Exercise is extremely healthy, and everyone should incorporate exercise into their everyday life. Exercise doesn't only mean going to the gym. Many physical activities count as exercise such as walking, jogging, dancing, etc. However, if you've got serious fitness goals, you may need to chalk out an extensive fitness plan, which would require using certain fitness equipment.
There are plenty of options when it comes to fitness equipment, but is every piece of equipment suitable for everyone? As much as you would like to believe that everyone can benefit from using every piece of fitness equipment, it's not really true. Not all fitness equipment is suitable for everyone.
For example, if you wish to lose weight, a treadmill will be a great option for you. However, no matter how extensively you use a treadmill, you won't benefit if your objective is to build muscle. The success of your fitness objectives greatly depends on your choice of fitness equipment, and the wrong choice and wrong practices can harm you more than you can ever expect fitness equipment to.
This blog post will highlight some of the practices that might harm you more than good. We've also put together a quick guide to help you choose the right fitness equipment for yourself.
4 Fitness Equipment Mistakes That You Don't Know You're Making
Many times, you don't know you're doing a certain exercise wrong until it's too late. While exercise is good for your health, doing a certain exercise wrong can have the entirely opposite effect. Below are some of the most common practices that you may be doing wrong with your fitness equipment and that may be causing your immense harm.
Not Turning Off the Treadmill Belt as You Get Off or On
35% of the accidents that occur in a gym are due to people trying to get off or on the treadmill while its belt is still running. A treadmill is counted among the most dangerous exercise equipment, and you've got no idea about your risk level. The conveyor belt of a treadmill tries to fling you off while you try to tame it. One wrong move or a second of miscalculation, and there you go flying off the belt! Many users try to step on the stationary sides of the conveyor belt when they want to catch their breath and hop back on when they're ready. This is extremely dangerous.
What you should do is set the speed of the treadmill at what you're comfortable with. Increase the speed gradually, and when you wish to get off, turn the conveyor belt off or hit the emergency stop button if need be. Don't get on and off the treadmill when the conveyor belt is on.
Not Using the Right Size of Jumping Rope
What harm can a jumping robe do? It's such a fun exercise, right? Well, jumping rope is all fun until it hits you, at which point it's more like a deadly whip! Getting hit by a jumping rope or having your ankle strangled into the rope, causing you to fall, are just a few ways a jumping rope can hurt you. You're at a massive risk of getting hurt while jumping a rope if you don't use the rightly-sized jumping rope. Jumping rope can harm you by putting you at risk of overuse injuries such as patellar tendonitis and shin splints.
What you can do to ensure the jumping rope doesn't harm you in any way is to use a jumping rope that's the right size for you and start slow. Start with jumping slowly. Starting with jumping a rope for an hour straight when you've got no history of exercise or workout can put you at a massive risk of injury.
Another way you can protect yourself from the harmful consequences of using a jumping rope is by ensuring that you land on the ground on your toes and not with a flat foot. Landing on the ground with sharp thuds can also put pressure on your joints. If you use the jumping rope right, that includes using the rope of the right size, starting slow, and ensuring you don't put too much strain on your knees, jumping rope is all fun and beneficial!
Aggressive Swinging of the Kettlebells
Kettlebells may look like a basic and simple fitness equipment, but the benefits they offer are tremendous! Kettlebells work your core and help you build muscle strength. They're excellent for burning calories. Considering the simplicity of kettlebells, it's hard to believe that they may harm you in any way! But using the kettlebells the wrong way can harm you. If you don't anchor yourself with stabilizing muscle when swinging the kettlebells, you may be putting your connective tissues and joints at risk of injury.
When swinging kettlebells, the force should generate from your hips and if that's not the case, you may end up straining your shoulders, wrists, and lower back. If you rely on the momentum of the swing alone, you'll put your shoulders at a huge risk of injuries as the weight will make your shoulders move beyond the comfortable range of motion. Since wrists are weaker than shoulders, they may get injured too if you use kettlebells that are too heavy or are swinging too fast. Start with lighter weights and slow swinging while ensuring a solid foundation. Increase the weight and momentum gradually.
Riding an Improperly Set Spin Bike
What harm could riding a bike do? Children ride their bikes all the time. People around the world ride bikes owing to the low carbon footprint and the physical benefits it offers. So, why is riding a spin bike on our list of mistakes people make when using fitness equipment?
Riding a spin bike can be seriously harmful if it's not properly set. When we talk about a spin bike, it has to be set according to the user. Everybody has different imbalances. Nobody has a truly symmetrical body. Riding a spin bike is only beneficial if it's set to your body. The seat shouldn't be too high or too low or too far forward or backward. If the seat is any of these things, the natural alignment of your spine will get affected, which will present itself as pain in the neck and back. So, if you're riding a spin bike, adjust the seat according to your physique to ensure you aren't riding the bike in an incorrect posture.
Choosing the Right Fitness Equipment
Now that you know that to achieve your fitness goals, you need to not only choose the right fitness equipment, but you also need to use the equipment right, let's move on to some helpful tips that'll help you choose the right fitness equipment for you. As we've already said, not all fitness equipment is right for everyone. Once you've chosen the right equipment, you can go into detail about how to use it correctly.
Goals
The first and most important tip is to choose a fitness equipment based on your fitness goals. For example, if losing weight is your only objective, you can invest in a treadmill if you can't make time for walking or jogging. The good news is that you can now use a treadmill at work. With an under-desk treadmill, you can burn calories while you're at work without the need of you having to compromise on your work.
Health
Another important factor that you shouldn't overlook is your health. Before choosing any fitness equipment, make sure you don't have any existing health conditions, and if you do, using the equipment won't affect you in any way. For example, if you've got a heart condition, any fitness equipment that exerts pressure on the heart is a no-no for you. The right equipment for you will be the one that your doctor approves of based on your health.
Ease of Use
If the fitness equipment isn't easy to use, you won't feel up for using it. Ease of use of fitness equipment is a major motivating factor that makes you want to use it. So, when choosing a fitness equipment, make sure it's easy to use. Some super easy and fun equipment options include a desk bike and under-desk treadmill that enable you to work out while you work!
These are just the major factors that you must consider when choosing fitness equipment for your personal use. Once you've chosen the right equipment, make sure you know how to use it.
Closing Word
Just because you go to the gym or have a variety of fitness equipment at home doesn't mean you're doing everything right. If you aren't using equipment right, you're in for more damage than good!
