Never Do These Things When Working Out

Want your workout to be as safe and effective as possible? Then be sure that you don’t do the things discussed below.

Holding your breath

Holding your breath when exercising is a bad idea, especially when it comes to weight training. Indeed, if your face goes red when lifting you are likely to be unconsciously doing the Valsalva Maneuver, which can be very bad news for your health.

This is because if you hold your breath as you train it will cause blood to surge into your heart, which in turn can interrupt your natural cardiac rhythm. This can be very bad for your blood pressure if you have an increased risk of hypertension.

To avoid the dangers of holding your breath when training with weights it’s a good idea to make sure that you exhale as you lift.

Don’t let your knees go where they want

If squats are a regular part of your fitness routine, you need to watch your knee placement. This is because if your knees splay out in different directions as you squat it can cause you some serious issues with knee pain in the long run.

The good news is that the solution to this issue is simple. All you need to do is to make sure your knees always track out over your feet, no matter what position your feet are in. That means even if you are doing a wide squat be sure to look down and check that your knees and feet are parallel as you move.

Lose good posture

Good posture is a vital aspect of working out properly, and if you lose your posture you can do all sorts of damage to your joints, muscles, and even ligaments. To prevent putting too much pressure on any of these areas you must maintain good posture, with your spin staying aligned as you move. In this way, you can support your back, head, and neck and avoid unnecessary injury.

Ignore pain

Pain can be a tricky one to deal with when working out as there is nearly always some discomfort when we are pushing our bodies. However, it is a good idea to draw a line between pain and discomfort and to stop when the sensation goes over this line.

For example, muscle soreness is common, but if it exceeds 5/10 on your subjective pain scale then it may be better to take a rest day or work in another area. Similarly, if you have a sudden onset of back pain, it’s safer to skip your workout. You may also want to go to urgent medical attention if the situation requires it too.

Not completing the full range of movement

If you are working out, but not completing the full range of motion of the exercise, you could be missing out on maximizing your workout benefits. Indeed, working out with your full range of motion means more fat-burning, and better gains, so be sure that when you do work out you’re not selling yourself short.

Your trainer and friend,

Never Do These Things When Working Out

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