Ever feel like your body is just a slight bit off during some major muscle group workouts? Maybe you just can’t get quite low enough into your squat, or those weighted, walking lunges feel just a bit too wobbly. Here are three often-forgotten muscles and their accompanying exercises to help you strengthen them.
Forearm Extensors
All too often in our weightlifting efforts are we going hard on the biceps, triceps, shoulders, and back muscles. But one aspect we forget to exercise is our forearm extensors. Why is it important, you ask? This small group of muscles actually help us grip our weights. Forgetting to train this area of our body could lead to injury, like a tweaked wrist.
Exercise:
This is probably the easiest exercise you’ll ever do – grip a tennis ball in your hand and squeeze and release for a set of 10 reps. Repeat this exercise 3 times for a full set and practice it a few times a week.
Hamstrings
Most individuals are very quad dominant, which means most of their natural strength and weightlifting efforts is exerted and honed in on their quad muscles. This often causes a lack of strength in the accompanying hamstring muscles located in the upper back of the leg. While deadlifts, lunges, and squats hit these muscles directly, it’s often not enough to really add additional strength.
Exercise:
A hamstring curl using an exercise ball is one of the best ways to target this muscle group. Check out this step-by-step video on how to do this balancing move.
Hip Flexors
Typically the main culprit of low back pain, tight hip flexors can also cause poor posture, stiffness in the neck and upper back, and even pain in the glutes.
Exercise:
A seated straight leg raise is one of the simplest ways to workout this unique muscle group. On the floor, you’ll sit upwards. One leg is bent at the knee and the other leg is extended straight out, running parallel with the floor. Use your hands to hold your bent knee for support, while you pulse upwards with the straight leg, keeping your toes pointed towards the ceiling. Work in sets of 10 reps with a 1-minute rest in between.
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