I have been involved in Health Clubs and gyms for twenty years, both as
an instructor and for his own personal training. I spent many years as a
personal trainer before studying Sports injuries and Osteopathy for Five years.
It never ceases to amaze me how badly people perform their exercises when training
in health clubs. I train regularly at least twice per week, although at close on
the half century I do not train with quite the same vigour. Each time I train I see
at least 8-10 people attempting to do more than they should and in very bad form.
Obviously I cannot interfere, however I believe you would agree with me that there are
never enough qualified instructors to oversee the members training.
Advice First and foremost, when joning a Health Club have an
instructor to discuss you goals. This will enable them to guide
you in your training and programme selection. Once this has been done
ask them to show you correct techniques for your prescribed
workout exercises. Make sure that they supervise your technique
again after a few weeks as it is too easy to fall into bad practice.
Try not to do just the exercises you are good at, create more
balance. If at all possible, train with someone who has experience for a few
sessions, most regular trainers are happy to do this.
Stretching plays a very important role in muscle function.
Too little time is spent stretching with the consequence that
muscles become shorter and unable to perform correctly. STRETCH
DAILY! Try not to do just the exercises you are good at, create more
balance.
Most problems in the gym are caused by too much
repetition of the same exercise and insufficient rest time between sessions.
Often a programme may be given that is not suitable for your body type, this
may lead to overstraing of tendons and subsequent pressure on joints with
chronic tendonitis.
