Tips for an effective training
The more you sweat, the more effective the training?
Just before you rush into fitness, you might want to check if you are really on the right track.
- It is best to avoid squats and deadlifts. Are these exercises harmful to the back?
As with any exercise in the gym, it is not the exercise that causes the damage - but the incorrect form. Moreover, deadlifts are one of the best exercises for strengthening the back muscles. One of the main factors that results in using a bad form when performing the exercise is ego lifting: trying to lift weights that are too heavy. Other factors for problematic performance of these two exercises are related to inflexibility and incorrect posture.
Instead of giving up these exercises, you should contact one of the trainers at your gym so that they can demonstrate to you how to perform these exercises correctly.
Deadlift: It is important to make sure to the weights you are using are not too heavy for you to lift, as to not damage yourself.
Squat: Different people have different pelvic and hip structures, and some are more flexible than others, so it is important to get precise instruction to perform the exercise by a certified trainer.
In both: to reduce the risk of injuries, incorporate stretching exercises into your training program to improve flexibility.
- It is important to perform stretching before training to avoid injuries.
Studies published in recent years have shown that not only do pre-workout stretches do not prevent injuries - but they can also weaken the muscle and slow down performance.
It is important to distinguish between the two common types of stretching: static stretching (staying in a position without moving for 20-30 seconds) and dynamic stretching (activating a muscle in its range of motion, such as swinging a leg back and forth, for an average of 15 times). A comprehensive review of studies published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise in 2013 found that static stretches performed before training led to a decrease in bursting strength, intensity and performance. Performing static stretching before a workout, when the muscles have not yet warmed up and the body is still cold, does not protect against injuries.
- It is best to train only with exercise machines. They are safer than free weights.
A 2010 study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine and lasting 17 years (between 1990 and 2007), found that 90% of sports injuries that followed trainees came to the emergency room were due to the use of free weights - upper body injuries (25%). In the lower body (20%) followed by hand injuries (19%).
Certain situations invite mistakes in movements and hence the danger of injury. For example, if you are a new trainee, without a close guide, your risk of making a mistake and getting injured is higher. Even experienced trainees may make mistakes while training with free weights if they are too tired. However, it is important to clarify and say that as long as the movements are performed accurately and you are fresh and alert during the workout, there is no meaning in choosing between working with free weights and working with exercise machines in terms of the risk of injury.
In both types of training you can build strength, but each has advantages and disadvantages: training with free weights activates more muscles and therefore they are better for building muscle in the long run, but as mentioned the potential for injury is higher. In training with fitness equipment, however, weights can be changed during the training and they "dictate" the movement, which reduces the risk of errors in movements on the one hand, but limits the ability to work the muscles at angles and range of motion on the other.
Okay, so how do you proceed:
In terms of improving strength and training effectiveness, the choice between fitness equipment and free weights should take into account your fitness level, the skill of working with weights (technique and precise execution) and the training goals.
Choose a workout that makes you happy and fits your lifestyle and the degree of your experience. Combine weight training on all major muscle groups at least twice a week, making sure to skip one day between workouts.
If you are too tired, don’t use free weights.
- The more you sweat, the more effective the training.
You’re sweating buckets, and there is no doubt that bystanders are amazed at the magnitude of your effort. But does this have to do with the degree of energy burning or the effectiveness of the workout?
During exertion, your body temperature rises, and you start sweating. The function of sweating is to act as a temperature regulator - to evaporate and cool the body. The amount of sweat dripping from your body is affected by many factors, such as temperature and humidity conditions during training, genetics, gender (men tend to sweat more than women, age (young people sweat more), fitness level (those with high fitness sweat faster than lower fitness exercisers). So in short, it doesn’t matter how much or how little you sweat, as long as you’re completing your exercise properly.
