Most Dangerous Exercises to Do Without A Coach

At TS Fitness, we pride ourselves in our ability to coach members through their workouts. Some exercises are easy, while some take a lot of concentration and correction.

Even the coaches at TS need coaching. All trainers have gone through some form of certification process that requires knowledge of exercise form. Sometimes, the certifications even require a supervised workout!

A coach gives you an outside perspective that’s hard to gain from doing exercises by yourself. That’s why everyone needs a coach at some point, particularly if they want to lift weights.

Unfortunately, the movements that seem the simplest can be the most dangerous. That’s because there are subtle things you must do to stay safe. The untrained eye often doesn’t pick up on these subtleties.

Here are three exercises that we spend the most time coaching:

  1. Deadlift

There are a number of variations of this exercise, but they all have a similar premise: you have to pick up something heavy from the ground. Notice that in real life most people hurt their backs while doing a similar movement. That’s why this one requires extra coaching.

Some of the tips we find the most helpful for this movement are:

-Make orange juice with your arm pits (imagine there are oranges in your armpits. Squeeze them as you lift to maintain a stable back)

-Keep your chest up (this will prevent your back from rounding)

-Belt buckle to the chin (at the top of the movement, imagine bringing your belt buckle up towards your chin. This keeps your back from arching too much at the top)

  1. Kettlebell Swing

Similar to the deadlift, this movement can cause lower back discomfort. Here are some things to keep in mind when swinging:

-Don’t bend your knees. Swing with your hips (your hips are where your power comes from in the swing. The more you bend your knees, the less you’re using these powerful muscles)

-Thumbs to bum (at the bottom of the movement, your hands should be able to touch your butt. This means that the kettlebell is swinging back far enough and high enough. If it swings too low you can hurt your back)

  1. Overhead Press

Also known as the shoulder press, this movement can cause shoulder pain if done improperly. Here are some tips to master the overhead press:

-Rotate your hands as you press (your palms should face each other at the bottom of the movement, and you should rotate as you press until your palms face forward)

-Keep a flat back (as the weight gets heavier, people tend to lean backwards as they press. This places excess strain on the lower back)

For more coaching tips, ask our coaches in person!

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