This week I tried using the rowing machine at Blomquist Recreation Center. However, there were no instructions anywhere on the machine, and no one around seemed informed on how to use it.

I fiddled with the settings, tried a couple different ways of rowing and finally concluded I had no clue how to use the machine. This experience reminded me of the best piece of workout advice I know — make sure you are doing the exercise right.

Whether it’s asking for advice, searching online or looking at the diagram on the lifting machine, make sure that the exercise is affecting the right body parts and that you are maintaining the right form — lowering your butt during push-ups or having your legs wider while lifting or squatting.

Here’s some of the best advice other Northwestern students have received:

“I was in Navy ROTC and they always had me stretch beforehand,” Weinberg junior Carrie Willis said. “Stretching is very important.”

“Have the right form. It’s more important than the amount you lift,” Weinberg sophomore James Fan said. “Take your time when lifting.”

“Pace yourself and do cardio as much as you can,” Weinberg junior Aarohi Shah said.

“I like to play basketball around five times a week,”  Bienen-Weinberg senior John Choi said. “It gets me running and it’s fun.”

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