With Covid restricting our daily routines, even the most avid gym goers are having to work out at home. Improvising exercise equipment and logging on to virtual exercise classes is the new normal.

Keeping fit at home is still quite different to being at the gym and there’s always the temptation of giving up and going back to bed. However, exercise is extremely important for both physical and mental health. Done properly, exercise releases endorphins and strengthen your body, but without guidance there’s an increased possibility of injuring yourself or not performing to the best of your abilities.

Maintaining your workouts during lockdown is to be commended, but if you are exercising at home, beware of some common mistakes. These mistakes aren’t unique to home workouts but without your gym buddy or trainer, it’s up to you to ensure every move is performed accurately and safely. Whether doing a virtual class or going through your own routine, pay attention not to make these common mistakes. Where possible, assess your form in a mirror and make the necessary adjustments to prevent injury.

Stick to a Plan

Home workouts mean that we lose accountability, and it is all too easy to forget about exercise and diet completely. To make sure we stay healthy and keep heading towards out health and fitness goals, it is best to make a plan and stick to it. Sign up for some live online classes that you cannot miss. The added advantage of live classes is the interaction with your instructor or, a little healthy competition if you sign up with a friend.

Every plan should also include a rest day, allowing your body some time to recover and adapt which also helps to prevent injury. You can use this time for some self-care activities or meal planning.

 Engage Your Core

Some tell-tale signs to watch for when doing exercises, like planking, that indicate you’re not engaging your core properly are, arching your back or feeling off balance when performing leg exercises.

 You can help engage your core properly by:

• Pulling your navel in towards your spine as squeezing through a tight space.
• Aim to maintain a straight line between your neck and tailbone during standing exercises.
• When lying down focus on engaging the lower abs and pressing your back gently into the floor.
• Press down through your heels to activate the hamstrings.
• Squeeze your glutes at the top of each repetition while being careful not to arch the back.

Avoid Rounding Your Shoulders

It’s common when performing resistance training to round your shoulders forward. You probably don’t even realise you’re doing it! This can prevent you from getting the full benefit of the exercise and can put dangerous stresses onto the back, neck, and shoulders.

• Keep an eye on your shoulder position and body position, keeping your ear, shoulder and hips in alignment. Use a mirror if you have access to one.
• Think about squeezing your shoulder blades together.
• Reduce resistance if you struggle to maintain proper form. Posture tends to suffer when fatigue starts.

 HIIT Overload

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has skyrocketed in popularity recently. These short, sharp bursts of cardio are a great way to keep fit and burn calories with limited time or no equipment. These short sessions give a quick endorphin rush and can become addictive but really need to be combined with other forms of exercise like yoga, Pilates, or weight training.

Limiting HITT to no more than three sessions a week on alternative days is recommended as too much HIIT can increase the stress hormone cortisol, weakening our immune system.

How to avoid HITT overload:

• Take a rest day. Allow a day in between workouts for your body to recover.
• Switch up your workouts. If your workout today included HIIT, practice yoga or strength training tomorrow.
• Don’t ignore pain especially in the joints. An injury might require you to stop training completely.

Only Doing Your Favourite Exercises

Let’s face it, we all like some exercises and despise others. Make sure that your home workouts don’t concentrate on one body part and neglect others. Over time, this can lead to injury. Always think about balance. If you train one muscle group, you need to dedicate equal time to the opposing muscle group. Biceps-Triceps, Abs-low back… you get the picture.

 

Not Pushing Yourself  

Are you working hard enough? Mix up your routine with a new challenge or use some exercise tech, like a heart rate monitor to make sure you are not getting too comfortable with the same old routine. Sometimes it helps to keep a workout diary, rating your efforts from one to ten.

Listen to your body, celebrate the small wins and if you want help achieving your optimum health, CONTACT ME HERE