Gym Science

Dear Fitness Enthusiasts,

Have you ever found yourself looking around the weight room for inspiration? Did you then find that one man/woman with a great physique you admire? Was your next step to then do whatever exact exercise that person was doing in the same way they were doing it?

That my friends is what is called gym science!!!!

Gym science can be educational assuming that the person you are learning from is executing proper form. You also have to know the risks of the exercise being copied as it pertains to you. For example, if you are inspired by a variation of a lunge that someone with great legs is doing, you have to make sure that they have correct functional alignment of the hip, knee and ankle joint. You have to be informed of the risks that exercise may have in the event that you have had previous injury to your knee. If you have a recent or old injury to your knee and it is vulnerable to repeat injury, you need to know if that is a wise exercise for you to be testing.

Ladies and gentleman, that is exactly the problem that gym science presents. Most people you are watching in the gym are not using proper form. Most people are working out in a fashion that they always have. For example, a football player who may no longer play football, is most likely still doing his old football gym workout. If you are a young professional who sits a desk 8 hours a day and does not play football and who has a vulnerable shoulder, it is not a wise decision at all for you to be copying the football guys chest press variation. This is exactly how many injuries are caused. Too many people feeling lost in the weight room are copying others who only APPEAR to know what they are doing.

So, can gym science be a good lesson? Sure it can. However, next time you are in the gym and seek inspiration from your fellow gym friends, make certain that you go and ask them what credibility they have for you to learn from them. Make sure that you learn the risks of that exercise to any sensitive/injured site that the exercise will involve. If this is not possible or accessible to you, go and ask a fitness professional for help instead.

The lesson to take away here is, copying "buff," strong, athletic looking people in your gym could very easily cause you harm and get you injured. So think again next time you are in the gym and looking for inspiration. Know your source and don't be shy to ask a professional for some tips instead.

Get Strong, Stay Healthy!

Dani S.

DO NOT FOLLOW THIS GUY! HE IS ONLY BREAKING HIS BACK AND RIPPING APART HIS SHOULDER!