Fitness knowledge: The disadvantages of practicing in the mirror

Do you look in the mirror in the gym?

　　I believe that the most important thing in many gyms is that there are large mirrors hanging on each wall. Do you often practice in front of the mirror? After practicing, put a few pos in front of the mirror and take pictures again and again!

　　Practicing in front of the mirror can easily check your movements, so that your body can master the correct movements faster. Trainers can use the mirror to check their movements from different angles, and the mirror provides valuable feedback here.

　　Looking at the picture of holding up a large weight can help improve confidence. It is also a cool thing to watch yourself exercise hard.

　　But! You may not know that practicing in front of the mirror will make you lose some very important things!

　　　Unlike standard gyms, the weightlifting center does not have a mirror. If there is a mirror nearby, the weightlifters often deliberately train with their backs to the mirror. Interesting...

　　In the early stage of my training! In order to adjust the training movements as mentioned before, I often squat in front of the mirror! But once the squat rack was moved, and my squat felt very strange without the mirror!

　　So, I began to block the mirror during squat training. I hope to feel the correct depth of the squat and no longer get used to using the mirror to judge.

　　One day, when I was practicing jumping boxes in front of the mirror, I found myself using the mirror to observe my jumping and landing movements, rather than Feel the movements. I think this is wrong. I decided to dig deeper into this problem.

　　Suppose: training in front of the mirror will gradually weaken the motor ability, prolong the reaction time, slow down the speed of manufacturing force, affect the balance ability, and make the proprioception worse.

　　Eyes vs. Inner ears

　　Aged people are more likely to fall than young people. There are many causes of this phenomenon, but the most widely accepted assumption is that as we age, our inner balance feeling (the inner ear is responsible) will weaken, and we gradually start relying on vision to maintain balance.

　　We begin to use our eyes to see our body posture. If your body begins to tilt, the scenery in your eyes will also tilt. Then you will find a way to solve this problem. This system is effective, but it is not as effective as using the inner ear to maintain balance.

　　Using vision for judgment to solve the balance problem, the reaction time required is slightly longer. Light must be reflected from objects into your eyes, the brain judges the image, and then sends a signal to solve the balance problem.

　　The inner balance feeling is more sensitive to subtle changes in body posture, and can quickly send signals after observing the balance problem to solve the problem. The visual system takes only a little more time, but this little extra time will bring a big difference to the results.

(Note: Follow the fitness bar WeChat public platform, subscribe to search "Fitness Bar Network" or "Click to scan to follow")

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　　Simple test

　　To determine whether you rely mainly on vision to maintain balance, you can stand on one foot to maintain balance, and persist for about 15 seconds. Wait until you can relax, adapt to this posture, close your eyes, and see how long you can persist.

　　If you can't stand for less than a second or two after closing your eyes, it means you may be able to follow Rely on vision to maintain balance.

　　Motor ability and balance

　　Relying on mirrors to provide feedback will have adverse effects. This may extend the reaction time, poor proprioception, and slow down the speed of manufacturing force.

　　Remember that the response of the visual system is slower than the internal system. If you use the mirror to observe the movement, the reaction time will be doubled because you must first see your movement in the mirror, so that the picture can be transmitted to the brain through the eyes, and then the brain can find a way to correct the movement.

　　If you use slow movements, the length of the reaction time may not be much. But if you are using basic movements or explosive movements, strength and explosiveness are crucial to completing the movements, and the difference between reaction time is obvious.

Solution

　　First, avoid using mirrors in most training movements. Another option is to not look at the mirror, look above or below the mirror during training, or close your eyes.

　　You can also turn your back to the mirror, but this method is not suitable for squats. It is dangerous to take a few steps back after squats and put the barbell back into the squat stand.

　　It is not only squats to be noted .Default pulls, shoulder pushes, rowing, and even heavy curls should be avoided by mirrors, let alone weightlifting.

　　You can use a camera to take your own movements instead of mirrors. This can provide better feedback than mirrors, and there is no visual interference.

　　In addition, watching your own training video is as cool as self-appreciating with the mirror.

　　Don't use a mirror, you may feel uncomfortable at the beginning because changing old habits takes time. I suggest you stick to it for a while.

(Note: Follow the WeChat public platform of the fitness bar, and search for subscription accounts. "Fitness Bar Network" or "Click to scan and follow")

Related recommendations:

　　Precautions for beginners' fitness Tips for beginners' muscle building

　　Novices' fitness step by step - 10 rules to remember

　　No fitness has made progress? - It's time to optimize your training!