- Do not use your whole body to pedal on the STATIONARY BICYCLE :
At every gym, you’ll find people bobbing and weaving their heads or rocking their whole bodies forward with every stroke. Your head and torso should remain essentially still while your legs do all the moving. Besides creating unnecessary muscle strain, the extra movement makes for very inefficient pedalling. Your power dissipates through these extraneous upper body movements when it should all be channeled down through your legs. Keeping a rigid upper body by effectively engaging your core muscles gives your legs a solid base off which to work.
- Avoid bouncing up and down on the TREADMILL:
Especially common with runners, this kind of deviant form is bad all around. The jarring landing this creates after each step increases the impact and stress on your joints. And all the effort that goes into pushing yourself upward–against gravity, I might add–is effort not being used to propel yourself forward. Again, it lessens your efficiency.
- Do not use your arms to support yourself on the STAIRMASTER :
It’s one thing to steady yourself using the rails, it’s a whole other thing to put the bulk of your body weight through your arms. Doing so puts undue stress through your upper limb joints which not only bear your weight, but do so in less than optimal positions. You’ll notice that people often lean their bodies forward of their arms when supporting themselves on the railings.This forces them to over-extend and/or lock their wrists, elbows, and shoulders, further stressing the joint ligaments. Of course, this kind of posture also reduces the benefit of your workout: any weight borne by your arms is weight that your legs don’t have to push up the stairs. There’s a reason your body wants you to hold on…
TIP: Don’t do these things…
