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A graduate of Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Derek Weigel has worked as a financial entrepreneur with World Financial Group since 2016. In his free time, Derek Weigel stays active by hiking, playing sports, and lifting weights.
Whether your goal is to build muscle mass or simply increase your strength, it’s important to take the proper steps to avoid injury while weightlifting. An injury can seriously hamper your fitness goals and even lead to long-term problems if it is severe enough. Stay on track for a healthy workout with these three tips:
1. Be Sure to Warm Up
Warming up before hitting the weights is very important because it gives your muscles, ligaments, and tendons a chance to stretch. Warming up also gets blood flowing through the muscles, which promotes flexibility and mobility. A good warmup routine may include jogging, riding a stationary bike, or high-rep weight training with ultralight weights.
2. Always Use the Proper Technique
A proper warm-up won’t do much good if you don’t use the proper lifting techniques during your training. Using incorrect form can lead to muscle tears and even serious joint injuries. To ensure that you have proper form while lifting, you can consult with a trainer or ask a friend to watch or record your training routine. You should also learn how to safely bail out of a rep when you can feel that your form is off.
3. Don’t Lift Beyond Your Ability
If you want to avoid injury while you steadily improve in the gym, you need to respect your limits. Lifting too much is a sure-fire way to hurt yourself or your gym partner. You’ll know you’re lifting too much if you have to jerk or heave a weight to lift it. An inability to keep proper form or control a weight also signals that you’re lifting beyond your ability.
Derek Weigel (Gettysburg) 