Navigating your way around the weight room can sometimes feel like an obstacle course—especially if you are not familiar with the surroundings. You can easily injure yourself if you're not being careful or attentive. In probably the largest study ever performed on weight room injuries, University of Arkansas researchers looked at weight-training injuries over a 20-year period and found that:
Safety Tip #1: Always warm up. Think of your muscles and connective tissues as cold rubber bands. If you were to pull hard on a cold rubber band, there is a good chance it will break, and your muscles are similar. A warm up serves to elevate your heart rate and increase blood flow throughout your body to prepare the muscles you are about to exercise. It should last about 5-10 minutes, at a low intensity that increases your breathing rate and makes you break a little sweat. Try to choose an activity that involves all muscle groups, like the rowing machine, elliptical trainer (with upper body handles) or power walking. Safety Tip #2: Use machines first. Some people believe that you are not really "strength training" until you graduate to the free weights. This is not true. Both machines and free weights have advantages and disadvantages, but the machines are the best starting point for beginners. When using a machine there's little to no chance that you'll drop a weight on yourself; it's simple to change your weight by moving the pin along the weight stack; and the machine ensures that your body is in proper position for good form and a lower risk of injury. Once you've trained with machines for a few weeks, you can gradually move up to free weights. Safety Tip #3: Start with a light weight. When starting a strength training program—or even trying a new exercise that you haven't done before—it's wise to select a lighter weight that you can lift comfortably. If your body is heaving, leaning or rocking for momentum to help you lift, or you can't lift the weight with proper, controlled form, then the weight is definitely too heavy and could injure your muscles or joints. It may take some trial and error if you're just starting out, but aim for a weight that you can lift for 12-15 repetitions in good form. Once you've mastered that weight, increase it by no more than 10% (5 more pounds if you started lifting 50 pounds) at your next session. Continued › |
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Fitness Articles › Special ConcernsAvoiding Injury in the Weight RoomDon't Be the Biggest Dumbbell in the Gym!-- By Jason Anderson, Certified Personal TrainerSparkPeople advertisers help keep the site free! Learn more
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Jason Anderson
Jason loves to see people realize the benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle. He is a certified personal trainer and enjoys running races--from 5Ks to 50K ultramarathons. See all of Jason's articles. |
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Member Comments
Sadly, the photo accompanying this article shows bad form. The guy has his knees bent more than a 90-degree angle, and they are past his toes. That puts undue pressure on the knee joints and can cause injury. - 6/22/2012 1:48:14 PM
But how do feminine hygeine products have ANYTHING to do with the underlined words? Please fire that marketing "genius". - 6/22/2012 1:47:11 PM
This is one of the worst articles I've ever read on this site. Yes, not crushing your hands under weights and not lifting more than you can safely and with good form will avoid injury. No kidding.
There has been plenty of research done by folks with actual degrees that has shown static stretching may increase injury while weightlifting, speed of repetition is unimportant so long as proper form is maintained, and that some machines, especially the Smith machine and Leg Press can be dangerous to joints. - 6/22/2012 1:09:09 PM
Machines TEND to isolate small muscles muscles (exceptions being leg press, lats pulldowns) and mislead people as to what they are actually achieving. There is no point sitting on a biceps machine for hours doing bicep curls - biceps don't grow that way...
First and foremost you need someone who knows what they are doing to teach you "form" on free weights. In particular, concentrating on compound movements with light weights. This is an efficient/quick and safe way to build whole body strength which in the long term will protect you from injury and improve your strength.
- 6/22/2012 4:23:43 AM