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How You Can Vary Exercises with Lever Length

In workouts, the way in which you lift loads and the alignment of the body plays a big role. When you think of the word lever, the first thing that may come in your mind is something like lifting a heavy object, a crowbar, or anything to do with construction. However, in this case, the lever refers to a series of body parts. The human body contains a sequence of levers, and therefore, the closer the load to fulcrum, it means the easier it is to lift. Learning to lift weights requires the right approach and a Coquitlam fitness instructor can assist you in that.

You can consider the shoulder to be a lateral raise. Therefore, when you lift, you start with the harms straight where they hold the weights by side, then you raise them by creating a slight bend until the arms reach a parallel position to the floor while the palms face down. You can vary the lever length and create a variation in your workout.

In this variation, the move is done by having the arms almost in straight line meaning that the weight is placed far away from body. Usually, when you have this variation, it makes it difficult to perform the move especially with heavy weights because of issues to do with biomechanical disadvantage.

You can consider a variation of same move but this time, instead of having to start with straight arms by the side, you try to bend the elbows at about 90 degrees then do the lateral raise while at the same time keeping the bend at 90 degrees. You will find that the exercise becomes easier since the weight has come closer to the fulcrum or your shoulder.

Therefore, you are even able to perform it using heavier weights. This is a typical example of the basic biomechanical principle, which can be used to make exercises harder or easier. You can learn these and more other tips on varying exercises by consulting with a Coquitlam fitness instructor.