Lever 2000 – Using the principles of leverage to get a better workout

Just when I was wondering what I would write my next article about, it hit me like a ton of bricks while watching a Mike Boyle DVD for the second time this morning. When I first started training I used to have my weaker clients perform pushups from the knees. But the problem came when I wouldn’t be able to tell them exactly why it was easier, it just was.

About 5 years later, I knew that it was the lever arm that caused movements to be easier or more difficult. This same lever arm applied to the TRX straps as well. If you lay down underneath the strap and took it even one step further and put the feet up on a bar, the exercise gets pretty damn hard. Anyway, before I ramble on anymore, the issue of the lever arm is an important one in training. I feel that YOU must know about this for your own training or for your clients programs.

The longer the lever arm is, the more force must be produced to overcome that force. This is a reason why most girls have to start with bent knee pushups. They lack the upper body strength for ‘full lever’ pushups. Shorten the lever arm and presto, you can now do a version of pushups. Think about how this could apply for you making the pushup harder as some of your higher level clients or athletes may need. (Raise the feet up).

If you are doing either TRX rows, inverse rows or laterals, this same principal can be applied. In the inverse row or TRX row, the more upright your body is, the easier the exercise. You can also use this principal to make the exercise last longer by continually re-adjusting the lever arm. When performing laterals with dumbbells, you can really overload the complex by performing bent arm or L-laterals in which the dumbbell is closer to the shoulder.

Now, for the controversial part. Many power lifters will apply this principal by putting the bar a little lower on their back during the squat. As they get better at this, they may or may not be getting stronger, but they are lifting more weight because they are shortening the lever arm. This is not a good way to train if you are training for sport or bodybuilding. If you are a power lifter, the name of the game is to lift as much weight as possible, so we have a different story. This is also the reason that you can lift a lot more weight in a rack dead lift than a full range of motion deadlift. This principal can be applied for your advantage, but be careful if you or your athletes are using it just for bigger numbers.

As a little extra, you can use a lever to create success in all areas of your life. Leverage is huge when it comes to making it to the top. You must learn to take any opportunity in your life and leverage it 10 different ways to make it the most profitable to yourself. Too many people do not do this and they wonder why their life is the same year after year. Take a meeting with one person and turn it into a meeting with 10 others. Just some food for thought.

If you would like more tips on health and fitness visit http://www.fitnessassessment.net/