With more people incorporating weight training into their fitness routine, a recent study has found that injuries have jumped up 63 percent. As Calgary’s top personal trainer, my priority is to ensure that everyone I coach learns to lift properly and avoids any injuries in the gym. It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, this week’s blog contains useful tips for weight training safely.
Warm Up
The warm up is the equivalent to breakfast in the gym, and similarly, many people skip this important step. Research clearly indicates that warming up before you weight train will increase circulation and prepare your muscles for the range of motions required in lifting weights. Your warm up can include the following:
- Static stretching
- Dynamic stretching
- 5 minutes cardio on the treadmill or row machine
Proper Form
An exercise like the dead lift is a complicated movement that requires several different muscle groups. If you’ve never weight trained before, it’s going to take time to learn to do this type of exercise properly. Start with basic lifts and work on increasing your range of mobility before attempting more complicated lifts. Far too often I see people in the gym that are learning complicated movements on their own from YouTube or from a book and ultimately end up executing incorrectly. If you’ve never weight trained before, your best bet is to have a professional trainer or someone that is well versed in weight training to teach you. All of my colleagues agree; lifting weights with an emphasis on proper form yields top results and is the best preventative measure.
Overdoing It
If you can barely move the next day, you’ve most likely over trained. When weight training, it’s easy for you to believe your body can take on more than it can handle. Increased reps, more sets and attempting weight that is far too heavy can cause you to miss the next three days of training, which is counterproductive. Reps/Sets/Weight all need to be increased gradually! First learn to execute a lift properly with lighter weight and then slowly increase volume in all the categories.
I strongly believe that you need a plan when it comes to achieving your fitness goals. Weigh training for both men and women is a great way to increase strength, lose weight and transform your body. However, to achieve maximum results you need to learn to lift properly and safely. Working with a personal trainer is always the best way to get the most out of your workout. If you have questions about how to get started on weight training, contact Paul Anthony today.
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