THE DANGERS OF WORKOUT COPY-CATTING

Recently I was approached by a gym member who was interested in hiring me as her trainer. As we spoke she mentioned that she had been observing me with other members for a few weeks and had begun incorporating some of the exercises she saw into her own workouts. Considering I have a wide range of clients with a broad level of abilities I was curious as to which exercises she was doing and more importantly how she was doing them. As she demonstrated what she had been doing I was immediately alerted to the fact that she was not referring to the exercises by name, but rather saying "I did this one," and "I really like that one." Although her form was fortunately not terrible is wasn't correct either. I made the corrections, gave her names for the exercises and informed her which muscles she was working. She was pleased to have the additional information and made an appointment for a private session of her own.
As I drove home from the gym I couldn't help but wonder about how many other people watch trainers or other gym members and try to copy-cat exercises they don't really know or understand. The worst case scenario is that a person gets injured and the best case is that they don't get the full benefit of the exercise. Either way, when observing others at the gym, on television, or in a fitness magazine make sure that you choose your exercises wisely. We all love new and exciting workouts and I'm no exception; I'm the biggest YouTube and Gym Spy out there. Still, if you are unsure just take a minute and ask a trainer for some tips- we are usually more than happy to help!