Stay away from viral workout hacks

New Delhi: Social media these days is loaded with easy to do work out regimes that guarantee a considerable amount of weight loss within a short span of time. However, as convenient and tempting as these might sound, health experts don't think it is a wise idea.

With the kind of busy lifestyle the millennial lead these days, the internet seems to be the only connection between humans and the real world. It is all about being super updated with the latest trends.

In come the supposedly cool work out hacks that all over Instagram and Twitter feed. It's hard to miss these videos because they come with a shiny ray of hope, losing weight without putting in much effort.

Instead of going all the way to a gym, it seems much more convenient to comfortably sit at home, follow a video and get the ideal body shape. Pause when you don't get it, fast forward when you think it is getting too much and do everything as per your convenience.

While the shortcut always seems appealing, experts have major concerns about these exercise hacks.

"These videos are freely available all over the internet. And I don't think it is healthy to follow these tricks. Because people who are doing the exercise at home don't really understand the techniques behind those moves. They only do as they watch," said health expert Vikas Dabas, Co-founder and Head coach of Urban Akhara.

Dabas also pointed out that while the moves may seem easy, there is a lot of techniques that go into these exercise routines, something that the inexperienced social media users, who are working out for the first time, would not know about.

"People should not blindly follow these videos because an inexperienced person would not know his/her limits and lack the knowledge of the techniques behind the exercise they do. They sometimes might not even understand the intensity of these work out regimes and end up seriously hurting themselves," Dabas suggested.

Not just the coach, even the doctors suggest against these online quick workout videos.

Dr Pradeep Sharma, chief of Orthopedics, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, suggests that for the people who are following an exercise regimen, it is recommended that those people work out under the supervision of a trained instructor " because there might be exercises that are not suitable for your body."

"For instance, if you want to do hard exercises with the aim of strengthening your biceps or building your muscles in general, then you should follow a strict dietary regime and properly guided exercises because wrong movements and angles can lead to stresses and strains that cause unwanted muscle spasms, pain in the back, neck, shoulders, etc.," Sharma explained.

"Stress should be applied on points where it is required, and not on the other parts, or you'll land up in more trouble than good," he warned. He also pointed out the importance of body balance while performing yogic exercises.

"Supposing you are bending forward, then you also have to stretch parts of your body and maintain particular breathing patterns to avoid unwanted effects. So, you need to perform them under the supervision of a trained instructor when starting out," Sharma suggested.

There is no doubt that these trending workout video and their captions sound appealing when you are struggling to achieve your ideal body shape and trying to squeeze in healthy patterns in your jam-packed life. However, healthcare experts believe that when it comes to your body, these hacks should be taken with a pinch of salt.