Whether you are a newbie to fitness or a seasoned veteran, you will be familiar with weight training. When done right it can be very effective for building strength, endurance and muscle mass, but poor techniques can lead to unwanted injuries.
However, with proper techniques weight training can provide significant and effective results, hence we’ve compiled the ultimate guide to ensure you do everything right!
Why is proper Weight training technique essential?
With every training plan comes the liability of getting injured, with weight training you lift heavy weights that push your body to exert pressure and strain muscles, tendons and joints, hence here are some reasons why you need to strengthen your foundation of weight training:
Reducing the risk of injury
While training you can encounter some short-term injuries that can be painful like when you overstretch or tear a muscle while losing your footing or posture while lifting weights.
There are possibilities of inflammation in the tendons from straining your muscle from repetitive lifting or overtraining, along with knee and back injuries.
The chances of these to occur become greater when you lack good technique or go into it without proper prior training.
Preventing long-term Health issues
If you are lucky enough to never encounter short-term injuries, there might still be chances of damaging your body in the long term.
Poor technique will cause your joints to be overstrained which leads to conditions such as arthritis that causes chronic inflammation in your joints. (1)
Understanding your limits
When you are lifting with poor technique, your balance is already off, which means it is hard to tell how much your body can lift without risking an injury.
You might go a long time lifting weights with the wrong technique, however, the price is paid for success in the long run by your body.
Now that we’ve established the importance of using the right technique let’s look into the;
Do’s and don’ts of weight training
Do’s
Identifying your strength
The first step is to identify your strengths. Every person has a different capacity for lifting weights and yours might not be the same but the general idea is to begin with a weight you can lift comfortably 10-15 times.
Always begin with lightweight lifts and progress as your muscles are strengthened from consistent sets and the same exercise.
Perfecting your form
When you’re beginning into weightlifting you should seek out a professional trainer or someone familiar with proper training techniques to establish a form that is proper for you.
When you are lifting it is essential that you move through the full range of motion of your joints, the better your form is the greater the results are and the less likely you will encounter an injury. If you keep losing footing and cannot maintain a proper form, decrease your weights and number of repetitions.
Compose yourself
You need to compose your body and mind to understand the cues when lifting.
Even if you feel like holding your breath while lifting you need to ensure you sync your breathing; breathe in when lifting and breathe out when lowering the weights.
Align your goals
You might have certain goals or have certain preferences with your body but you must work all your major muscles like hips, legs, chest, abdomen, back, arms and shoulders.
A balance between all the major muscles front and back will create harmonised strength and endurance.
Strength training
A study found that regular strength training resulted in a greater increase in lean mass and strength (2)
Hence, it is recommended to add strength training to your fitness routine at least twice a week.
Relax
Over-exerting yourself will lead to injuries, do not exercise the same muscles for two or three days in a row.
Schedule or assign each day of the week and remember to take breaks and rest when needed.
Don’ts
Never skip a warmup
A study was conducted to observe the effects of warm-ups before a sports event and it was found that it significantly reduced the injuries in individuals when warm-up intervention programs were performed. (3)
Cold muscles are more prone to injuries than ones that are warmed up. Performing a 10-minute warm-up before lifting is crucial and cannot be skipped.
Don’t be hasty
The people around you might be lifting more than you but their level of fitness is a result of the exact steady pace as yours, so don’t get hasty and move the weight in hurried motion but slow down and rest for about a minute each between the exercises.
Don’t go overboard
You know when you’ve reached your limit, take the cue from your body and stop, overstraining your muscles beyond your current capacity will lead to unnecessary injuries and pain.
Listen to your body
Pushing your limits is what fitness is all about but the fine line between that and your health can often become blurred. Fatigue from a good workout can be reinforcing but pain is entirely different and should not be ignored.
Listen to your body and take it easy when it’s reached its limits. Resting is just as important.
Proper gear
Working on your body shouldn’t be your only goal, you also need to be consciously protecting it, proper shoes for lifting will provide better traction and keep you from slipping and injuring your feet.
Conclusion
Weight training is all about focus, discipline and technique, once you master all the three elements the results will be significant.
You might experience difficulty at the beginning but with enough time and training, you will be comfortable and proficient at it. To ensure complete safety check in with a professional trainer and a health care provider for safety concerns.
FAQs
1. What are the dos and don’ts of exercising?
Do’s
- Consult your physician or trainer before indulging in any exercise programs
- Choose exercises that seem appropriate to your fitness level and are sustainable
- Start slow and gradually increase the intensity
- Rest when fatigued and do not overexert yourself
Don’ts
- Do not work out with an injury
- Don’t give up when fatigued easily
- Always warm-up
- Strive to be organically active and not push yourself into exercises
- Focus on your nutrition and health
2. What are the three do’s when practising proper weight lifting?
The three do’s of weight lifting are:
- Lifting weights that you can 10-15 times more
- Follow a proper form
- Work on all your major muscles
3. What are 5 safety precautions for lifting weights?
5 safety precautions for lifting weights:
- Warm-up
- Proper technique
- Lift as per your fitness level
- Breathe
- Rest
4. What is the proper way to use weights?
The proper way to use weights are:
- Focus on your form
- Warm-up
- Perfect your technique
- Use a spotter
- Progress slowly and gradually
- Don’t overdo it
5. What are the dos and don’ts of lifting heavy objects?
Do’s
- Wear proper safety gear
- Exercise slowly with proper form
- Use a spotter
Don’ts
- Never lift without perfecting your form
- Don’t pressure your back by lifting with it instead of your legs