Best Ways to Avoid Injuries While Exercising

The fastest way to end your workout is to get injured.  Sustaining an injury not only can end your day at the gym immediately, but it can also keep you out of the gym for an extended period of time.  All of the gains you’ve made could be lost.  The most common injuries occur at the spine, shoulder and knee.  But, there are several things you can do to play it safe and avoid injury.  Get a personal trainer, warm up before starting, watch your form, proper gear for your activity, start gradually and know when to stop.

Get A Coach

If you want to learn how to do things the right way, you get an expert on the subject to educate you.  In strength training, that means hiring a personal trainer.  Yes, it’s an added expense and for some it is too expensive.  But, if your need is great enough, it may be worth the expense, at least for a few sessions to help teach you a program that will help you to safely reach your fitness goals.

Warm Up

It’s not good to wake up and grab heavy weights immediately.  A proper warm up helps loosen up our joints and increase blood flow.  We never run right out of bed, we take a few slow steps before getting into our walking pace to the bathroom or kitchen.    Warming up also helps you to get focused on what you want to do at the gym that day.  Get you centered and motivated to workout.

Proper Technique

The importance of technique cannot be overstated.  Proper form is more of a key factor to gaining strength, than how much weight you can lift.  In strength training, many injuries occur when muscles begin to become fatigued.  That is when lifters start to shift the positions while muscles are under the tension of the weight.  The tendency to shift an elbow, shoulder or foot position is greatest. 

Our muscles cannot read the number on the weight.  They can’t add the weight plates on the bar.  Set a weight that you can safely lift for the target number of repetitions.  This is one of the most important places a personal trainer NYC can make a difference in your fitness program.

Get The Right Gear

You could ultimately exercise in any top, bottom and footwear.  But wearing uncomfortable, improper fitting and materially inferior can lead to issues.  For instance, proper footwear is essential for your foot type and activity.  Runners must consider whether they are under-pronators or overpronators. This determines whether you need a stability shoe or a cushioned shoe.  But, you shouldn’t necessarily wear running sneakers when deadlifting. It’s also important if you want to wear gloves, ankle wraps

Start Gradually and Know When to Stop

If you are new to strength training, then you don’t want to try to copy all the moves that your friend who has been exercising for a year or more.  Start slow, start light.  As mentioned above, go lighter on your sets so you can learn proper form and grow into the workout.  On the flip side of starting gradually, it’s important to know when something doesn’t feel right.  There is a difference between a muscle feeling worked and when you may be risking an injury.  Listen to your body.  

The same way you would listen when you feel like doing a few extra reps, know when you should stop early.  Live to lift safely another day.

@neighborhoodtrainer