You, a commercial gym supervisor, are supervising the resistance training area when you hear a lot of clanging noise by the seated leg press machine. You observe a participant not controlling the descent of the weights. You suggest he slowly return the weights rather than letting them drop quickly. A day or two later, he reports that he felt more sore than usual after that workout. What accounts for this? Is it safe for him to exercise today?


Answer: He is feeling more sore than usual because likely the weight was too heavy for him, and he was not able to control the descent of the weights properly, leading him to overexert himself in the exercise. He may want to rest a bit longer before returning to workout as normal, as he does not want to injure himself in the long run. In the process of not performing the seated leg press as he should (in a safe manner), he risks overusing his muscles, and maybe even tearing a muscle or ligament in the long run.