Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com
A human body consists of 600 different kinds of muscles. But whenever we are exercising, we focus on only a few of them. For men, guns, pecs and abs are the three prominent group of muscles and for women, butt, arms and tummy are the main areas of concern. What about other muscles?
The main purpose of exercising or building muscles is not only to get a chiselled body, but to make it flexible, strong and decrease the risk of injury. So it is not right to focus only on a few muscles and leave the rest. Every muscle has an important role to play. Here are the 5 most neglected muscles of the body that you should start training right now.
Not a lot of people pay attention to gluteus medius and minimus, the focus is always on the gluteus maximus. However, your maximus muscle cannot reach its full potential without gluteus medius and minimus. These two muscles help to stabilise the pelvis. Whether you are walking, climbing stairs or rotating your hips, the flexibility and strength of gluteus medius and minimus are important.
Shoulder injuries are very common among fitness enthusiasts or athletes and the reason is stiff rotator cuff muscles. A rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that come together to form a cuff over the head of the upper arm bone. It helps to stabilise the shoulder joints and to stretch the hand in different directions. It is important to train this muscle to prevent any kind of injury.
Adductors are a group of four muscles that are located in the inner thigh. They are one of the three powerful muscles of the human thigh. Even then people mostly ignore these muscles. Both men and women should pay attention to strengthening their adductors. This group of muscles help in the movement of legs and perform daily activities like running and walking.
While trying to get six-pack abs, we often forget about our back muscles. The lower trapezius muscle is located just under our shoulder blades and helps in preventing shoulder pain. The exercises we mostly do target our upper trapezius. Lower trapezius muscles help to rotate our shoulder blades and play a major role in keeping our posture correct while walking or sitting. By targeting this muscle, you can get a nice sculpted back.
While aiming for strong biceps and triceps, our hands and forearm muscles are often ignored. But you cannot deny the fact that these are most prominent muscles of the body. To do any work like holding dumbells or carrying out any activity in daily life, it is important to have a strong grip. By neglecting this group of muscle, you are actually compromising on your grip strength.
5 common mistakes people make while running on a treadmill
Are you making these mistakes!
A treadmill is unquestionably one of the most popular workout machines. Whenever you step into a gym, you will find people roaming around it waiting for their turn. Rarely you will see it vacant. It is the best machine for those who do not have time to run outdoors. But simply putting one foot in front of the other on the treadmill won’t help you much. Running on a treadmill might look like a simple exercise to you, but doing it mindlessly might sabotage your workout and even cause injury.
Here are 5 common mistakes most people make while running on a treadmill.
You are taking long strides
It is obvious to worry about your strides when you are running on a treadmill. But this can divert your focus and you might fall. Don’t stress a lot about it. Your legs will figure out the distance on its own. If you are constantly looking down and purposely trying to take big steps, your body weight will land in front of you, which is not so good for the knees.
You are holding the bar
You are not doing warm-up
Warm-up is necessary before and after every workout and the same rule applies when you run on a treadmill. Most people just jump on the treadmill and start running at a fast speed. Their body cannot maintain the pace for a very long time and as a result, the speed decreases. The best way to run on a treadmill is to start slow. Begin with walking, then jog and then start running. This way you will burn more calories and won’t hurt yourself.
You are doing the same exercise
There are multiple exercises that you can do on a treadmill. You might be comfortable with the kind of exercise you are doing right now, but it is important to change your workout plan from time to time. When you follow the same routine, your body starts burning fewer calories. After every two-three weeks change your workout routine.
Holding the breath is the most common mistake people make while performing any kind of workout. Just like your legs, your lungs are also good at doing their job. You have to keep breathing while running. Do not hold your breath or try to control it. Stay calm and keep moving.
4 lunges everyone must try to flex their hip muscles
Do these moves daily!
Your hips have numerous roles to play every day. It is not only necessary for moving your body but is also crucial for performing daily activities like getting out of a chair, walking or performing any workout. This is why it is important to have flexible hip muscles to easily perform such day to day tasks. Sitting on a chair all day long can make our muscles stiff, limit our movement and increase the risk of injury. Flexible hip muscles are important to maintain the stability and balance of the body.
The easiest and effective exercise to flex your hips muscles is lunges. Lunges is a lower-body exercise that works on several muscle groups at once. The exercise primarily focuses on your hip, butt, hamstring, thighs and calf muscles. Here are four kinds of lunges you can perform to relax your hip muscles.
Forward lunges
Step 1: Stand on the ground with your feet hip-width apart. Keep both your hands on your hips.
Step 2: Move your right leg 1 feet forward and lower your body until both your front and back leg make a 90 degrees angle.
Step 3: Keep your right knees perpendicular to your toes and bend your left leg without touching the floor.
Step 4: Pause for 2-3 seconds. Then press into right heel to drive back up to starting position.
Step 6: Repeat the same with the left leg.
Reverse Lunges
Step 1: Stand on the ground with your feet hip-width apart and hands by your side.
Step 2: Take your right foot back (at least 1 foot), bend both your knees to make a 90-degree angle.
Step 3: Keep your right knees perpendicular to your hips and left knees perpendicular to your toes.
Step 4: Pause for 2-3 seconds. Then press into right heel to drive back up to starting position.
Step 6: Repeat the same with the other leg.
Lateral Lunges
Step 1: Stand straight on the ground with your feet together and your hands on your hips.
Step 2: Take a big step (about 1 foot) to your right. This is your starting point.
Step 3: Now hinge forward at the hips, push your butt back, and bend your right knee to lower into a lunge position.
Step 3: Pause for a second. Then come back to the starting position.
Step 4: Repeat the same with the alternate leg.