Consumer Article: The Top 10 Workout Technique Mistakes
By Larry Track
1. Holding on for dear life on the stairclimber Hold on lightly and with good posture. Even better, try hands-free; swinging your arms promotes more calorie burning and improves your balance.
2. The triceps swing Never bring your forearms higher than 90 degrees when performing a triceps pressdown. Doing so involves other muscles and takes work away from your triceps.
3. Holding your breath Inhale during the negative motion, and exhale during the positive motion of an exercise. For example, inhale on the down phase of a squat and exhale as you stand back up.
4. Dumbbell music Don’t hit dumbbells together during any exercise. When you bang dumbbells, you lose control and the contraction of your muscles.
5. The stretch dance Don’t bounce while stretching. Instead, hold the position; bouncing can cause injury.
6. The swan lunge Don’t let your knees go past your toes during any exercise. This is most common during the lunge. To avoid knee injuries, think about moving in a vertical plane.
7. The neck crunch Don’t pull on your neck when you do ab crunches. Let your head rest in your hands, and pick a spot to focus on. If you lose that spot, you’re probably pulling on your neck.
8. Flapping wing curls Be sure there’s no space between your elbows and the sides of your body when performing biceps curls.
9. Heavy feet Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! Being an aggressive runner is fine, but be light on your feet. To avoid injuries, try to glide rather then bounce or pound.
10. Not drinking water Lack of water decreases your energy level, and fatigue almost always leads to poor technique.
Larry Track is the owner of Track Fitness in Toronto. Contact him at 416-544-8677 or visit www.trackfitness.com.
Do you have a “Top Ten” list – about anything fitness related – that you’d like to share? Send it to stephen@fitnet.ca.
Popularity: 8% [?]
