The most common weight-training injuries are those related to the use of poor exercise technique. Incorrect technique can pull, rip or wrench a muscle or tear delicate connective tissue quicker than you can strike a match. An out-of-control barbell or stray dumbbell can wreak havoc in an instant. Each human body has very specific biomechanical pathways. Arms and legs can only move in certain ways, particularly if you're stress-loading a limb with weight. Strive to become a technical perfectionist and respect the integrity of the exercise -- no twisting, turning or contorting while pushing a weight. Either make the rep using perfect technique or miss the weight. Learn how to miss a rep safely; learn how to bail out.
>> Learning good form on basic moves is the best way to avoid injury in the future. Get a crash-course on the nuances of the basics here.
2) TOO MUCH WEIGHT
Using too much weight in an exercise is a high-risk proposition ripe with injury potential. What's too much: If you can't control a weight on its downward, loading trajectory; if you can't contain a movement within its biomechanical boundaries; and if you have to jerk or heave a weight in order to lift it. An out-of-control barbell or dumbbell assumes a mind of its own; the weight obeys the laws of gravity and seeks the floor. Anything in its way (or attached to it) is in danger.
>> What are the four best moves for building strength? Click here.
3) INADEQUATE WARM-UP
Let's define our terms: A warm-up is usually a high-rep, low-intensity, quick-paced exercise mode used to increase blood flow to the muscles. This quick, light movement raises the temperature of the involved muscles, while also decreasing blood viscosity and promoting flexibility and mobility. How? Everyone knows that a warm muscle with blood coursing through it is more elastic and pliable then a cold, stiff muscle. Riding a stationary bike, jogging, swimming, stair climbing and some high-rep weight training are recommended forms of warm-up.
Try a 5-10-minute formalized warm-up before stretching. If you choose high-rep weight training, try 25 ultralight, quick reps in the following nonstop sequence: calf raise, squat, leg curl, crunch, pull-down, bench press and curl. Do one set each with no rest between sets. This can be accomplished in fewer than five minutes and warms every major muscle in the body.
4) NOT STRETCHING
Stretching is different than warming up. Properly performed, a stretch helps relax and elongate a muscle after warm-up and before and after weight training. As a result of warming up and stretching, the muscle is warm, loose and neurologically alert — at its most pliable and injury-resistant. In addition, stretching between sets actually helps build muscle by promoting muscular circulation and increasing the elasticity of the fascia casing surrounding the muscle. Finally, if you perform muscle-specific stretches at the conclusion of your workout, you'll find that this will virtually eliminate next-day soreness.
>> For more on stretching for muscle health and growth, click here.
5) BAD SPOTTING
If you lift long enough, you'll eventually get to a point where you need to have a spotter(s) for a number of exercises, including the squat and bench press. When you work as hard as you're supposed to, you occasionally miss a rep. Nothing wrong with that — it's a sign that you're working to your limit, which is a good thing if it isn't overdone. Yet when you work this hard, you need competent spotters. A good spotter should conduct himself at all times as though the lifter is on the verge of total failure. Your training partner can also give you a gentle touch that allows you to complete a rep you'd normally miss. A top spotter needs be strong, sensitive and ever alert to the possibility of failure — not looking around or joking with friends.
>> For the best ways to push your training intensity without a spotter, check out "Flying Solo" by clicking here.
