Hitting the gym or going for ten-mile runs is good for your health, but only if you approach it in the right way. Learning how to exercise correctly can reduce pain and get the best out of your workouts.
If you exercise the wrong way, you can potentially damage your body to a point where you may be unable to do exercise in the future.
Many experienced trainers regret exercising in the wrong way when they were younger. Once they hit their 30s or 40s, they start feeling all of the consequences of failing to follow the proper protocols.
In this post, I will take a look at how to exercise correctly and avoid trouble later.
Start Slowly
When people go on a fitness kick, they often want to do everything at once. They push their bodies to the limit, expecting them to adapt.
Unfortunately, the opposite tends to happen, even to young people. The body simply isn’t ready for the kind of stimulus it is getting, and something breaks,
The trick here is to start slowly and build up from there. Don’t go all out at the beginning. Rather, take your time, ease into it, and do training that doesn’t leave you feeling exhausted afterward.
Discuss Your Injuries With A Physiotherapist
Going to a physio and talking to them about any pre-existing injuries that you have is another good idea.
They can show you how you should exercise to keep your body healthy and avoid damage as your training progresses. They will also show you movements that will help you fix weak areas, giving you more strength overall.
Keep The Weight Low
During resistance training, it is tempting to crank the weight up to the maximum. However, this approach is ill-advised.
Excessive weight puts tremendous pressure on joints, increasing the likelihood that they will fail over time.
For this reason, it’s a good idea to keep the weight low and do exercises with perfect form. Make the movement as difficult as you can (by performing the full range of motion slowly) instead of simply trying to lift a higher weight.
This way, you’ll protect your body and build greater strength long-term.
Remember You Can Get A Good Workout Just Using Bodyweight
While many people love to load up barbells and see how much weight they can heave off the floor, you don’t actually need any equipment to get a good resistance workout.
Using your body weight is often more than enough to tax your muscles.
If you want a little extra resistance, you might want to try using exercise bands. These are great for training your hamstrings, quads, hips, and triceps.
Avoid Short Movements
While some advanced trainers use short movements to target specific areas of muscle, they’re not helpful for the majority of people.
Failing to perform the full range of movement can lead to muscle imbalances that lead to injury later on.
Train Antagonistic Muscles
Lastly, ensure that you always train antagonistic muscles. For instance, complement shoulder press with lat pulldowns or chest press with seated rows.
Make sure that muscles at the front and rear of the body are equally strong.
Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash
