Five Exercises You’re Doing Wrong and How to Fix Them

We’ve all heard the term “No pain, no gain,” but when is that pain actually a sign that you’re doing an exercise totally wrong? “Good post-workout soreness usually happens in your muscles 24-48 hours after a workout while bad soreness is pain or swelling in your joints,” says Stacy Berman, a personal trainer and founder of Stacy’s Boot Camp.

If you think you’re doing yourself a favor by cutting corners with those push-ups, then newsflash: not only are you cheating yourself out of a great workout, but you’re also putting your body at risk for injuries. “If you are doing an exercise correctly you should never feel joint strain and only feel the muscles that you are trying to work,” Berman points out. So take the time to develop proper form now before bad habits become ingrained—they are much harder to break years down the line.

Here, Berman shares five exercises you could be doing wrong and how to whip yourself back into perfect form!