How to Avoid Hurting Yourself in the Gym

Posted by : bmahfood Saturday, October 13, 2012

Almost nothing will knock your exercise routine out of commission like an injury. If you hate going to the gym, that can seem like a blessing: Finally, a good excuse not to go! But if you like your exercise or count it as important to your quality of life, hurting yourself in the gym is not a happy event. Here are 5 major causes of gym injury. Avoid them and be well!

1. No Warm-up

Warm, limber muscles and joints are conducive to great workouts. Cold, locked-up muscles and joints lead to injuries. Pulled muscles and tendons, strained joints and the like can easily result from no or inadequate warm-up, so take some time to stretch and get the blood flowing before hitting the big weights.

2. Over-Repetition

It's important to switch things up every so often, not only to avoid boredom and fitness plateaus, but also to avoid injuries. Repetitive movements can, over time, cause muscle imbalances and damage, so just like a balanced diet, make sure your workouts are balanced and hit all major muscle groups; and think about changing routines once in a while.

3. Distractions

The gym can be a distracting place, and it can be dangerous to lose focus in the middle of a heavy lift. The stronger you get, the heavier weights you'll be lifting, and heavy weights can quickly get out of your control. Avoid this by keeping your mind on what you're doing. Once the weight is down and the set it over, then you can drift for a bit before the next set.

4. Bad Form

Remember what you're trying to accomplish at the gym. The goal of lifting weights is not to lift the weight by any means possible. It's to increase muscle mass and strength. To that end, proper form is everything. Swinging the weight and putting your entire body into getting it up can not only minimize the benefit of the movement, it can also break something vital. So concentrate on the muscle you're trying to work, use it to lift the weight by sticking to good form, and avoid the mistake of trying to lift...

5. Too Much Weight

Strength and mass are increased by putting tension on the muscle, so you have to lift enough weight to shock the muscle into getting bigger and stronger. But pushing the pounds up too quickly can lead to bad form and serious injury. If you can't lift it using good form, back down the weight a bit.