A personal trainer has revealed why you’ve been squatting wrong this entire time, and how you can properly engage your ‘side glute’ to see results from your workouts.
Rachel Dillon, from Queensland, said when you exercise with a resistance band at home or in the gym, the aim isn’t just to hit a certain number of reps, but also ‘hit your reps with the correct form and technique’.
Rachel demonstrated how a resistance band is incorrectly used during workouts, and how to do it right for ‘optimum results’.
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A personal trainer has revealed why you’ve been squatting wrong this entire time, and how you can properly engage your ‘side glute’ to see results in your workouts (Rachel Dillon pictured)
Posting on Instagram , the PT said the most important thing to do when you work out with a resistance band is to avoid ‘rushing’ through your reps to get it done (pictured incorrectly)
‘You should also stop using a resistance band that is too heavy for you, as this will encourage you to cheat and you won’t see the results,’ Rachel said (pictured working out incorrectly)
WHAT TO AVOID DOING
Posting on Instagram, the PT said the most important thing to do when you work out with a resistance band is to avoid ‘rushing’ through reps to get it done.
‘Even though it hurts, you should stop rushing or swinging in and out of your reps,’ Rachel wrote.
‘You should also stop using a resistance band that is too heavy for you, as this will encourage you to cheat and you won’t see the results.’
Rachel said if your knees are ‘caving’ in, you’re either not doing it right or the resistance band is too heavy.
‘You need to stop driving the movement with your foot too,’ Rachel said.
‘Instead you want to feel the movement coming from your glutes, you want to feel them engage every time you dip.’
In order to work out properly with a resistance band, Rachel said you need to focus on a ‘slow and controlled repetition of each movement’ (pictured working out correctly)
The PT recommends choosing a resistance band that challenges you, but isn’t ‘so heavy that you can’t complete the exercise’ and getting deep into your exercises (pictured)
WHAT TO DO INSTEAD
In order to work out properly with a resistance band, Rachel said people need to focus on a ‘slow and controlled repetition of each movement’.
‘Remember, you want to feel your abductor or side glute contracting and working,’ she said.
The PT recommends choosing a resistance band that challenges you, but isn’t ‘so heavy that you can’t complete the exercise’.
‘Drive the movement with your knees to ensure optimal abduction engagement,’ Rachel said.
‘Finally, keep your foot flexed and in line with your knee but not travelling past it, as you drive through each rep.’
If you are struggling to exercise correctly during an abduction movement, Rachel explained it’s possibly because your ‘resistance band is too heavy’.
‘I would recommend reducing your band resistance until you are capable of completing the exercise with proper form,’ Rachel said.
Rachel (pictured) always tells her clients that a little movement each day is much better than working yourself to the point of exhaustion several times each week
‘It’s important to build a healthy relationship with fitness, and this is often achieved by integrating fitness with lifestyle, as opposed to stopping your lifestyle’ Rachel (pictured) said
RACHEL’S TOP EXERCISE TIPS
When it comes to exercise, Rachel always tells her clients that a little movement each day is much better than working yourself to the point of exhaustion several times each week.
‘Strive for progress, not perfection!’ she explained.
‘It’s important to build a healthy relationship with fitness, and this is often achieved by integrating fitness with your lifestyle, as opposed to completely stopping your lifestyle to focus on fitness.’
Rachel said that during lockdown she has re-discovered the joys of working out from home with new Bodies By Rachel app.
‘There are so many workouts you can do from home or anywhere, that require zero equipment,’ she said.
‘We often underestimate just how easily we can make changes.
‘If you commit to a workout plan and diet approach for four weeks, you can see some incredible physical benefits.’
