The importance of fitness and exercise has been growing in popularity for a few decades now. It has now been given the status it needs due to the steady progression in heart problems and obesity. Primarily the popularity of indoor workouts like yoga, Pilates, cross fit and so on are becoming more mainstream. These exercises have grown in popularity through the years due to its versatility and convenience. You can easily do these exercises at home with no need of expensive equipment. Though, Exercise without proper training and supervision can lead to injury.
We are always at risk of getting an injury when exercising, but there are often mistakes we make that limit the progress we make during our exercises. We’ve asked some fitness and health experts about the common mistakes we make during exercise and how to avoid them. Whether you’re newbie to exercising or an athlete, there is a chance you are making at least one of these
common mistakes. Look through the list below of the common mistakes in exercising and how to correct them.
Poor Form on Simple Abdominal Crunches
Abdominal crunches are one of the most commonly used exercises to trim the abdominal area. This exercise can help tone the upper abdominal area, but this common exercise is often done wrong. The important part of this exercise is the form. During ab crunches it is important to avoid placing your hands behind your head or leaving them to your sides. This may increase the risk of neck strain, shoulder pain, disc injury and migraines. Experts advise to switch their ab crunches for the reverse crunch. This exercise requires you to lie on your back, your hands underneath your lower back and bending your knees towards your chest. This will still tone your stomach muscles without causing any strain to your neck, shoulders and back. Repeat this exercise 10 times for two sets.
Motionless Stretching Before a Workout
It is important to stretch before working out, but it’s not always applicable. There are times where stretching your muscles can cause damage. It is said that stretching your muscles before it is completely warmed up can cause it to weaken. Also known as rubber band muscles, the process of stretching before warming up the muscles will weaken the muscles causing it to lose power and strength during your workout. Making you more prone to injury, instead of cold stretching your muscles; experts recommend performing warm up exercises to help circulate the blood and lubricate the joints. Perform
stretching after and you’ll experience better flexibility.
Running Too much and Too Hard
Running is one of the best and most popular exercise. It requires no equipment and can act as a cardio and muscle strengthening exercise. This can also help make the lungs, core and heart stronger. Though, too much of a good thing can be dangerous. Since running requires repetitive motions, this increases the risk of overusing certain muscles and joints. Overrunning can affect your spine, leg, lower extremities and feet. Expert advice to increase the distance of running by 10 percent each week. This will allow your muscles to adjust to the distance and give it enough rest.
Too Much Sitting
Some of us spend most of our time sitting during our commute and work, we don’t really want to spend most of our workout sitting, right? Sitting down to strengthen our backs, shoulders and biceps are the traditional way of exercising, though this can decrease the time we spent on our core and legs. It is best to train while standing up. This allows your core and legs to function better. This can help work out your arm, core and leg at the same time.
Movements from the Joints Not the Muscle
The importance of form when it comes to exercise is important. When performing exercises using the wrong for you are more likely to place pressure on your joints instead of your muscles. This will cause more damage on your joints and reduce the efficiency of your workout. Expert advice to perform the
exercise in slow motion. This will help engage your muscles and reduce pressure on the joints.
Fixing these common exercising mistakes doesn’t need to be hard. All you need is to follow the right form and heed form these tips and you’ll be helping your body. Which of these common exercising mistakes have you been making? Share with us your exercising blunders and how you fixed them.
