Exercise Safety: Regression before Progression

How did we all get started with working out?

Let’s stop and think about that shall we? We probably got a gym membership OR [like me] we bought some workout DVDs to do in the safety of our own home …

What was the first thing we did? – more than likely we watched someone else and what they were doing and we played FOLLOW THE LEADER … we jumped right in without thinking.

The problem that can come with that is that we have to stop and realized that we are all at different levels of fitness – just because each of us are at various levels has no personal reflection on our individual potential. We could all have different backgrounds, goals, and issues going on that can impact our form and what we should be doing.

Here are some points for you to keep in mind when progressing through movements or exercises:

* How are you with your alignment – is your “chain” aligned as it should be?

* Once your form is down, begin to increase speed – can you keep the form right as you go faster?

* Add in some deeper range of motion – can you get lower in the squat or pull up the bicep curl all of the way?

* NOW, and only NOW, should you add in PLYOMETRICS or JUMPING motions into your workout!

WHY?

When you do “ALL IN” and start jumping with squat jumps or box jumps or anything with a gap of air in it somewhere, we are placing our bodies at an even higher risk than when it began the movement. Therefore, our form should be ON POINT – we all know that I am the Form Fixer from my own past experience. I used to follow the leader, like I talked about earlier, only to feel twinges in my knees or joints and never knew why until I decided to LOOK IN THE MIRROR. That mirror in the gym or the group fitness room isn’t just to oogle your goodies – it’s to check on your form so that you can ensure you’re taking ownership of your own safety and wellbeing.

Moral of the story: NEVER feel inadequate or care that you have to REGRESS an exercise before adding a PROGRESSION to it. It just means that you are trying to gain the same benefits to that body part, but are keeping your junk safe and avoiding injury. End of story. 😉

Have you experienced injury from diving into the deep end too quickly? 

What’s your method for checking on exercise safety when you’re working out?