It’s like driving. We launch ourselves out onto the road or the gym floor, free as a bird, carry out every move textbook perfect for a few weeks or months, and then… we settle into a groove, our unique way of doing things, stamped with our own signature shapes. If anyone remarks, or worse, criticizes us it gets PERSONAL.

So, what are the most common errors we see every day at the gym? And why should we avoid them? The second question is simple to answer: to avoid pain and injury and to enhance our range of movement for the most optimal workout possible. The first question? Let’s begin at the beginning…

1. The warm-up. So many people leap into a workout with the merest nod to prepping the body to manage the training. 5-10 minutes spent looking at your phone on a treadmill does not a warmup make. Aim to warm and loosen the tightest parts of the body, predominantly the hips, ankle, shoulders and all three areas of the back with stretches, foam rolling and yoga-type flows. Activate main muscle groups like the glutes with glute bridging, pigeon stretching and body weight squats and lunges, mimicking, at low intensity, the workout to follow.
2. Questionable technique. It is always worth engaging the services of a professional trainer to give you some pointers early on. This is where West Wood comes into its own. When you join us as a member you are entitled to 6 free training sessions with one of our PTs. They’ll discuss your goals, your exercise history, and your training preferences. You’ll end up with a bespoke plan that’s right for you, that will grow as you improve your range, fitness and confidence. No being left to your own devices, and no sloppy training technique – just solid, scientific, and safe advice that will stand you in good stead for a lifetime of fitness.
3. Too much weight too soon. There are myriad ways of building strength and stamina without going full on Arnie.

• Add extra reps before weight. If you were shooting three sets of 12 reps with ease, try bumping up to 15 before adding that extra plate.
• Experiment with tempo. Going slower sometimes feels like going less hard. But it increases time held under tension thereby putting more stress into the muscle, and by slowing the eccentric (lowering) phase of the lift it strengthens and shapes the part being worked, creating the optimum silhouette.
• Try isolation movements once you’ve finished with compound (multi joint) exercises, such as preacher curls, tricep kickbacks and calf raises.

 

4. No plan, or a poor plan. Going from machine to machine just because you’re used to it isn’t an effective or efficient use of your time in the gym. There is also the law of diminishing returns – the body has a canny way of adapting to regular exercise, saving its calorie burning and muscle building for new, unexpected movement, so we must adapt and keep our sessions fresh if we want to see change and gains.
5. No sweat – what you put in; you’ll get out. Those mirrors on the gym floor are not for Insta selfies, hun, they’re for checking form and technique as you lift, lift, lift!

 

6. Avoiding free weights. When I train clients I mainly use free weights. Why?

• There’s so much more adaptation we can build in with free weights than with a fixed machine, allowing for tweaks in range and positioning to optimise a client’s movement patterns.
• There’s a whole fascinating sweet shop of different exercises we can try out with free weights, enhancing learning and connection with our body and mind. It makes for a much more interesting and engaging approach to exercise.
• When you travel and want to continue your fitness programme you’ll be able to build your own programme with whatever’s on offer, be it dumbbells, kettlebells, pull up bars or even just a resistance band and a length of rope. There’s no leg press machine on Copacabana beach, baby!

7. Cutting the cooldown. Post workout stretching is vital to restore length, elasticity, and blood flow to well worked muscles. It also calms the heart rate and helps avoid DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness), enabling you to hit the gym more frequently. As a sports massage therapist I can instantly tell if a client stretches through feeling the bulk and density in the musculature. A well stretched body is mainly smooth and bump free, avoiding many of the trigger points which lead to injury and overuse issues.

 

 

Kathy O’Meara is a personal trainer specialising in cancer and cardiac exercise rehabilitation. She is a sports therapist, movement specialist, reflexologist and teaches a huge range of Les Mills classes at West Wood Club, Westmanstown www.powerdown.ie