Five Rules to Avoid Gym Injuries

5 Rules To Avoid Injuries In The Gym
by Mike Stason

Listen, if you want to get big, you have to train big.

Don’t think it is enough if you stop by at your local gym once in a while to do some weightlifting. It won’t have any effect if you don’t do it regularly. You must stress your muscles in order to stimulate them to grow.

Muscles only grow if they have to. This means if you overload them in a way that they activate their natural survival instinct. If your muscles don’t get a reason to grow they won’t.

People doing serious training are always at a higher risk of injury. But there are several simple steps that when performed carefully will reduce your risk of injury.

An injury will stop you in your tracks when doing serious muscle training.

Below I will outline my 5 golden rules when it comes to minimizing the risk of injury. If you can honestly say that you implement all 5 of these into your training program, then your risk of getting hurt will be much lower than someone who does not.

1) A thorough warm-up phase

Proper warm up is the single best thing you can do to minimize your risk of injury. This simple 15-20 minute process will prepare your body for the hard work to come by increasing blood flow into the surrounding connective tissue and by lubricating your joints. I recommend that you perform 5 minutes of light cardiovascular exercise before each workout followed by 4-5 warm up sets for your first major exercise of the routine.

2) Always train with proper form

This should go without saying. Every exercise that you perform in the gym should be done with proper form and technique in order to keep the stress off of your joints. If you start squatting or dead-lifting with a rounded back, jerking the weights around in a ballistic manner or performing dangerous exercises you are almost guaranteed to hurt yourself at some point.

3) Training within your personal limits

Weightlifting is always some kind of battle. Don’t let your ego take over here or your are bound for disaster. Don’t mind the guy next to you. This is not a contest between you and him. The only thing that matters is your personal training program. Stick to it and always consider your own limits. Don’t try to impress people around you. It won’t help your muscle to grow.

4) Know when it is time to stop

If you cannot complete another rep of an exercise using proper form, the set is over, plain and simple. If you start using huge amounts of momentum and jerky body motions to crank out a couple of extra reps, you’ll be on the sidelines before you know it.

5) Don’t ignore aches

When you carry out your training week after week it might impossible to quit at some point. However, there are certain points when you just have to stop. Never ignore signs of injuries or pain as it will probably get worse over time given the fact than you need 100% energy from your body.

It may hurt your progress short-term but it will benefit you long-term if you get a small problem checked my a med before it gets bigger.

There is much more to be said about growing muscles and working out in the gym. Proper warm up, the right amount of exercise, the right food I could go on forever.

If you are serious about your efforts to gain strong muscles you can learn even more details about proper training for growing your muscles by visiting my website using the link below. My secrets to gain strong muscles