Mere appearance of strong muscles may be deceiving

Q: I tend to skip exercises for my calves and hamstrings when strength training because I think they look fine and seem to be strong. But a friend says I need to work all of my muscles — even if I am happy with their appearance. Why should I train these muscles if I already like the way they look? Shouldn’t I spend more time on the muscle groups that I feel I need to improve?

A: If you are a bodybuilder, then the answer may be yes. However, for the general population, I would have to answer no.

It is not enough to rely just on the appearance of your muscles to determine whether or not they are strong and functioning properly. Muscles that are tight can “appear” to be strong, yet actually be weak. The tightness really indicates the body’s contraction of the muscles to compensate for lack of strength and/or stability. Completing a workout that includes the total body within each plane of motion will enable you to keep strong muscles strong and also improve the strength of weaker ones.

Your muscles work together as a team, and as with any successful team, everyone has to work together to win. Each muscle group has a responsibility within the body to perform a certain function. Although each group may work fine independently, if they cannot function efficiently and synergistically with the other muscle groups, your body cannot work to its fullest potential.

When developing a well-balanced workout program, it is important to focus on the muscle groups that are weaker and keep you from moving effectively through their range of motion. But it is equally important to maintain or improve the flexibility, strength and control of all other muscles.

Exercisers often work what they can see and what is noticeable to other people. Since the calves and hamstrings aren’t as popular as abdominals, biceps and triceps, they often get neglected. Regardless of the muscle’s appearance, it cannot get stronger or remain strong if you are not exercising it.

There is another important factor to consider. Even though we are growing stronger when exercising, this strength also works to stabilize our joints. The more balanced each muscle group is, the more stable your joints can be. For example, strengthening the muscles of your hamstrings will help support your knee joint. Lack of support in that area could potentially lead to future physical issues.

Keep in mind that you want your body to not just “look” strong, but to actually “be” strong.