You might think doing a squat looks easy but if the form is wrong, it might lead to an inevitable injury. Most of the times, people shy way from asking for advice at the gym and end up doing even the most basic exercise wrong. Pushing yourself too hard, overtraining, bad form—these common mistakes can wreck your routine and your health Pushups: It is an exercise that works on upper body, triceps, chest and shoulders. If you push-ups are not done in a full range of motion, you won’t be able to attain strength and are unlikely to get the complete benefit from the exercise.
In full pushup, you have to touch the upper body or chest to the floor and come back all the way up. Arched back or bend neck is a wrong position which leads to the back injury. Neck, back and hips should be in a straight line when you go up in high plank position or down towards the floor. Squats: This common exercise when done wrongly can cause a loss in hip, hamstring and ankle mobility. When you put your knees toward each other during a squat, it can put undue pressure on your knee ligaments, which leads to injury. Another mistake people often do is when they extend their knees beyond from the toes, which can cause immense pressure on the ankle and shinbone instead of hamstring and glutes. This can lead to painful knees and longtime injury.
Bent-Over Barbell Row: Lifting a barbell with hunched shoulders, rounded back and heavyweight in the beginning with wrong or poor form, feet position too wide or too narrow can cause injury and poor posture. Crunches: Most people perform crunches using their upper body strength instead of using their abdomen and this can strain their neck.
Whether you’re doing ball crunches, criss-cross crunches or basic crunch, putting your hands behind your neck to give it a gentle push is a wrong way to do any crunch. There is no role of your hands in crunches. By doing this you put immense stress and pressure on your neck, which can cause severe neck injury. Lunges: The common mistake in lunges is usually the positioning of the legs. Sometimes people place their knee too far from the toes which can lead to losing balance and ligament tear. Placing the toes right in front can put extra pressure on the knees, joints and ankle. Those afflicted with knee pain or joints pain should especially stay away from performing lunges.
Sankalp Shakti The author is the founder of Goodways Fitness, Delhi