Most likely you have done or seen at least one of these while visiting the gym. Keeping an eye on your posture can help reduce pain and prevent injuries. Here are just a couple common exercise forms mistakes.

1. Using arms during the kettlebell swing
A proper kettlebell swing is an explosive exercise that targets your hips, knees and ankles. Avoid using your arms to pull the kettlebell and never go overhead with this movement. It puts a lot of unnecessary strain on your shoulders.

2. Bad neck positions
Often, people bend their neck forwards or backwards while exercising. For example, they’ll look straight ahead when they deadlift or drop their head when they plank. That strains your cervical spine. Instead, imagine there is an apple between your neck and chin. Now keep that position while performing your exercise.

3. Arching your back as your push overhead
Too often, people bend backward as they push overhead. This, puts enormous and dangerous stress on the joints in your lumbar spine and can cause a serious injury. Squeeze your glutes and core as hard as you can as you push overhead—this will stabilize your lower back and help you push more weight overhead, safely.

4. Breathe!
Many either forget to breathe altogether or take shallow breaths which limits their oxygen intake and only serves to tighten up their necks and shoulders. For strength training, exhale while you’re doing the hardest work, and inhale as you’re coming back to your starting position.

5. Bad Posture on Cardio Machines
Stop hunching over when using the cardio equipment! “Cheating” with your posture not only causes back and neck pain, but it also promotes bad habits that can cause lifelong functionality issues. Keep a straight, relaxed posture with your core tight and your eyes looking straight ahead. If you get too tired to maintain good posture, then you’re too tired to keep going.