Top 10 Exercise Mistakes: Number 3
This is the next in a series of 10 articles based on the American Council on Exercise’s (ACE) article titled “Top 10 Mistakes People Make in the Gym.” Check the “Related Posts” links at the end of this article or use the “Search This Site” box at the top to find the other articles in this series.
Mistake Number 3: Bad Form
One of the biggest and most frequent mistakes I see in the gym is to use bad form when performing an exercise. Bad form at its worst can lead to strains, sprains, or even more serious and sometimes permanent, injuries. At its least, it renders your exercise ineffective.
Some of the more common examples of bad form usually fall into two categories: (1) doing the wrong exercise and (2), doing the exercise wrong.
Doing the Wrong Exercise
Some people simply should not be doing certain types of exercises. An exercise routine should be matched to a person’s existing condition, their physical body type, and their size and weight. Some people just don’t have the physical range of motion or the muscle structure to benefit from certain types of exercises.
Others may be too big, too short, or too heavy to make proper use of the exercise machines, despite the fact that most machines can be adjusted within a wide range of settings.
I’ll give you a personal example. Years ago, I carried quite a bit more weight in my midsection resulting in a bit of a “beer belly” (even though I don’t drink beer). What did I do? Why run to the gym and jump on the LifeCycle (a stationary bike). I cycled for about an hour before going home feeling pretty good about all the calories I had burned. The next day I could hardly walk.
What happened? Well, I was pretty overweight and most of that weight was in my midsection. As soon as I got on the bike and leaned forward to grab the handlebars, all that weight kind of sagged down between my thighs. In fact, the only way to make room for my sagging belly was to push my knees out to the side — out of alignment, in other words. After an hour of cycling, my knee joints had taken a beating. It’s a wonder they weren’t damaged seriously.
In another case, I saw an instructor put a brand new student, who also smoked, through a pretty intense cardio routine. The new student almost passed out before puking their guts out. The instructor should have modified the routine to better fit the current condition of the new student (who was never seen again, by the way) instead of trying to “force-fit” the student into a cookie-cutter routine.
The point is that there are some exercises, and some exercise machines, that certain types of people shouldn’t be doing. Make sure that your exercise routine is matched to your current physical condition and your body type as well as your height and current weight.
Doing the Exercise Wrong
Most cases of bad form are, by far, people doing an exercise incorrectly. It should be obvious that doing the exercise wrong can lead to physical injury. Not so obvious is that most of your efforts are ineffectual, and that’s a real shame. You only have so much time to get to the gym so why would waste time and energy going through motions that don’t actually work your muscles correctly?
Performing an exercise incorrectly usually include the following:
- Poor or Improper Alignment. In most exercises, especially those involving weights, the large muscles of the body are designed to move in more-or-less straight lines. This is what aligns the entire muscle against the load it’s trying to move. Using bad form or alignment subjects a section of the muscle to an uneven amount of force increasing the chances that the muscle will strain or tear at that point. Before you lift any kind of weight, do a quick mental check to make sure every part of your body is lined up properly.
- Using Too Much Weight. This is more of a “guy thing.” Trying to lift too much weight before your body is conditioned for it can put more force on muscles and joints than they’re capable of handling. Using too much weight also leads to the last item.
- Lack of Controlled Movement. If you’re trying to lift too much weight, you’re not going to be able to control the movement of your muscles through the full range of the exercise. As a result, one of two things will happen: you’ll either “sling the weight” using momentum instead of your muscles to press or push the weights ups, or you’ll shorten your movement by not extending all the way and thereby fail to execute a full rep. In both cases, you’re not working your muscles completely or effectively.
In all cases, if any exercise or exercise movement doesn’t feel comfortable, by all means stop doing it and get some help. Most gyms have trainers on staff that will be happy to show you how to use an exercise machine properly or that can help design an effective exercise routine. Telling them where it hurts or what feels uncomfortable will usually help them come up with modifications to the exercise or adjustments to the machine that you can make in order to better accommodate your specific condition or body type.
Get the most out of your time at the gym by making sure that you’re using good form – doing the right exercise and doing the exercise right.
Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach and
Personal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)
P.S. Be sure to get my latest Fitness Blueprint called “Little Things That Improve Your Health.” This ebook is packed with loads of helpful information on how to build a better body and you can get it FREE – for a limited time. Just click on the title to be taken to the download page. Enjoy!
Technorati Tags: form, weight lifting, weight machines, alignment, biomechanics, posture, muscle strain, injury, exercise, fitness
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