bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Are you working out in the right way?  Anfernee Leung, a strength conditioning coach and co-founder of Core Functional Fitness  in Kowloon, gives his take on what works and what doesn't.
Bad move: lateral pulldown behind the neck
 The lateral pulldown is an exercise that targets your upper back and biceps, but executing the exercise the wrong way can expose you to injury. If you're pulling the bar behind your neck, the front part of your shoulder joint gets the brunt of the load, and this can expose you to a rotator cuff injury. 
 Do this: pull the bar down to the front of your body, towards your chin or, if you can, your collarbone. For the best muscle-building benefit, visualise your shoulder blades coming together as you execute the motion. 
 Bad move: chest fly machine
 This looks like a good exercise for your chest, but in reality it overstretches your frontal deltoid (shoulder) muscles and can cause your rear deltoids to stiffen up. As such, this movement can cause shoulder impingement syndrome (the compressing of a shoulder tendon). 
 Do this: go with exercises such as the dumbbell bench press, dumbbell incline press or push-up, as they don't tax your shoulders at unnatural angles and are the best way to build or tone your chest muscles. Research has shown that pectoral muscles are activated up to 23 per cent more during the bench press compared with when doing the chest fly. 
 Bad move: abduction and adduction machine
 'People flock to these machines in search of thinner thighs,' says Leung. This exercise is performed seated on the machine with your legs straight, moving along an outward or inward arc against padded leg braces. While it appears that the movement hits the problem spots, it really works only a small portion of the leg muscles. 
 Do this: perform  squats or lunges instead to target the entire leg muscle and glutes at the same time. 
 Bad move: lying double leg raises
 This movement is performed lying on your back while raising both legs at the same time, targeting your abdominal and lower back muscles. But it places a huge amount of strain on your lower back. So in this case, the risks outweigh the benefits.
 Do this: raise one leg at a time while keeping your other leg bent. Aim to keep your hips and back stable on the ground while you are doing this exercise. 
 Bad move: deep knee bend squats
 You'll see some advanced strength athletes advocating a 'rock-bottom' squat for maximum strength gains, but Leung advises against this extreme. A deep squat - with your glutes nearly touching the ground - can over-stress and injure your knee joint. What's more, if you add weight, you'll face a higher chance of injury. 
 Do this: focus on bending your knees until they reach a 90-degree angle - then push yourself back up.  'Squat until your knees are parallel with the ground, and you'll get maximum benefit with lower risk,' Leung says.  Bad move: back extension bench
 This exercise is performed when you lie face down on a downward-sloping bench, before raising your back upwards - like a backwards sit-up. Although Leung concedes that this exercise does engage the lower back muscles in a significant way, he believes  most people can't see how far their torso rises, so they over-extend the range of motion. 
 Do this: get a gym instructor to spot your movement, or use a lower back machine to set boundaries for your range of motion and prevent injury. 
 Bad move: sit-up
 This abdominal exercise staple can actually do more harm than good. 'Most of the work to get the body upright is performed by your hip flexors and back muscles,' says Leung. 'Raise your body too quickly, or move your body out of alignment, and your chance of straining your back increases.'
 Do this: do a crunch instead. While the range of motion seems small, it targets abdominal muscles more effectively without the risk of injury. 
 Bad move: upright row
 It looks like a good exercise for strengthening your shoulders and trapezius muscles, but it has the potential to cause a shoulder injury. Raising the barbell or dumbbell too high can lead to shoulder impingement syndrome. 
 Do this: skip the upright row and focus on the shoulder exercise staples of overhead presses, dumbbell laterals and barbell or dumbbell shrugs.



Muscle in on new moves