BeHappyMum | Most popular exercises: the RIGHTs and WRONGs of workouts

Finally decided you NEED those workouts? Sure, nowadays there are many sources to give you an idea what you might do in case you’ve chosen to work out at home, what leg kicks or the arms push-ups to perform. However, when you are copying the movements that are displayed in the pictures in magazines or online, it’s not always the case that you are doing exactly what the coaches do even if you are performing the most popular exercises. Therefore, unsurprisingly, the result won’t be noticeable and you start thinking “Oh, this doesn’t work for me”.

Before you start your fitness workouts or give up on them due to the disappointment, check that you do those movements correctly.

We’ve picked a few of the most popular exercises to show you the Right and Wrong ways of doing it as it is published in our FitMama app. You can take a look at it in the ‘Details’ section of each exercise in our fitness app designed for home workouts with more tips for mothers to make sure they are doing it safely.

Before you start please CHECK WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN OR DOCTOR before you start any fitness or yoga activities, especially if you just had a baby.

1. Arms push-ups

Push-ups against the wall will help you train different muscles depending on the distance between your hands that you pick. Whatever is your purpose to do those push-ups (toning chest muscles or triceps, for instance) , make sure it’s not your neck that’s working. In fact, it often happens that you hunch your upper back (shoulders are lifted, your neck is strained). As a result, there is less work for your arms (or chest muscles, in case your place your hands far from each other). Check this:

WRONG way of exercising

Your shoulders and neck are ‘hanging’ over your arms.

RIGHT way of exercising

Roll your shoulders down and backwards to straighten your back.

2. Abdomen

This is one of the popular exercises that almost everyone starts doing when thinking of abs. Yes, sure it’s helping you with your core muscles and a waistline. However, in order to engage the right muscles of your abdomen, you should NOT press your chin into your chest. Try this right now and you’ll see that probably this is what you unintentionally do to help your upper body lift up:

WRONG way of exercising

RIGHT way of exercising

To help yourself control this chin, put a tennis ball or an apple between your chin and chest while lifting up your upper body from the floor. Can you feel the difference?

In case it became harder for you to perform all 15 repetitions recommend as a set, let’s pick up a trick that Fitmama app gives with this exercise: hold onto your thighs and keep on lifting.

Now you are training your Abdominal muscles which will more likely result into your flat tummy.

There are few more workouts in Fitmama app to let your abdomen and core muscles restore their strength. You can find them in the ‘Detail’ section of each exercise by pulling the screen up like this:

3. Squats

Most of us think about doing squats when training our legs. Indeed, this is a proven way that help train your buttocks and thighs. However, your squats are be much less effective if you don’t make the most of them.

Keeping the body weight over the knees and bending your bottom too high (or too low) will reduce the effect of this miraculous exercise.

WRONG way of exercising

Your knees are in front of your toes.

RIGHT way of exercising

Move your buttocks back and far as if you are sitting down deep on an imaginative chair.

4. Side bends

Side bends are a simple and effective way of working out your oblique (therefore, your waist line) in case you are doing them right. However, the easiest way to bend your upper body to the side is by moving your hips to the side that exactly how many of us do:

WRONG way of exercising

RIGHT way of exercising

Keep your hips still so that you extend your upper body to the side rather than lean or bend. You can perform it with your hips against a wall to resist your hips moving to the side. Try it! You will feel that it is harder to do and your muscles are at their maximum of work to bring your upper body back to the central position.

5. Hips

Lifting your legs up and down is a familiar to many and one of the popular exercises for your legs. Moreover, you can do it while playing with your baby or watching TV (by the way, try it the next time you’re doing either of those). However, do not expect results if you lift your foot up with your toes looking to the front or upwards. Your hips and outer thighs will benefit only if your heel looks upwards and your leg is straight.

Try both ways and feel the difference!

WRONG way of exercising