Injuries

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Avoiding Injuries when Strength Training

Whatever your reasons for strength training, it is crucial to perform your lifts with the right form and technique or else risk injury. 

The warm up 

First, it is important to warm up properly. When you warm up, your muscles become looser, ready for action. You lose any stiffness from your resting limbs and you are less likely to suffer any pain or soreness after the exercise.

A good way to warm up is to go for a gentle run. Depending on how fit you are, you should run or jog until you are feeling warm and a little out of breath. Maybe 5 - 10 minutes. As you are preparing for a strength workout, your run will most likely be on a treadmill at the gym. Other effective warm ups could be using a rowing machine or stepper. Whatever gets your heart rate up and muscles warm.

Stretching

It is crucial to stretch after your warm up. Do not try stretching before your warm up, as not only will this not be very effective as your muscles will not be warm enough to be receptive to the stretch, you could also pull a muscle or create soreness.

Try to stretch all the main muscle groups. Pay particular attention to muscles you will be specifically targeting in your strength workout. For example, always stretch your thighs, front, back and side (quads and hamstrings), buttocks (glutes), achilles tendons and calves for workouts which involve your legs, which includes both the squat and the the deadlift

The Back 

The back is especially vulnerable when weight lifting. This is why many serious weight lifters use back supports. The supports aren’t necessary for regular lifting and can even be a bad idea as they get your back used to using an artificial aid to help it, rather than letting it become stronger on its own. 

When performing lifts, it is always advisable to keep your back straight. Maintain muscle tension in your abs throughout the lift to support your back and never slouch or hunch up. Be careful with your lower back when bending down and standing up from a bend. This is particularly important with the deadlift.

The Knees

The knees are also vulnerable. When performing lifts, it is advisable never to bend the knees much lower than 90 degrees to the ground. It is also important to keep the knees behind the toes when bending and to push hard through the heels when raising up, not the front of the foot. This is all good advice to keep in mind for performing the squat.

Keeping a relatively wide stance and having your feet slightly turned out while performing a lift can also help to support the knees. Certainly do not point the feet inward or try a very narrow stance when lifting as this puts undue pressure on the knees.

Diet and Sleep 

Of course, if you are not feeling at your best when working out, this will impact on your performance and could even lead to injury. Make sure you are well rested before attempting a strength training session so that you can use your full energy and concentration. It is also important to eat well so that your body has all the nutrients it needs to perform to its best ability. 

If you feel weaker than normal due to poor sleeping or eating habits, you may not be able to lift as much as your potential. If you try to make full use of your usual strength, you could also cause an injury to yourself from not realising your new limitations.

 

 

Deadlift

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Bench press

Shoulder press

Bicep curl

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Dips

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