Gym cardio equipment selection and running injury prevention

Elliptical trainer: The elliptical trainer is arguably the most popular weight loss machine after the treadmill. It is a great boon for people with minor knee or lumbar injuries because the design of the elliptical trainer causes less wear and tear on the knees. It is also a very effective full-body aerobic exercise. In addition to fat loss, it can also exercise the gluteus maximus and the muscles on the outer thighs. Practicing on the elliptical trainer can effectively slim the legs and lift the buttocks.

When using an elliptical trainer, you can't just use your legs; you need to use your hands and feet together.

This is a full-body exercise that accelerates blood circulation, enhances fat burning, and boosts metabolism.

Spinning bike: The name spinning bike sounds cool, and its weight loss effect is also surprising.

The riding postures of a stationary bike are mainly divided into sitting and standing postures.

When riding in a seated position, you mainly use your legs to generate power, while standing is relatively easier and you can use your own weight to generate power. However, because you are using your own weight, the exercise effect is not as good as when you are riding in a seated position.

Some gyms offer spinning classes, usually led by an instructor with upbeat background music.

Teaching a cycling class like this is not so simple. The instructor needs to master the rhythm of the ride, lead everyone to reach an effective exercise heart rate, and encourage everyone to complete more than 30 minutes of cycling to achieve the best fat-burning effect.

6 Common problems when doing aerobic exercise such as running or walking

Next, let's talk about some common problems encountered during running or walking training.

Many beginners find that their legs get thicker and thicker when running or walking on a treadmill, and they also feel discomfort in their knees and back after running for a long time.

Many of my students ask me what causes this pain and thick legs, whether it's due to incorrect movements, and how to adjust them.

If a person feels discomfort in their knees and lower back while running or walking, there are three common reasons: First, they may have an injury to their lower back or knees; second, they may not have an injury to their lower back or knees, but they may have structural problems or improper exercise posture; and third, they may be using incorrect force.

Runner's knee, as it's commonly known, is a common lower limb injury caused by running, medically termed "chondromalacia patellae".

What's most annoying about it is that people's daily lives are inseparable from the movement of their legs, and with this disease, they will feel knee pain when walking normally, which will affect their daily life.

In addition, people with pronation or supination problems should be especially careful when running.

Inversion and eversion of the feet have a significant impact on our gait.

When walking normally, the soles of the feet point inwards, which is called foot pronation.

This condition often makes it very easy to strain the ligaments on the outside of the ankle.

If the soles of the feet point outwards, it is called eversion of the foot.

Outward turning of the foot can strain the medial collateral ligament of the ankle.

Ankle injuries can also lead to knee injuries.

When running, if the arch of the foot collapses during the landing process, the tibia of the lower leg may rotate inward through the joint.

If you don't pay attention to strengthening your arches, your arches will become loose when you run, and over time, the angle of internal rotation of the tibia in your lower leg will increase.

If you already have pronation issues, choosing soft-soled running shoes will worsen the pronation problem and eventually affect your knee health.

Runners with pronation issues will experience internal rotation of the tibia during the push-off motion, requiring the knee joint to be forced to rotate externally to maintain balance.

The impact on the knee joint during running is 2 to 4 times the normal body weight. If the force is uneven, it is particularly easy to cause patellar strain and lead to knee injury.

To prevent or avoid the above problems, it is necessary to first conduct gait and posture assessments, correct movement technique errors, and make adjustments based on both internal and external factors.

The following are common underlying causes that can easily lead to injury while running or walking.

● Excessive weight and high body fat percentage.

● Poor body flexibility, uneven muscle strength, incorrect force exertion, and incorrect posture.

● Has a leg length discrepancy issue.

● Poor cushioning upon landing while running.

● The foot shows both eversion and inversion.

The following are common external factors that can easily cause injuries while running or walking.

● The training schedule is not scientific.

● Running on the same running surface and running in circles on the same side results in excessive load on one side.

● Inappropriate choice of running shoes.