitness but there are plenty of people who can benefit from this. I’ve used it because I needed to strengthen specific muscles after injuries or to protect from re-injury and wanted to explore options. I’ve also used it to mix up lifting routines by having multiple exercises I can rotate through that hit the same muscles. Clearly I’m a fan :) Just like being in the gym, it’s important not to judge how others are working on their bodies^. You never know the story behind why someone is doing what they do. ^unless they’re putting themselves in honest to god danger of course!

User23 4y ago
Agreed. And from looking at it this seems to be a very good site. For example the bench press page[1] includes some very important tips on a wildly popular movement that will help people avoid rotator cuff injuries. And of course I agree that you shouldn't give a specific person unsolicited advice unless they are clearly endangering themselves. But this is a general discussion site, and generally speaking I'm going to stand by the claim that most people should focus on compound movements and not isolated ones. And this looks to be a good site for information on those, so that's great. In fact, this site appears to be less focused on specific isolated movements than exrx.net. For example I didn't find anything nearly as specific as, to give just one example, the dumbell rear lateral raise[2]. Incidentally, that's a remarkable movement on account of even monstrously strong men have to use relatively light weights to perform it properly. [1] https://musclewiki.com/barbell/male/chest/barbell-bench-press https://musclewiki.com/barbell/male/chest/barbell-bench-pres... [2] https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidPosterior/DBRearLateralRaise https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidPosterior/DBRearLate...
- Salgat 4y ago
  I remember using exrx a decade ago to build a workout routine with dumbbells that hit all muscles. Such an excellent resource.

oarfish 4y ago

Any source that strength training "improves" posture? I don't believe there's even an accepted definition of what "good posture" is supposed to be. I hear this touted often and have never read of clinical data that would support the idea that "muscle imbalances" are a thing and cause of perceived undesirable body position.