When you head off to the gym, you anticipate that you’ll work up a sweat and continue you burning calories and building muscle. What you don’t anticipate is slipping on the locker room floor or dropping a weight on your foot and getting injured. But sadly, things like this happen every day to people who visit the gym with the only intention of getting healthier. So to help ensure that you’re able to see yourself safe and maintain your body rather than winding up in a cast, here are three tips for avoiding injury when working out at the gym.
Always Use Proper Form
One of the most common ways that people get injured when working out at a gym is due to a lack of proper from. Whether you’re not using the right form because you don’t know what you’re going, you’re using too much weight, or you’re just simply getting lazy, bad form is almost a guarantee for getting an injury. That’s why, according to Jennifer Fox, a contributor to Active.com, you should always work on getting the proper form for an exercise before you add weights or really try to push yourself. If you’re not sure what the proper form is, ask a personal trainer who works at the gym or consult a friend or gym neighbor who might be able to give you a few safety pointers.
Find A Good Spotter
If you’re ever going to spend any of your time in the gym lifting weights, it’s vital that you find someone who can be a good spotter for you. When you’re using light weights, you might not need a spotter right there with you. But once you start adding weight or trying for personal records, you’re going to want someone there who can help you if need be. According to the editors of Muscle and Fitness, a good spotter is someone who’s strong and will stay alert to you while you’re lifting. Someone who’s easily distracted or is more interested in checking out other people at the gym isn’t a spotter you’re going to want to work with.
Cross-Train
Another common way that people get injured when working out at the gym is by over-training. When you’re working hard, you need to give your body the time it needs to recover and recuperate afterward. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to take days off in between your workouts. However, Paige Waehner, a contributor to Very Well Fit, shares that you should try to cross-train. What this means is that you never do the same activities two days in a row. By switching up your routine and working different muscles throughout the week, you can continue to get stronger and leaner without putting too much stress on any individual muscle group day after day.
If you want to avoid injury when you’re working hard at the gym, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how you can do just that.
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