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The toe bone links to the foot bone, which then attaches to the heel bone. James Weldon Johnson's delightful song "Dem Dry Bones" helped us comprehend the kinetic chain as children. The song accurately describes the fundamentals of the kinetic chain workout, which includes both open and closed chain workouts. Certified personal trainer Hannah Shine recommends introducing kinetic chain movements into workouts to boost strength, enhance balance and coordination, and lower the chance of injury.
Depending on how into working out you are, you may or may not be familiar with kinetic chain workouts. However, if you want to raise your gym game and amaze everyone around you, try using the kinetic chain. Here's a summary of these exercises and how to incorporate them into your next sweat session. Let the scrolling begin!
What Is Kinetic Chain Exercise?
Kinetic chain exercises are motions that use the mechanical engineering idea of kinetics.The kinetic chain theory claims that our body's joints and segments are inextricably linked.The movement of one of them initiates a chain reaction that affects all nearby joints and segments that are related to it. During kinetic chain activities, your body's distal parts either remain stationary or move freely in space. To further comprehend the kinetic chain, observe how your body moves when doing wall throws.
- To begin the workout, place your feet firmly on the ground, tense your core, and gently bend your arms.
- This helps your legs, belly, and arms produce force to initiate the throwing action.
- Finally, your arms move to release the ball.
All these steps occur as a chain reaction helping the exercise target the upper body muscles. It makes the moment a perfect open kinetic chain exercise.
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Types Of Kinetic Chain Exercises
Kinetic chain exercises may be "closed" or "open," depending on the position of the body parts farthest from the center.These distal portions, such as your hands and feet, may be fixed or move freely.
Closed-Chain Exercises
Closed kinetic chain workouts are those in which the distal points of a limb are fixed. In these exercises, the distal sections may be on the floor or tethered to a stationary object such as a Plyo box or a bar.Push-ups are an excellent illustration of this kind of kinetic workout. When doing them, you attach your hands and feet to the ground while moving the rest of your body. A pull-up is a closed-chain exercise since the hands are fixed to the bar.
These workouts may or may not need gym equipment or weights. A 2021 YouGov survey found that bodyweight exercise, such as push-ups, is the most popular type of personal workout in the US (15%) and UK (11%), while weighted bodyweight exercises are preferred by 13% and 9%, respectively.
Another feature of these workouts is that they all include complex motions that target numerous muscles and joints. As a result, they give a more robust metabolic response due to increased energy consumption. As a result, these activities are most effective for those looking to modify their body composition.
Open-Chain Exercises
Open kinetic chain workouts include allowing the distal tip of a particular limb to move freely in space.For example, when you do overhead tricep extensions, your hands do not rest on the ground or remain stationary. Instead, they move the dumbbell up and down. Bench press and bicep curls are other exercises that use the open kinetic chain.
Unlike closed-chain exercises, these routines do not include complex motions. Instead, they focus on a particular joint and only stimulate the muscles connected with that body part throughout the action. Open-chain workouts allow you to isolate and strengthen certain body parts. These workouts are ideal for bodybuilders and patients receiving physiotherapy.
We now know there are two types of kinetic chain exercises. How different are the open and closed kinetic chain exercises? Let us have a look.
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Major Benefits Of Kinetic Chain Exercises
- May Improve Joint Stability
According to one research, both kinetic chain workouts are beneficial for those who have injured their anterior cruciate ligament (which stabilizes the knee joint). Closed-chain motions, which have fixed distal endpoints, emphasize joint compression and stabilize joints. Furthermore, open-chain workouts distribute the strain across surrounding muscles.Many physical therapists utilize open and closed-chain exercises in kinetic chain physical therapy.
- May Improve Functional Fitness
Incorporating kinetic chain movements into your workout program will significantly improve your functional fitness. Closed-chain workouts help improve the dynamic balance required for displacing oneself. Our regular activities include both closed and open kinetic chain actions. Whether you're crouching down to get something up, putting a container on the top shelf of your cupboard, or going up the stairs, there's movement everywhere. This is why it is critical to practice on the daily skills that will improve your life.
- May Improve Muscle Strength
Functional fitness and muscular strength go hand in hand. Both open and closed chain movements improve muscular strength Furthermore, open-chain workouts after anterior cruciate ligament restoration may play an important role in knee function (5). They target certain muscles to do specific actions. This manner, they can assist you keep your activities on track. However, open-chain motions alone do not provide enough joint stability. To improve kinetic chain mobility, joint and muscle health, and general fitness, include a balanced mix of open and closed-chain moments throughout your training.
- May Improve Metabolic Rate
Closed kinetic chain exercises include everyday moments like push-ups, squats, and lunges that work on multiple muscles simultaneously. These moments require a lot of energy expenditure that, in turn, boosts the metabolic rate and helps burn fat. Further, open-chain movements work on specific muscles to strengthen them and help perform closed-chain activities better to spend extra calories.
- May Promote Strength And Muscle Gain
A research found that open and closed-chain pulley machine workouts improve muscular strength in the trunk region . This section contains the muscles in your chest, belly, pelvis, and back. Kinetic chain movements are ideal for recreational athletes who want to make the greatest use of their bodies for their activity since they assist create stronger muscles in a safe manner.