The training on the butterfly is popular among athletes because of the simplicity or the quick learning and in addition, the power equipment also belongs to one of the most popular power equipment because of the high effectiveness for the target muscles. If you want to train on the butterfly, you often have to "queue up" until it's your turn, because women as well as men occupy this device in the gym all the time. The reason is that with the Butterfly especially the chest muscles (musculus pectoralis major) as well as the front shoulder muscles (musculus deltoideus pars clavicularis) are stressed and trained.
Getting started with the butterfly
Even if, as already mentioned, training with the butterfly is very simple, you should never forego the instruction of an experienced athlete or trainer in the execution of the exercise. This way, the Butterfly will be explained to you in detail and the settings will be made according to your body size. In addition, the instructor will correct the typical mistakes that can be made on the Butterfly from the beginning, if you make them.
So you learn from the beginning exactly how the perfect starting position has to look like, and also explains the individual settings of the Butterfly. Here it is important to make sure that the seat is adjusted so that the knees form a 90 degree angle and the handles of the butterfly must be at the height of the chest. Especially for smaller people there is the problem that they can't reach the floor with their feet when the seat position is adjusted. But they do not have to give up the workout with the butterfly, because here, for example, a stool that is placed under the feet can help.
The most common mistakes that are made when working out on the butterfly:
- The upper body is used to gain momentum - this means that the athlete visibly supports the pectoral muscle here with his upper body, as it detaches from the pad when the handles are brought together and moves forward. This is a falsification of the exercise and, moreover, you are cheating yourself, because you will thus not achieve the intended training effect.
- The arms are completely stretched out - In this very common mistake on the Butterfly, no slight bending of the elbow joints is visible, but on the contrary, they are bolt upright and are even partially overstretched. However, this significantly increases the wear and tear on the elbow joint and also hides a risk of injury.
- While the bars are moved forward, the arms are bent - if you use your triceps and biceps to move the bars forward, you are hardly training your chest!
If you avoid these three most common mistakes on the butterfly, then you can count on an optimal training result.
How to train correctly with the butterfly.
To train effectively and efficiently with the butterfly, I must first get into the correct starting position. To do this, you sit on the pad of the Butterfly and press your back and buttocks against the back pad. Then the two handles are grasped with the hands in a normal grip position. Both arms must be parallel to the floor and at the same height as the chest. It is important that the arms are never fully extended, but that the elbows are always slightly bent. Thus, as already described, injuries can be minimized and wear and tear on the elbow joints can be avoided. The feet are firmly planted on the floor and the legs are spread. Then the hands are brought together with the handle bars in front of the chest. During the rotational movement of the shoulders, the arms should be extended almost, but never fully. Falsifying the exercise on the butterfly in no way does not lead to the desired training success, so you should focus on the correct execution of the exercise on the butterfly from the beginning.
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Editorial fitnessmarkt.de (EA)
Image credit: #142319366 skumer AdobeStock_
Published on: 22 April 2015