Am I doing it right?

I know there are a lot of people that prefer to workout at home these days. Please be safe if that's the path you are on. Whether you use to work out frequently or are just starting out please keep these general tips in mind.

make sure you are working the intended muscle. It's perfectly fine to start low to assure you are targeting the correct muscle for the exercise you are doing. Keep in mind that the professionals or even the the gym rats started low when they first started.

Reality check: Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't wake up one day and say I'm gonna bench press 400 lbs. He worked his way up to what he did.

When you are starting low pay attention to what movement is targeting that muscle best.

ex: If you are curling and your elbow is too far forward then you may be putting unwanted pressure on your deltoids, your shoulder and elbow joints and tendons.

I would much rather hear from someone on how well they worked the intended muscles accurately than how much weight was lifted with an injury. Think of how much better you and your body will feel lifting that heavier weight more accurately once you've worked up to it. Some injuries can last a lifetime, and most are avoidable. Let's reach our goals and not be our own saboteurs.

Make sure you are working for your goal. All forms and types are great for success but some are better depending on your goals. There are plenty of people that are in excellent shape and healthy from doing just bodyweight workouts. Lower weights with a 5 sets of 8-15 reps range would work great for building strength and building lean muscle mass. Research or talk to a professional to find out which routine will work best for your goals. Weightlifting, body weight workouts, yoga, hiit, crossfit etc....

Now the boring time killer stuff, stretching. It sounds like such a pain but if you stretch properly and use myofascial rollers then what you are doing is breaking apart the knots in your muscles and separating the compacted muscle tissues. By doing so you are giving the muscles proper space for growth and proper blood flow through the muscle tissues.

Breathing: breathe out when you are on the cycle of using your muscle and breathe in during the release.

ex: Curling- breathe out on the way up and breathe in on the way down

Bench presses- breathe out on the way up and breathe in on the way down

Squats- breathe out on the way up and breathe in on the way down

pullups- breathe out on the way up and breathe in on the way down

Arm yourself with knowledge, achieve your personal goals.

ok that's all i have today. have yourself a wonderful day and be safe.