How to make sure your exercise routine is safe

Press, 7 May 1987, Page 13

How to make sure your exercise routine is safe

Shaping up...

By

JUDI SHEPPARD

MISSETT

Q. I get together with a group of my neighbours about three times a week to exercise. We’ve compiled a little routine of calisthenic and aerobic exercises that are pretty standard. However, since none of us are fitness instructors, I worry about the safety of some of our moves, especially the traditional exercises such as windmill toe touches and sit-ups. Are there any guidelines you can offer to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of our workout? A. Using a £ood fitness book or video' cassette is probably the best way to evaluate and modify your current workout for safety. Because there are so many different exercises that you can be doing in your workout, it’s really impossible for me to give you a fair and complete safety evaluation. Check recent issues of several fitness and women’s magazines for reviews of the newest home exercise videos and

books. From these reviews, you can select a book or video that’s recommended by experts and that most closely resembles your routine. Next, I suggest you find exercises in the book or video that are similar to the ones your group performs. Read through the detailed ho-to’s for each movement, and incorporate those tips into your workout. It may help to practise certain movements in front of a mirror to get a visual image of the right and wrong way to do each exercise. Finally, there are some basic execution tips that I can pass on to you. Always warm up before you begin any strenuous exercise. The best warm-ups include gentle, rhythmic movements of the major muscle groups, as well as the four basic movements

of the spine — forward, backward, right and left. Aerobic exercises done incorrectly can put excess strain on your feet, shins, and even your back. When you’re jumping, hopping or skipping concentrate on planting your feet safely. Land on the balls of your feet and press your heels down to the floor. Too much jumping without lowering your heels can cause your calf muscles to tighten and may make you more prone to shin splints. When performing situps, make sure that your legs are bent with your feet placed flat on the floor. Do not do sit ups with straight legs! Also, tilt your pelvis upward, so your lower back remains pressed to the floor. Cradle your head in your hands with your elbows open to the sides and lift

your torso off the floor one vertebra at a time. If you do gluteal toners from an all-fours position, keep your body in alignment from the tip of your spine to the top of your head. You should be looking at the floor throughout the exercise. Also, do not lift your legs higher than hip level or you will twist your back. Your hips should remain square to the floor at all times. As for traditional windmill toe touches, I recommend that you modify this move to make it safer. When done repeatedly at a moderate or quick tempo, “windmills” cause your spine to twist dangerously, see photo 1. The quick lifting and lowering of the torso simply complicates matters. Instead, see photo 2, bend one knee and lean your torso forward without twisting your spine. Place one or both hands on your thighs for support. Hold for a few seconds and reverse to the opposite side. Continue warming up by alternating sides.

Q: I have been sidelined with a stress fracture for the past month. How can I get back into my programme - without reinjuring myself? A: Start slowly!, The most common cause of stress fractures is overuse. If you plan on rejoining a dance exercise class or reinstating a running programme, cut your pre-injury workout time and intensity in half. In other words, don’t begin by running five miles a day, five days a week. Instead, run two and a half miles every other day. Then, on your “off’ days, build your aerobic capcity and pamper your injury by swimming or working out on a stationary bicycle or rowing machine. Finally, protect your feet and legs with the proper shoes. Good equipment, replaced when worm, can reduce impact and prevent a stress fracture from recurring. — Copyright Jazzercise.