Military Muscle: Reduce joint stress when working out with weight machines - Off Duty, Military Health and Fitness - Navy Times

Military Muscle: Reduce joint stress when working out with weight machines

My last column focused on reducing joint stress while lifting free weights. This time, we look at minimizing joint stress during four machine-weight exercises.

Seated calf raise machine: It’s critical that you perform this exercise with the pad set back from the kneecap, not directly over it, which places increased stress on the patellar tendon and the bursa — both parts of the knee joint — potentially resulting in tendinitis.

Back extension machine: Be sure your body is straight at the end of the extension. One of the most common mistakes I see is hyperextension. People think they have to “crunch” the lower back area to work those muscles, but that risks irritating the lumbar facet joints.

Seated cable row: Beware of excessive leaning at the ending and starting positions of this exercise. Leaning raises the risk of lumbar joint irritation in the case of the backward lean and the risk of lumbar disk and ligament injury in the case of the forward lean. This is particularly relevant when working with heavy weights.

Lateral pull-down: Some weightlifters choose to pull the bar down behind their heads, raising the risk of a herniated cervical disk. Along with back hyperextension, I rank this as one the most common problems in the gym. Although this technique can contribute to increased flexibility in the shoulder area and works the lats harder, it also negates full arm extension with maximum scapular retraction, and the overall benefit actually decreases.

NUTRITION TIP

A cup of cooked lentils, a food dating back about 12,000 years, is 25 percent protein (only soybeans are higher) and has 16 grams of fiber and about twice as much iron as any other legume. And it’s only about 200 calories.

Lentils are very high in B vitamins and folate, especially important to women of childbearing age because it can help prevent birth defects.

A powerhouse food that is rather inexpensive, lentils can help increase energy and assist in muscle repair after a particularly grueling workout. They can be stored almost indefinitely, but for best flavor, they should be used within a year. And they’re a versatile food: Use them in soup, salad or to replace the beans in chili or burritos.

Bob Thomas is the director of the Navy Wellness Center in Pensacola, Fla. Write to him with questions or comments at jomof14@cox.net