5 Things Missing from Most Exercise Programs
If you exercise regularly, there’s a pretty good chance your program is already well-rounded. It’s not that hard to cover the basics.
You squat, hinge, press, pull, do some cardio, do a core movement. Check out my free ebook Embark to learn more about the basics of strength training.
But eventually, you might start to venture beyond the basics, and start to ask yourself, “what am I missing?”
When answering this question, you could generate an exhaustive list, and it’s a deep hole to go down with near infinite exercises to try to include.
So, a gentle reminder before I list these off that a complete program overhaul is not usually the necessary route.
Sometimes, just looking at some muscles and movements that typically get overlooked can help generate ideas. That’s what this blog is meant to do.
Neck Musculature
Neck flexion, extension, and side bending.
Neck training obviously has applications for athletes, particularly those involved in contact sports, where neck strength and size may play a role in managing forces applied to the head and neck and reduce the risk of concussions.
But you don’t have to be a hockey player or football player to train your neck. There’s some interesting research looking at the relationship between the neck and things like headaches, dizziness, and text neck syndrome. The evidence is mixed, and I wouldn’t frame neck training as a treatment for these conditions, but it’s an interesting area of research.
There’s also some evidence suggesting that neck musculature and neck girth can influence perceptions of masculinity and physical characteristics. I’m not going to go too far down that rabbit hole, but I do think it’s an interesting example of how exercise can overlap with things like social perception and gender stereotypes. Infact, I believe it’s one of the reasons neck-training is skipped.
As for actually training it, you don't need anything complicated.
A simple option is controlling neck flexion or extension using a light plate and a towel while lying down. You can also use dedicated neck harnesses or cables.
The important part is starting light and controlling the movement with caution. Your neck isn't something I’d recommend loading aggressively just because you can.
Shoulder External Rotation
This is one of my favourites because it’s so easy to overlook.
Think about most of the upper-body exercises people do:
Bench press
Incline press
Shoulder press
Pull-ups
Pulldowns
Rows
A lot of the muscles involved in these movements either produce internal rotation or work heavily around the shoulder while the arm is moving through other planes.
Meanwhile, the muscles responsible for external rotation (the infraspinatus and teres minor) aren’t getting much stronger.
When was the last time you specifically trained shoulder external rotation?
If you have to think about it, there’s a good chance the answer is not very recently.
You can do side-lying external rotations with a dumbbell or use a cable or resistance band.
This isn’t a movement I’d recommend seeking really heavy PRs in on a weekly basis, it's about giving a movement that doesn't get much direct attention some space in your routine.
The Quadratus Lumborum
The QL runs between the pelvis and lower ribs, with attachments along the spine.
It contributes to side bending of the trunk and helps to stabilize the spine. It also plays a major role in movements where you hike and stabilize the pelvis (running, hiking, walking, etc.)
You’re likely already training it indirectly.
Squats, deadlifts, running, carries, lunges, etc. These all train the QL through stabilizing the trunk.
But there’s a difference between using a muscle indirectly and training it with intent.
Most core training focuses on heavy flecion, crunches, planks, sit ups, leg raises, etc. Nothing wrong with that.
But, if you want a more complete approach to core training, it makes sense to include a side-bending challenge as well.
Side planks, suitcase carries/deadlifts, and controlled lateral flexions are just some ways you can do this.
The Piriformis
The piriformis is probably one of the most famous “niche” muscles on this list, mostly because it seems to get blamed for everything happening around the glutes.
Its function actually changes depending on the position of the hip, but it’s majour roles are external rotation and a bit of abduction (rotating the upper leg away from you, and spreading the knees).
And once again, people don’t train external rotation directly much. Squats, deadlifts, lunges, and other compounds certainly involve the muscles around the hip.
But, some exploration into direct abduction and external rotation with load can be a useful addition to strengthen the hip, prevent low-back and gluteal pain, and improve capacity.
Side lying hip external rotations, loaded abductions, bowler squats, lateral bounds, hip airplanes, all great options.
The Hip Flexors
This one is particularly interesting because we tend to think of hip flexors as something that are either "tight" or need to be stretched.
But how often do you actually train them?
Most people do plenty of hip extension in all the big compound lifts.
But dedicated hip flexion doesn't tend to make it into many programs, unless in conjunction with core flexion.
And that's despite the hip flexors playing an important role in walking, running, and bringing the thigh toward the torso.
If you spend most of your day sitting, your hip flexors are also spending a lot of time in a shortened position. That doesn't automatically mean they're weak, nor does feeling "tight" necessarily mean a muscle needs to be stretched.
Sometimes, instead of simply stretching something that feels tight, it's worth asking whether you could also benefit from actually strengthening it. Our brain is really good at creatine tension in a muscle when it’s weak to compensate.
Controlled leg raises, resisted marches, cable hip flexion, and other hip-flexion exercises give you the opportunity to do that.
Collecting Corrective Exercises
The point of this blog, as stated initially, wasn’t to convince you your current programming is insufficient.
You also don’t need to add 20-40 minutes of dedicated corrected exercises after your workout, so you don’t fall behind.
Most of these muscles actually work in general movements.
But the bigger point is:
Occasionally, look outside the box of movements you do all the time. If you press constantly, maybe take a few weeks to scale external rotation. If you do a lot of trunk flexion, maybe one day do side bends. If you do hip extension constantly, maybe spice it up with some hip flexion.
And if you’ve never trained your neck, give it a go.
Training everything all the time is not possible. But, occasionally training the stuff you normally don’t is.
