Lessons for legs: How to correct the most common training errors found in five key lower-body exercises - Target Training

While watching the people working out beside you on leg-training days, have you noticed that although many work out religiously day in and day out, their lower bodies never seem to change? The absence of results is generally not for a lack of effort but rather because most people train ineffectively. Want to get results more quickly, exercise more safely and spend less time in the gym yourself? The key is to train smarter-not harder.

The problem is that most gym-goers learn how to weight train by watching others. They look for the people with the best builds and decide they must know what they're doing, forgetting that many fitness enthusiasts who looks good may have achieved this through a good dose of genetics rather than proper training. Before you know it, you may have picked up bad habits and poor technique just by watching others perform movements incorrectly.

Once you've ingrained a certain movement pattern into your brain, it's especially hard to break-but not impossible Let's examine the most common errors committed during some of the most popular exercises for the lower body, and explain how to fix them. We'll also provide a number of technique tips you can use as reference to ensure you're training correctly.

STEP-UP

WHAT'S WRONG: Most people perform a step-up incorrectly by pushing up from the leg that's in contact with the floor. This produces a forward momentum that causes your knee to move beyond your toes and your upper body to lean into the lift. Actually, the working leg is the one up on the bench or step. To get the most bang for your buck from this exercise, raise your body off the floor by pushing through the foot of your forward leg. Your trailing leg should touch down lightly only for balance.

FIX IT: Stand in front of a bench or step with one foot on the bench. The bench should be at a height that puts your knee in a comfortable position -- a 90-degree bend is often used as a reference point, but this may be too deep an angle for you. (The stronger you get, the deeper the angle you can work from.) Keep your kneecap facing forward and your weight distributed on all four corners of your forward foot. Now slowly step up, pushing up with the leg on the bench, extending your body into a fully upright, balanced position without locking your knee joint. Slowly lower yourself to the starting position. Do all reps for one leg before switching sides.

Standing LEG CURL

WHAT'S WRONG: Many exercisers allow their backs to arch excessively while performing hamstring curls on leg-curl machines. This can cause unnecessary strain and possible injury to your lower back region.

FIX IT: If your back arches much beyond its natural curve, or you begin to lean into the machine with your upper body, decrease the resistance so you can maintain proper form. Position your body so your knees Fall just below the edge of the pad and are even with the machine's pivot point. Adjust the ankle pads so they rest just above your heels. Begin by contracting your hamstrings to curl your lower leg up toward your glutes. For maximal effectiveness, keep your abdominals contracted and your thighs pressed firmly into the pads. Slowly release to return to the starting position, being careful not to hyperextend your knee or let the hamstrings relax.

LEG PRESS

• WHAT'S WRONG: Using a range of motion that's either too short and doesn't work the muscles sufficiently or too large so that your knees come right into your chest, pulling your lower back off the pad and putting excessive pressure on your knees and back.

Leg-press machines come in various positions -- seated, slightly reclined or fully horizontal. Regardless of the particular machine available to you, the technique is fairly similar. If you understand the basic concepts, you'll be able to set yourself up on any variation.

• FIX IT: Start by placing your feet on the platform. If your knees are positioned too close to your chest or you're too far away and can't reach it, adjust the seat. Position the machine so that when you push out, you can fully extend -- but don't lock out -- your legs. When you slowly release the weight, you want to be able to lower it to the point where your knees bend about 90 degrees, a common reference point. (Don't go this low if it feels uncomfortable.)

A leg press is basically just an assisted squat movement, so the technique is somewhat similar to a squat exercise. Be sure your feet are positioned about hip-width apart and firmly planted. As with good squatting technique, when you're in a fully loaded squat position, don't allow your knees to extend past your toes.

LUNGE

WHAT'S WRONG: Stepping forward so that your front knee tracks beyond or too far behind your toes.

When you lunge, your front shinbone should be fixed perpendicular to the ground. If you allow your shinbone to move beyond your toes by taking a relatively short step or your knee tracks far behind your toes because you stepped too far forward, you risk placing excessive forces on your knee.

Some people question this, stating that in sports or daily activities, we're often required to bend down and lunge into a deep forward position. In real life, however, you're doing only one deep lunge at a time and never with dumbbells in hand or a barbell on your back.

FIX IT: For the stationary lunge, stand with one foot forward and the other back, feet approximately hip-width apart. Keep your front knee over the top of your ankle and your back knee underneath or slightly behind your hip. Slowly descend straight down -- your back knee should approach the ground but never touch -- keeping your front knee over the top of your ankle the entire time. Lower only as far as you feel comfortable. Keep your bodyweight positioned over your working (forward) leg. Maintain proper posture and keep your abdominals tight. Do all reps for one leg before switching legs.

SQUAT

WHAT'S WRONG: Rounding your back as you descend or rise puts unwanted pressure on your spine. This might occur if you use too much weight, even if you know proper form, because it's sometimes difficult to identify the problem as you execute the movement.

The squat is a complicated compound movement that requires picture-perfect technique every step of the way. Any number of poor habits can creep into your technique, decreasing the effectiveness of the movement and leading to injury. This is one you'll definitely want to work on with a trained expert to get it right the first time and every time.

FIX IT: Start by standing with your feet about hipwidth apart. Set your posture by keeping your lower back slightly arched, pressing your chest out and up and your shoulders back and down. Start by slowly squatting as if you're sitting on a chair while keeping your kneecaps pointing forward and, of critical importance, your head up (looking back at yourself in the mirror at eye level). Try to keep your weight equally distributed on all four corners of your feet throughout the movement. Descend to a comfortable position, typically about where your thighs are near parallel to the floor; longer-limbed individuals might have trouble going that low. Your upper body will come forward slightly while your glutes travel back, but keep the arch in your lower back and your head up. To come back up, press through your feet and push your hips forward in a smooth but strong motion.

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