People often believe that all exercises are good and safe for all ages; yes exercise is very good as it helps us not only lose weight but keep fit and stay healthy; however, there are also some danger zones when it comes to exercise, as not all fitness programs are appropriate for all ages.
Wouldn’t you rather know exactly what to avoid when exercising so you are both healthy and safe? These 5 exercises put people ranging from 30 and above at risk to serious injuries.
Behind-the-Head Lat Pull-Downs:
It involves pulling the bar behind their heads when doing a lat pull-down exercise. The problem with this exercise is that pulling the bar behind the neck puts far too much stress on the shoulder joint.
The amount of outward rotation on the humerus combined with pulling it downward has a very un-stabilizing effect on the shoulder joint. The top of the humerus is actually pushing outward and away from the joint, stretching the tendons and ligaments In front of the shoulder which can lead to injury.
Furthermore, most people who spend their day confined to a desk are likely to have a bad posture or rounded shoulders which is a symptom of poor shoulder flexibility and pulling the bar behind your neck only increases this misalignment, making this exercise risky and unhealthy.
Hovering Leg Lifts:
For this exercise you are required to lie on your back (with your head and shoulders either down on the ground or “crunched” up) and lift your legs right off the ground to hover just a few inches from the floor in order to work your abs.(remember to keep your legs straight).
The problem with this exercise, however, is that although it works on your abs, lifting your legs off the ground while keeping your back flat or crunched up puts an incredible amount of stress on the lower back and can lead to serious injury.
Upright Rows:
In this exercise, you are required to stand to hold a dumbbell or weight in the center, with your hands close together and raise your hands up under your chin.
Upright rows are dangerous as they cause the upper arm bone (humerus) to bang up against the acromion process joint, which can compress the nerves in the shoulder area and damage the cartilage in the acromion process joint, which can eventually lead to arthritis.
Thigh machine exercises (Inner and Outer Thigh):
These types of machines are often available in most gyms. The use of the machines involves sitting with your knees bent in front of you. The adduction machine is designed to target the muscles of the inner thighs while the abduction machine helps target the outer thigh muscles. The danger with these machines is that using your inner and outer thighs to lift weight while in a seated position puts these relatively small muscles at risk of strain and aggravating lower back and hip problems.
Furthermore, your inner and outer thigh muscles are designed to support the movement, not to be active or main movers like the role they assume in these types of exercises.
Knee Extensions (Seated):
This exercise is very popular when targeting the quadriceps (muscles on the front of your thighs). This exercise poses major risks to the knees when the weight is heavy and when the knees are fully extended. Lifting heavy weights in this position when all the resistance focused at your ankles is not what the knee was created to do. If you have any kind of knee problem, or use a too much resistance during this exercise, you can easily sustain injury because fully straightening the knees against this type of resistance puts an extreme amount of stress on the knee joint, which can cause strain to the tendons and extremely compress the knee’s cartilage.
Conclusion
Keep fit, stay healthy and safe by making sure to avoid these 5 exercises because the risk to benefit ratio is definitely much too high.
WhatsApp number: +971565830067 (Just send us code 13061 and we will get back to you ASAP)
Contact Us: Click here to send us your details or fill in the form below.
You can get in touch with us 24/7 and one of our experts will not only give you a free consultation but also help you pick out an appropriate male or female personal trainer to meet your needs. One-on-one personal training lessons are available in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman and RAK.
______________________________