It is probably safe to say that we have all put our bodies through a killer workout to wake up the next day feeling soreness in places we shouldn’t be. For instance, did you lift deadlift the day before and maybe even hit a personal best feeling on cloud nine just to wake up the next morning feeling lower back pain. Even though most of us probably don’t like to admit it, I am sure we can all share in the been there done that kind of scenario. Waking up and feeling sore in places that don’t make sense is most likely a sign that you are doing something wrong in your form while executing your exercises. In fact, this is a common mistake that we would like to solve.
Here are 3 exercises that are most commonly performed improperly and here is how to fix them so that you don’t get unwanted pain.
The Deadlift
With deadlifts, people tend to round their backs during a deadlift. This is normally due to the back wanting to take over from the legs which is easy to do when your form isn’t great. The back rounds because the shoulders will tend to round first while bringing the weight towards the ground. A lot of us do it because it just feels more natural, instead think about having a neutral, strong spine, keeping your shoulders back, abs tight, and focus on hinging at the hips instead of bending over. Your hips should be the only thing changing their position, your shoulders, back, and abs all stay in alignment with one another just like when you were standing.
The bent-over row
Like with deadlifts, it’s important to think about hinging at the hips and keeping your spine neutral. This is very important in the exercise for the whole duration. You want to keep a strong upper body alignment while it is bent over. If you don’t you are possibly going to hurt yourself as well as letting momentum doing the work for you. When momentum kicks in, then you really aren’t relying on your muscles to fully perform the exercise to their strength. As you drive your elbows back and row the weights toward your chest, make sure your neck and head stay in a neutral position, in line with your flat back–don’t look at yourself in the mirror! This can easily put stress on your lower back.
The Pushup
This exercise always seems like it is the easiest. If you ask anyone if they know how to do a pushup, more times than not they will say yes. Yet there are a few things that can go wrong with pushups. A common mistake is looking up with your head, this is a big no-no. Again this comes down to keeping the upper body and spine in neutral alignment like with the other exercises. Seeing a theme here? Also, a lot of people tend to bend their elbows way out to the sides. Instead, let your elbows bend back, pointing away from your body at about a 45-degree angle. This will allow you to work your back muscles too. If you aren’t feeling your back working then you are doing it wrong. Keep your abs tight, as your lower and raise your body slowly, and nice and strong spinal alignment the whole time.
