Don't let it go to your head

We’ve all seen someone at the gym doing a bicep curl, jutting his chin out in an '80s dance move (Walk Like an Egyptian, anyone?). What he doesn’t realize is that while his little dance move may make it easier to execute curls, it’s keeping him from effectively working the muscles he wants to build.

Most of the muscles in the neck, shoulder and spine connect at the base of the skull. That means when you change the position of your head, you change the degree of the difficulty of movement which can diminish your results.

You need to make sure that you aren’t using other muscles to move the area you want to work. The best way to do that is to keep the rest of the body perfectly still. When you do that it:

• Gives you more stability, which helps avoid injury
• Allows you to focus on the specific area, making it easier for you to control the motion
• Becomes more effective, because you work only the muscles you are targeting
  

People use their heads all the time during activity, and we don’t mean that they’re thinking. Here are a few times of when it is likely to happen:

• On the treadmill: it’s easy to bob your head especially when you’re listening to music
• Doing chin-ups: if your arms get tired and you want to get to the top, it is easy to extend your neck for that last bit to get you over the bar
• With bicep curls: jutting the chin out to get momentum
• While running: leading with your chin when you are running, generally from looking down at the terrain
  

So, heads up, people. Keep them up, keep them still, and you’ll get a better workout.

Originally published in Grosse Pointe Today.