Most Common Exercise Mistakes

As a fitness trainer I spend a lot of time in the gym , and during that time I see a lot of mistakes that people make. So I decided to make a post about the most common mistakes:

1/ BICEPS CURLS

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The most commonly reported error was people simply trying to lift too much weight, which engages the shoulders and reduces the effort on the biceps.

How to do a bicep curl correctly:

*Stand tall with your shoulder blades back and down, and contract your abs.
*Keep your back, elbows and shoulders still.
*Curl your arms up until they're in front of your shoulders.

2/ ABDOMINAL CRUNCHES

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Common mistakes that reduce the effectiveness of a stomach crunch are tucking the chin into your chest, jerking up into a crunch, raising yourself too high off the floor, and not keeping your abs contracted throughout the exercise.

How to do a crunch correctly:

*Curl up until your shoulders are about three inches off the floor.
*Don't tuck your neck into your chest as you rise – imagine a tennis ball between your chin and chest.
*Contract your abs throughout the exercise.
*Don't jerk your head off the floor.

3/ CHEST(BENCH) PRESS

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Failing to keep the shoulders back and down was the most frequently reported mistake with the chest press.

How to do a chest press correctly:

*Keep your shoulders back and down.
*Contract your abs throughout the exercise and keep your neck relaxed.
*Maintain a natural arch in your lower back – don't let it arch too much.
*Don't lock your elbows when raising the weight.

4/ SQUAT
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Putting too much pressure on the lower back and not enough leg work were the most commonly observed mistakes with the squat lift.

How to do a squat lift correctly:

*Feet should be shoulder-width apart and slightly turned out.
*Keep your shoulders back and down, and your chest pushed out.
*Shoulders should remain directly above the hips.
*Lower yourself as if you were sitting back on a chair.
*Keep your weight on your heels, not the toes, throughout the movement.
*Don't let your knees lean over your toes as you lower yourself.

5/ BENT OVER ROWS

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A hunched back was the most common error reported among people doing bent over rows.

How to do a bent over row correctly:

*Bend forward at the waist, keeping your chest high.
*Bend your knees slightly and keep your back straight.
*Keep your shoulders back and down.
*Pull the bar towards your waist, just above the belly button.

6/ LEG PRESS

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Starting with your knees bent right into your chest was the most common mistake with the leg press.

How to do a leg press correctly:

*Start with your knees bent at no more than 90 degrees.
*Straighten your legs by pushing through the heels, not the toes.
*Don't lock your knees at the top of the move.
*Maintain your lower back's natural curve – don't flatten your lower back against the support.
*Keep your neck relaxed and your head pressed against the support.

7/ LUNGES

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Done properly, lunges are a great exercise to improve your core strength, but all too often people are risking injury because of poor technique.
One of the most commonly reported errors with lunges is stepping into the lunge and allowing the front knee to lean over the toes.

How to do a lunge correctly:

*Step forward with one leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at about 90 degrees.
*Don't let your front knee lean over the toes as you lunge.
*Keep your upper body upright at all times and look straight ahead.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. :)