06 Mar Exploring the Importance of Using the Proper Form When Exercising

Are you certain you are performing your exercises properly?  When working out on an exercise bike, elliptical or treadmill, it is fairly easy to follow the proper form.  When it comes to strength training, however, many people are inadvertently using the incorrect form.  As a result, you may not be getting the full benefit of your workout.  Even worse, you could potentially injure yourself by putting strain on the wrong parts of your body. Therefore, it is important for you to recognize the signs that you are performing an exercise incorrectly.  This way, you can make the necessary adjustments to your exercise and prevent causing harm to your body.

Signs You are Doing Something Wrong

There are actually many different signs that will tell you that you might be doing something incorrectly with your exercise.  Some of these include:

· Feeling pain or fatigue in a muscle group other than the one you are targeting
· Inability to perform a full range of motion with the exercise
· Lack of fatigue in the target group of muscles

The bottom line is that, if you are performing your exercise correctly, your target group of muscles should feel fatigued when you are done.  If other muscles are feeling soreness, than you are accidentally drawing upon those muscles to help with your workout.  Even if this does not cause injury to these other muscles, it robs the target muscles from getting a proper workout.  As a result, your progress will be greatly impeded. 

Correcting Your Form

If you have determined that you are using the wrong form when performing certain exercises, you should take steps right away to correct the form.  If you are using a video or a manual to help you with your exercises, go back and review it again in order to see if you can find where you are making your mistake.  If this doesn’t work, you might want to consider consulting with a personal trainer who can help you determine the proper exercise routine and can show you how to do each exercise properly.  This way, you can get the most out of your workout while also preventing injury from occurring.