GYM SAFETY TIPS |
GYM SAFETY TIPS
Keep safety in mind!
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American Hospital Association, nearly 460,000 people sought medical attention for injuries involving gym and fitness equipment in 2015. Of that number, nearly 90,000 were injured in January of that year.
Accidents in the gym are entirely preventable and while we all get small injuries from time to time an activity that is geared around health should never put you in physical danger.
Here are some safety tips for the gym:
1. Form, form, form.
A general rule of weight training is form before weight. If you can’t lift something with good form, you shouldn’t try. Using good form and technique while in the gym is one of the best ways to keep yourself free from injury.
2. Use a spotter or gym partner.
There are many reasons for training with a partner, but one of the best is that it keeps you safe while training. A spotter, especially on exercises such as the bench press or squats, where you’re potentially under a lot of weight, should be mandatory when lifting heavy weights.
3. Stay hydrated.
A no-brainer, right? You get hot and sweaty at the gym, and you need water to replenish what you sweat out.
4. Put your weights back.
This overlaps with gym etiquette, but re-racking your weights goes a long way towards making the gym a safer place. Leaving heavy weights on the floor is just asking for accidents and injury.
5. Warm up.
If you’re using the cardio machines, start out slow and gradually build up to a run. If you’re going to be doing a HIIT (high-intensity interval training)-style session, still start out with a light jog to get the blood moving around your body. When it comes to weights and pin- or plate-loaded machines, put your body through the motions it’s going to be performing with a light weight, so your muscles switch on and engage.
6. Only lift weight you can handle.
Building strength takes time in the gym, so don’t rush into going too heavy while you can’t handle it. If you’re a beginner wanting to test how much you can lift, you’re liable to overdo it and may injure yourself. Find safer ways to test your strength — improving your form, looking up ways to test your maximum weight with a calculated rep scheme — and you’ll be fitter and healthier in the long run. Be safe; strength will come.
7. If you’re not sure, ask someone.
This might be the one that almost nobody does but the one with the most potential to make gyms a safer place. Nobody wants to be the person in the gym who doesn’t know how to do an exercise or use a piece of equipment properly, but if we just swallow our pride and ask a more experienced member, we might just learn some things.
Good luck with your resolutions. Stay fit and stay safe.
|
|