Injuries suck. Getting hurt sucks. Not only will they keep you away from the gym, but injuries will leave you frustrated and prevent you from hitting workouts hard. Workout injuries are caused by more than just a bad deadlift, a majority of it has to do with carelessness and faulty equipment.
Treadmills, for example, cause more injuries than any other piece of exercise equipment — people can fall, trip, slip, and even get their fingers caught in the belt.
A significant number of injuries also happen when people get hit, struck, crushed by weights, or even hit by other gym goers.
As for training-related mishaps, research shows that sprains and strains account for more than half of all injuries.
Learn how to protect yourself, be aware of other people’s safety, and enjoy more results with less missed days by following these eight tips to avoid the most common gym-related injuries.
Whenever you bench, always have a spotter. If you can’t find one, bench in the power rack and set the safety pins to a height that allows you to slide out from underneath.
When you squat, set the pins to a height slightly below the lowest point of the bar during your squat; that way, if you can’t do the weight, you can sit down and dump the bar onto the pins. Also, always use clips when squatting — they prevent the plates from sliding off and creating a disaster.
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Stay Focused During Cardio
While cardio seems like the perfect time to drift away, watch television, read a magazine, or listen to music, you still need to stay focused. If you drift too far to the side, you can trip and fall. If you bend down and try to pick something up, you can lose your balance and get thrown off the treadmill.
Always concentrate on what you’re doing. Sure you can listen to music, but be aware of the steps you’re taking or where you are on the treadmill. Also, turn off or pause the machine if you need to pick something up.
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Create Boundaries
Whether your texting or switching the song on your smartphone, either one can be extremely distracting when walking. I once had a fellow personal trainer step on my client — despite my shouting — because she was texting.
Leave your towel, bag, or your bottle on the ground to designate your workout area or find a corner of a gym to do your circuit.
Avoid exercising in areas with high-foot traffic.
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Re-Rack Carefully
I’ve seen a lot of people crush their hand or pinch their fingers when racking dumbbells or throwing their plates back onto a power rack.
Improperly placed weights can also fall and break your toes or feet. Take your time when re-racking your weights and make sure they’re secure before letting go.
When putting plates back onto a power rack or weight rack, never stack the plates to the edge — they’ll fall off.
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Pay Attention To Others
Never walk right next to someone as they’re exercising: it’s rude and dangerous.
You never know if their exercise requires a lot of space. Worse, you never know if they’ll lose control, fall over, and let go of a weight and hurl it in the air. Give everyone plenty of space when walking by or just wait until they finish their exercise.
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Do A Proper Warmup
Doing a few arm circles and a five-minute jog on the treadmill before your heavy bench press is a recipe for a shoulder strain. Instead, prevent muscle strains and pulls by doing a comprehensive warmup before your workout.
Do a circuit of dynamic stretches to open up your joints, improve your range-of-motion, and warm up your body. Then, do activation exercises to fire chronically weak muscles — like your mid-traps, serratus anterior, or glutes — which are often the culprit in muscle pulls and poor posture.
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Select Appropriate Exercises
An injury increases your chance of getting injured in the same place again. So, choose exercises that work around your previous injury that will also improve strength and power.
If you have shoulder problems, for example, avoid pressing behind your neck, bench presses, and intense overhead movements like snatches and barbell presses. If you have significant lower back pain, avoid deadlifts and even back squats. And if you have knee problems, minimize the range of motion at your joint with hip thrusts and Romanian deadlifts.
