Gym Flooring

There’s a very common myth in bodybuilding that, “Squats are bad for your knees.” Hello! Any lift is bad for you if you execute it wrong. This whole myth came about because one too many people ended up trashing their knees from doing too much weight with horrible form. The reason squats became the villain is because it is an exercise that involves the entire body, and therefore has more things that can go wrong if one uses incorrect form. When squatting it is critical to keep the head and eyes straight ahead, the back at no more than a 45-degree angle, with the feet at, or slightly past shoulder width apart. When lifting, the backs of your legs should come down until they are parallel with the floor. Many people only do partial reps, thinking it puts less stress on the knees. Fact is, if you only do 1/2 or 1/4 squats, the stress from stopping short puts a lot of negative stress on the knees. When performing a full parallel squat, it is the glutes and hamstrings, which absorb the stress.

Also, avoid “accessorizing” as much as possible. If you find that you can”t squat as much as you would like without wrapping your knees and compressing your body with a suit or belt, give your ego a rest and go down in weight! Belts and body suits can give a sense of false security. They also hinder the abdominals from fully developing as stabilizer muscles, so they should be used sparingly. Knee wraps are downright dangerous. Not only do they prevent the muscles around the knee from properly developing, they also compress the kneecap. Both of these can lead to serious injury. Bottom line, most of the people who claim that squats gave them bad knees probably used bad form, did partial reps with horrific amounts of weight, all the while wrapped up in a Catwoman bodysuit, with tourniquets around their knees!  Read more...

A garden designed to reward and energise the senses, based on the spirit of Feng Shui, has been developed by luxury flooring company Barefoot at the RHS Show in Tatton Park.

 

‘Lose the Shoes’ provides a sensual experience that engages touch, sight, sound and smell with the five elements of Feng Shui; wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

 

The garden features Barefoot’s seamless Hot Rocks flooring, as well as their pebble-based exterior floor finish, creating a foot massaging pebble walkway.

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