5 Ways to Prevent Gym Injuries
Let's face it! Gym injuries happen. It sucks to be sidelined, so here are some ways in which you can tip the odds in your favour.
#1 - Avoid Big Spikes in Training Volume
Large spikes in volume may increase the risk of injury because the tissues aren’t ready to tolerate the sudden increase in stress.
Always ease back into training by starting with low to moderate amounts of volume to allow for the tissues to adapt.
#2 - Rotate Exercises
Performing the same exercises over and over may lead to overuse injuries.
For exercises that tend to be problematic, rotate it out for a cousin exercise that works for the same muscle groups but loads the tissues differently.
For example, instead of a medium grip bench press, a bench press with a closer or wider grip would be a reasonable substitute.
#3 - Avoid Painful Exercises
If you’re not competing in powerlifting or a sport that requires you to complete a specific lift, there’s no need to perform an exercise that causes pain.
Even if the pain is subtle, it’s best to find an alternative before the pain worsens.
This doesn’t mean to avoid that exercise forever, but instead, swap while you work on addressing the underlying issue.
#4 - Autoregulate Your Intensites
There will be days when your energy levels and overall mood to train are low. This can be from a lack of sleep, poor nutrition or work stress.
On days like these, pull back on training by decreasing your planned weights and leaving some reps in the tank.
Injuries are more likely to occur when fatigue is high, so waiting for another day might be a wise choice.
#5 - Exercise Variation
Exercise variation is essential for staving off injury. By performing a program limited in exercise variation, the risk for injury and pain goes up.
All well-rounded programs should include a mix of barbell, bodyweight, dumbbell, single limb, cable, and machine-based exercises to ensure variations in loading and range of motion.
Avoid programs that only include barbell based exercises as barbells can beat you up overtime.
