Oh man, the question “What bodypart does that work?” drives me bananas.
First off, “bodypart” is a word made up by the bodybuilding industry.
Seriously. Here’s what happens when you search for it in Mirriam-Webster or Dictionary.com:
Focusing on “bodyparts” is pointless. You hear people talking about biceps day, triceps day, shoulders day. But you’ll never hear someone say “It’s flexor hallucis longus day!” (Except me, and that’s because I’m a dork)
Besides bodypart being a fake word, what cheeses me off about “What does that work?” is if you’re worrying about what muscle you’re working, you’re probably not focusing on the important things… Like working freaking hard!
Look at this gymnast:
Do you think he asks his coach what muscle the pommel horse works? Hell no! He gets up there and busts ass to be awesome.
The key to getting results from your training program is this: Train MOVEMENTS, not MUSCLES.
There are 7 fundamental human movements. These movements are the squat, bend/hinge, lunge, push, pull, twist, and gait/locomotion.
Take the lunge as an example. You can perform thousands of different lunge variations. The ValSlide Lunge works ankle mobility, foot strength, knee stability, hip extension, knee extension, hip stability, core strength, balance, proprioception, posture, metabolic conditioning, and much more. Yet when someone asks “What bodypart does that work?” I sigh and say “Butt and Hamstrings.”
The best exercises for transforming your body won’t be done on a machine designed to isolate one muscle group. You’ll raise your metabolism and build a tight body by focusing on those 7 fundamental human movements.
On the youtube page for the rocking chair video below, someone actually asked what muscles it develops!
Not to sound supercilious, but WHO CARES? “Bodypart” training is geography, not physiology.
That take home message for today is: Stop worrying about what muscles each exercise work. Instead, focus on working hard on variations of the 7 fundamental human movements and you will totally rock your body.
