Understanding suspension training equipment can be tasking and using it even more so. From gripping gymnastic rings incorrectly to getting entangled in the suspension straps, any number of things can go wrong. This can result in some serious injuries.
To avoid getting seriously hurt or embarrassed, you need to look at what you might be doing wrong and fix it. Here are some of the biggest suspension training mistakes and how to avoid them:
Feet placement
Where, as well as how, you place your feet plays a big role in suspension training. It not only increases the effectiveness of your workout, but it also reduces the risk of injury.
For this reason, it is incredibly vital to have a good understanding of how – in addition to where – you need to place your feet.
Core engagement
It is also important to keep your core engaged throughout the suspension training workout. If you don’t, you can risk injuring your back.
Joint positioning
It is very important to remain aware of where you place your joints as well as the correct way to do so. Flaring elbows, incorrect pelvic tilts and roaming knees can cause serious injuries.
Equal balance
With suspension training, your limbs will often have to act independently. This can easily lead to unequal pressures on the equipment. Not only does this make the exercise useless, but it will also leave you spluttering all over the place so increasing your risk of injury.
Make sure that the straps, rings or bars are parallel and that you are applying equal pressure onto each.
Standing too far
People tend to start too far in towards the anchor point of the exercise. This throws your body’s positioning off. Try to stand closer to the end range of the motion.
Gripping too hard
Don’t clasp the equipment as if you are hanging on for dear life. This can tense certain parts of your body, like your neck and shoulders, which can easily cause injury.
Try to stay relaxed through the shoulders and neck, and keep a light grip on the equipment.
Resting straps on your arms
Simply put: DON’T!
Never let the straps rest on your arms or rub against your shoulders. This can result in some severe strap burns (like rope burns).
No slack
There shouldn’t be any slack on the straps, no matter what exercise you are performing. When slack happens, your body disengages from the exercise.
Stay in control
You should be in control of the exercise throughout the entire movement. If you use your momentum to swing through the exercises, you lose all effectiveness. If you are not in control, the equipment could escape from you and you could end up injuring yourself.
Rely on your own bodyweight
Many individuals to rely on the equipment for support when the exercise is getting too difficult or intense. This is wrong.
The whole point of the workout is to use your own bodyweight. When relying on the equipment, you lose control of your body and can cause injury.
Try to simply use the equipment as an assist or extension of the exercise rather than a relief.
Suspension training is already straining enough on your joints and muscles. If you are performing the exercises incorrectly, you can make this strain even worse and increase the chances of getting injured. To avoid these injuries, you need to understand the most common mistakes, review your own routine and apply fixes as needed.
Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy
Want to learn more about suspension training as well as how to incorporate this technique into your workouts as well as the workouts of your clients? If you do, then we have two amazing courses that you can do to become a master at this exercise modality. For more information, follow this link.