How to Lift Weights without Getting Hurt
No one wants to get hurt while working out. Getting injured will derail your progress and consistency. In order to prevent weight training injuries, you need a good plan. This guide will help you lift weights without getting hurt.
In this article, we discuss eight tips to help prevent most weight training injuries.
Check your Ego at the Door
To help prevent weight training injuries, it helps to get in the right mindset at the start of each workout. Remember that each session is an opportunity to practice making good training decisions. That means using the right weights that allow you to use good technique and practice good form on all your major movements.
You don’t need to practice ego lifting, a practice that involves using poor form and partial range of motion on weights that are too heavy for you. Instead, try to use good form, full range of motion and good technique with weights that are appropriate for your fitness level.
Just because you can lift 500 pounds does not mean you need to lift that much to make progress. For most people, using 60-80 percent of your one rep max on most movements will allow you to make better progress with a lower risk of injury.
Warm up Properly
While you don’t need to warm up for 30 minutes, a simple ten minute warm up can help you reduce the risk of injury and prime your body for better performance. Try to RAMP up for your workout. Start with a few minutes of easy cardio like walking, jogging or cycling. Next, try a few mobility drills to improve mobility during your workout. Then progress to a couple exercises that activate muscles you will use during your workout. For instance, try five to ten glute bridges and a ten second plank before your squat workout.
Then, try warming up for the specific movements you plan to perform. Before your squat workout, try body weight squats, light squats with the bar, and a few more warm up sets. Progress the weight and reduce the reps with each warm up set until you reach your working sets.
Learn Proper Form
Learning proper form and technique can help you reduce the risk of injury. Work with a qualified trainer to learn proper technique. Aim to improve your technique over your entire lifting career. You will never achieve perfect technique, so keep working towards it!
Proper technique will help distribute stress evenly so you can reduce the risk of joint, tendon and ligament injury.
Achieve Muscle Balance
Many injuries result from poor program design that emphasizes one muscle over the opposing muscles. To achieve muscle balance, you might even need an unbalanced program.
For instance, most people should do more rowing and pulling than pushing and pressing. Most people need more glute and hamstring work than exercises for their quads.
Make sure you create a program that works all your major muscle groups instead of just your mirror muscles.
Vary your Program
Using different exercises over your training career can help prevent pattern overload and overuse injuries.
Try to experiment with different exercises every six to sixteen weeks. Why not try a front squat instead of just working on your back squat? You could also cycle in a floor press instead of a typical bench press.
Changing up your program every once in a while can help you train your muscles in a slightly different way to avoid weight training injuries and alleviate boredom too.
Improve your Mobility
Improving your mobility can help you achieve full range of motion in your weight training program. Stretching and mobility training can also help you distribute stress evenly across your joints.
Try to perform a few mobility drills before each workout, during your warm up. You can also try some simple stretches after your workout a couple times per week. Hold stretches at a point of mild discomfort for 15 to 30 seconds. You can also try partner stretches to improve flexibility and mobility.
Take Rest Days
Rest days can help your body repair microscopic damage to your joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles. Active rest days can also help boost recovery and repair. Try to include at least two days off from strength training per week. You can try an easy fifteen to thirty minute cardio session on rest days to help speed up recovery.
Laying off the weights a couple days per week can help you reduce and prevent weight training injuries.
No Pain All Gain
If you have pain in a tendon, joint or ligament during a weight training workout, you should stop and get evaluated. While you should expect normal muscle discomfort, joint pain can indicate you need to make changes to your routine.
Consult a physician or physical therapist to troubleshoot your pain. They may suggest a specific treatment protocol, modifying your technique or avoiding any painful movements.
Don’t push through pain as it will likely just get worse.
However, if you have preexisting joint pain, starting a smart weight training program can actually improve your pain and reduce stress and strain on your joints and ligaments.
Final Thoughts
Weight training injuries are fairly common, but that does not mean they have to be normal.
By following the tips in this article, you can reduce the risk of many weight training injuries that could derail your efforts. Hopefully his guide will help you lift weights without getting hurt!
