Running with Moe April 30

With the current stay at home restrictions, the one thing that most fitness people miss the most is going to the gym for a workout.

I have written about several exercises and techniques that people can adapt while staying at home.  Last week I saw a video on my Facebook page that showed a number of people attempting to work out at home, and while it was meant to be amusing, it also caused me some concern.  I have been a personal trainer for many years and for some reason overlooked (in my article) the fact that there are a number of people that are not familiar with techniques necessary when lifting weights or pulling on exercise cables.  You recognize them in a gym setting by the creative way they use a piece of exercise equipment.

When beginning fitness people move from the gym to the home several things can go wrong. The video I watched should have had a warning label stating, “Caution: Exercising at Home May Be Hazardous to Your Health”. The surroundings in a home are not like the surroundings at a professional gym.  The gym has very stable benches, strong cables on weights, space and floor coverings to lift, and equipment is extremely durable.  Most furniture, and open space, in a home is not meant for an exercise room.  After watching the video it was very evident to see that those exercisers are not familiar with many of the safety procedures needed to exercise safely.

Space is one basic consideration.  Jumping rope instead of a treadmill workout needs adequate space.  A minimum of 4 feet in front and back of you, and a good three feet over your head is necessary.  A spinning rope can catch on lamp tables, lamps, overhead light fixtures, and chairs.  Some throw rugs are okay for normal walking around the house, but are not sufficiently anchored for jumping jacks or ‘burpee’ exercises.

Lifting weights has its own problems.  One of the most common is not tightening the collars on the end to keep the weights on the bar.  When a collar slips, the weights will fall off the end and Newton’s Law of “For every Action there is an Opposite and Equal Reaction” goes into effect.  When the weights on one end slip off the weights still on the bar are unbalanced.  The reaction is a strong pull to the weighted side and most people tend to hang on to the bar as it pulls them off to that side.

Another problem with weights is when the person handles a weight that is too heavy.  At home there is a chance that a spotter is not available.  When a weight falls across your body it becomes a major problem getting it off.  My most vivid memory was watching a friend lose a bench press.  It came down across his throat.  With a major panic, and an adrenalin rush, he popped the weight up to his upper lip, another rush, and a pop up to the bridge of his nose, one more rush and it bounced off his forehead before crashing to the floor.  The next day in class his face was a sight to behold.

Lifting a bar loaded with weights is bad enough, but using dumbbells is a real problem.  A dumbbell can get out of the line of movement to the front, back, or side.  And once a dumbbell starts to fall there is not much chance of stopping it from falling.  If the person is fortunate enough to have the dumbbell fall to the side, or across the body, that is bad enough.  I have seen too many near misses, and a few make actual contact, with a dumbbell hitting the head.  Keep the weight light enough so that complete control is maintained at all times.  The floors of most homes are not designed to handle a dropped weight on them.  Growing up as a high school student I dropped a number of weights on my dad’s new tile floor.  Years later the grooves of the weights are still evident on the tile.  Wood floors are not much better and a dropped weight can dent, and in some cases, splinter, a wood floor. 

Gym benches and seats are very heavy metal construction—but plastic lawn chairs and home table chairs are not designed, or meant to be used, as supports for lifting weights.  If the person is lifting a heavy weight and the plastic lawn chair breaks, or a chair tips to the side, both the weight and the person will fall to the ground.

One of the more popular advertisements on media outlets is the use of cables.  The advantages are that they are inexpensive, very compact for storage, and give a good strength work out.  What people fail to realize is that when a cable is stretched the resulting stress is often over 100 pounds, or more.  Too often the question of “What is the anchoring end of the cable attached to?” becomes a problem. Many of the products show it hooking on a door. With over 100 pounds of force many home doors are not made to withstand that amount of force.  When that anchoring end of the cable comes lose and hits the person full force it can hurt.  The video showed welts across the chest, the arms, even the face.  Doors were forced open because the latch was not designed for that amount of force.  In one scene with a very strong person pulling on a cable the entire door was pulled off the hinges and popped him across the head.

The main point of these examples is to make people aware of the possible dangers and take steps to prevent personal injury.  Check the collars on weights, and the anchor end of cables before starting.  And be sure to use a weight that you can safely handle.