This article originally appeared on Oxygen
While it’s unnerving to see paramedics rush into a gym, it does happen on occasion. Athletes who pass out from not eating enough or who insist on “pain work” with an injury that hasn’t fully healed, among other dangerous gym practices, may find themselves taking the fast route to the ER. . Fortunately, most gyms injuries they are minor mishaps and only result in hurt pride, like when you trip over your own step in an aerobics class.
However, following a few simple guidelines can help you avoid becoming a more serious stat. Here are seven potentially dangerous mistakes well-intentioned athletes often make in the gym, and tips to prevent them from happening to you.
7 dangerous gymnastics practices that could injure you
1. Not using proper form
Many people push too hard, especially when they are just starting out. “At first, do less than you think you can do,” says Richard Cotton, exercise physiologist and spokesman for the American Council on Exercise. “You can’t ‘go to failure’ on an exercise if you have a strength training base of less than six weeks. Inactive muscles are not as hard as active muscles. If you have a pencil-pushing job, don’t expect to hit the gym and dive into a no-holds-barred fitness routine right away; more is not necessarily better.
Your solution: Allow yourself six weeks of weight training to establish a foundation before you push hard. Hire a certified personal trainer to learn proper form and progression, or take a group weight training class.
2. Ignore a weak or injured area
“Some people use exercise as a punishment for not exercising,” says Cotton, “so often they ignore the pain and end up hurting themselves.” Someone with a weak back will get on a rowing machine, for example, instead of something more comfortable, like a recumbent bike.
Your solution: Modify your exercises and/or start slowly when recovering from an injury. Seek the help of a physical therapist or experienced trainer to find ways to modify your routine to accommodate a weak or lagging area. Avoiding chest opening and performing only a partial chest press, for example, may be advisable if you’re recovering from a rotator cuff strain. If you injure the same areas on a regular basis, you may need to avoid certain exercises altogether until you’ve fully healed.
3. Not consuming enough calories
Athletes who combine difficult training with poor caloric intake in hopes of losing weight risk dizziness, fainting, and sometimes nausea. “It’s a fallacy that exercising on an empty stomach burns more calories,” says Karen Brewton, a registered dietitian at Methodist Hospital Wellness Services in Houston, Texas. “You are not feeding your body when you need it. The first meal of the day kick-starts your metabolism.”
Your solution: Don’t skip meals and eat every few hours. “Yogurt is a great pre- and post-workout meal,” says Brewton. And it’s a good opportunity to get the calcium you need to prevent osteoporosis. “When you’re managing your weight and cutting calories, you need to pay attention to good quality calories.”
4. Not going to that medical check-up
“Most people get a medical checkup before starting an exercise program only if they are older or have symptoms,” Duncan says. “Young women who feel fine think they are immune, but they may not be.” If you have a family history of heart disease, a routine stress test may not even be enough to detect a problem.
Your solution: Know your family history. “If someone in your family has heart disease at a young age [less than 55 for men and less than 60 for women] — especially a parent or sibling — is at higher risk regardless of their weight and blood pressure,” says Dr Dennis Goodmana board-certified senior cardiologist in Scripps Memorial Hospital. “Early testing for people at risk should start at age 18. Everyone should get a cholesterol test starting in their 20s, regardless of their risk.”
5. Not paying attention to what you are doing
Talking on a cell phone while walking (or running) on a treadmill or turning your head to talk to a friend can send you flying off the machine with a broken back or wrist, or worse. “The tragedy is that this injury may be enough to keep you from exercising for six weeks,” says John Duncan, exercise physiologist and founder and CEO of ViaScan in Irving, Texas. “Injuries are the number one reason people interrupt their exercise programs.”
Your solution: Focus on the task at hand. Before getting on a treadmill, make sure the last person hasn’t left it running. (This exact accident occurred at a local gym recently, resulting in a head injury.) Look for sweat puddles or other “road hazards.” Leave your cell phone in your locker or at home. If someone starts a conversation with you while you’re lifting weights, ignore them until you’re done. It’s better to explain later why you can’t talk while lifting weights overhead than to have to explain it to your orthopedist.
6. Copy another user’s form
Variety is key if you want to continue to see progress in your exercise routine—that is, unless you get your new exercise ideas from watching other people in the gym who may not know what they’re doing.
“You have no way of knowing if it’s that person’s first week in the gym or not and if you’re emulating someone who’s doing the moves the wrong way,” Duncan says. Also, avoid unsolicited advice unless it is from a qualified professional.
Your solution: Some exercises, like deadlifts or squats, should be relegated to those who really know what they’re doing or have received professional instruction to perform the movements correctly. Hire an experienced, certified personal trainer to help you perform the exercises with correct form to get the full benefits of any routine and avoid injury.
7. Not taking the time off needed for a cold or flu
For your sake and that of the other members of the gym, stay home if you are coughing, sneezing or sneezing. Leaving a trail of unwanted microbes on benches and equipment and in the air is detrimental to healthy people around you. Also, it can get worse with strenuous exercise.
Your solution: If your symptoms are from the neck up (such as sneezing or runny nose) in the absence of fever and body aches, the general rule of thumb is that you’re probably well enough for modified training.
“Although the infectious stage has already passed [you’re most infectious just before the symptoms become overt]it is advisable to wait a week before returning to the gym”, he says Dr Jacob Teitelbaummedical director of Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers. “Then go back up to your previous training level for a week or two.” Otherwise, if you have a fever, muscle aches, and other flu-like symptoms that are “below the neck,” doctors recommend resting until the symptoms subside.
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