ten injury-prone training moves
"Any part of your body is at risk of injury if you don't have enough mobility in every joint to perform the exercise safely," Is a statement that everyone must remember, especially if you are new to the gym.
Even with a trainer present, people who go to the gym, racing drivers and athletes who are professional athletes can still get injured. But if you don't take heart, the cost and time of rehabilitation can really add up.
Want to know which workouts are the most dangerous?
While any workout with poor technique can put you at risk, some movements are more likely to go wrong than others. Which exercises can get you into rehab if done wrong?
1. Air pedalling
remove this movement from the mid-training movements as soon as possible.
When the exerciser alternates between powering the lower abdomen from side to side, the tension of the abdominal muscles is lost and the lower back is twisted around with little or no support. High speed rotation can lead to herniated discs and muscle spasms. In addition, many people grab the back of their heads and stretch their necks back and forth, and their cervical spine can be injured.
Your best bet is to slow down the pace of your movements considerably if you feel you have to go through with the movement.
2. Back of neck pull down
if you don't realise that your body is in the wrong position, you won't be able to avoid injury.
When your head is tilted forward, the pull-down puts a lot of pressure on the anterior joint capsule of the shoulder, which can eventually lead to impingement or even a rotator cuff tear. If you have any discomfort in your shoulder, stop and do another exercise. If you do the pull-down in front of your head, it is a much safer way to go.
3. Kettlebell swings
yes, this is one of the best strengthening exercises. The problem:It requires perfect technique.
While many people think this exercise is all about the arms, it is actually powered by your lower body, especially the hips and the back of your legs. It is important to learn the correct way to move before you start swinging heavy weights.
Due to the speed and force of the kettlebell swing, there is a high risk of injury to the shoulder. If the movement is not correct, repetitive swings can lead to rotator cuff injury or inflammation of other structures in the shoulder. Always make sure that the energy comes from the gluteus maximus and the posterior hamstrings.
4. Prone row
this movement is good for the shoulders and upper back, but often bending at the waist and flexing the lumbar spine too much can cause the discs to shift backwards and possibly impinging on the nerves. Hoisting at the waist can also cause your shoulders to roll forward, which can lead to poor posture (and is often counterproductive to the rowing motion).
if you are rowing, try face down with a yoga ball or bench to assist.
5. Romanian hard pull
if performed correctly, they are a great workout for the back and hips. However, if you don't know what you're doing, the hard pull is one of the easiest moves to injure your back. Why?
Most commonly, a person will hyperextend from the lower back as they lower and lift the weight, which can lead to lumbar disc injuries or muscle spasms. In other words, many lifters will turn their back backwards when picking up or lowering the bar, and they usually don't even realise it.
In addition, if the weight is not distributed correctly over the feet and moved too far forward, then the gluteus maximus and hamstrings will not move and the lumbar extensors will over-activate, which in turn can lead to lower back spasms, and if you are new to this we recommend that you seek help from a coach.
6. Overhead squat
lifting anything overhead is a challenge to your body and even more so to your nervous system. Add a squat to the mix, and this position will soon be thrown out the window.
Squats are a total body workout; for example, if a person's hips, knees and ankles aren't flexible enough, it's hard for them to get down into a deep squat, even without the stress of squatting." "The actual overhead movement increases the stress on the shoulders, neck, thoracic and lumbar spine areas.
If you insist on attempting this movement, make sure that you stop descending once your form is compromised. When your lower back arches excessively, your knees come forward over your toes or your arms move forward, stop. No matter how deep that is, that's the limit of your squat.
7. Backwards medicine ball spin (throwing and catching at the wall)
in the spin and swing movements of most sports (think: Swinging a baseball bat or golf club), the most powerful part of the movement is the body rotating forward, not backward.
From an athlete's perspective, rotating backwards does not help the client. We recommend opting for medicine ball throwing rotation power, but only laterally and throwing the ball forward.
8. Seated leg curls and extensions
it may be time to reconsider whether to use this equipment as others are using it. It may actually do more harm than good. Using a leg extension machine doesn't work - there is no natural movement in life if you are sitting with your knees straight and carrying 50kg of weight. When you isolate any muscle and put a lot of weight on it, you risk creating a muscle imbalance. Also, many people do this exercise by flexing their toes and overworking already tight muscles, such as the hip flexors.
It can also put excessive stress on your knee joint, affecting the delicate cartilage under the patella.
Need another option? Try deep squats.
9. Pull-ups
can't do 20 in a row? This may not be a bad thing. This exercise targets the latissimus dorsi, which is one of the most underutilised muscles in the body, especially for women. In order to reap the benefits of pull-ups, the latissimus dorsi must be activated.
You need to lift your chest and tuck your abdomen and use your elbows to drive the pull. Most people cannot do these movements correctly because their latissimus dorsi is not working, or is not strong enough, so the body compensates by using the smaller arms and chest. This can lead to short chests, tight chests or worse, shoulder problems.
Before you start trying this movement, learn pull-ups with a booster band and check your movements in front of a mirror or with a qualified trainer.
10. Priest's bench curl
in fact, the purpose of doing the priest's bench curl is to activate the biceps, but this position leaves the rest of your body vulnerable.
It puts the muscles in a state of under-activity, which means the muscles have shortened, and puts your shoulders in a forward leaning position and abduction, which means they are further apart because your shoulder blades are in the wrong position and your posture is forward, so your core or latissimus dorsi group cannot be stabilised.
a general seated bicep curl is probably better.
While there may not be any 'bad' training movements, the execution of these movements may be 'bad'. When in doubt, seek the advice of a trainer to ensure that your movements are spot on.