Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 9:20 pm
MarkDidier wrote:tyler4588 wrote:Mountain Impulse wrote:Agree. One thing that's a little difficult is to strengthen those muscle areas equally. It usually is much easier to strengthen quads, for example, than hamstrings, and consequently, people develop imbalances. So keep that in mind and try to work the areas so that one area doesn't stay considerably weaker than other areas.
How do I know when those muscles are strengthened equally?
That's a really good question. Personally, for every set of squats/lunges that I do, I do an equal number of sets of deadlifts. The squats/lunges are more quad dominant and the deadlifts are more hamstring dominant. IMHO, most multi-joint movements hit both the quads and the hams (as the glutes as well) - making sure you get in the deadlifts will help balance things out.
Yes, good question b/c most people don't find out their hamstrings are weak relative to other leg muscle areas until they pull a ham. And yes, hit the hams at least as much as you do quads and glutes. Deadlifts, yes. Have someone show you the different variations so you learn regular, stiff-legged, etc.
Olympic lifts, Power Clean, Clean and Jerk, and especially the Snatch are advanced exercises to be learned only from someone who knows what they're doing. You can't beat them for metabolic challenge, but learn them correctly or you can get hurt.