Greetings all, from Sumner Physiotherapy.
I have just recently attended a Body Pump class at the Y-West with Julie and found it incredibly enjoyable (although I was sore for a few days afterwards). Body pump is a great class as it combines the effects of resistance training and cardiovascular training at the same time.
One concern I have is that some of the people in the class were performing their squats incorrectly, and this can lead to problems especially in the lower back and knee areas. Although the instructors are giving the right advice there are still a few common faults that are occurring and I will attempt to address them.
Squat technique is relatively simple basically it's what we do to sit down or stand up but there are a few things you need to concentrate on.
Firstly before you do a squat you should make sure you have your feet a shoulder width apart, shoulders blades down and back and your abs tight (as these reduce the stress on the spine), then the movement is a bending at the hips and the knees. The two most common faults occur here. The first fault being flexing through the lumbar spine and not the hips, keeping your abs tight and keeping your head up should help reduce this tendency.
The second fault is that people allow their knees to go past their toes, this places great stress on the ligaments of the
knees and the kneecap. Generally this occurs as people lack the balance or strength to stay back. Movement should be down to approximately 90 degrees and the movements slow and steady.
I would strongly suggest that all of you should practice this technique in your own time so that you can get it perfect, you can do this without weights anywhere any time. It's very hard to improve your technique during a class when you are trying to keep up and are concentrating on timing and other things. It would be a great idea to get one of the many very knowledgeable staff members to check your technique.
If you begin to experience low back, neck or knee pain during or after a class come and see us, the sooner you see someone after a problem begins the quicker we can have you back doing your exercises and feeling good. If you leave it, it will continue to get worse and could become a serious problem which may affect a lot more than just your gym routine.
Anyway happy exercising and feel free to contact Scott at Sumner Physiotherapy with any queries (07) 3279 3871.
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