Like it or not, injuries happen in training.
Whether it’s in martial arts, weight lifting or cardio work, knocks and bruises can happen as your muscles get put through the grind. Obviously, an injury can totally dismantle your momentum in the gym, and can bring your progress to a halt.
As discussed on TheMacLife Health, here are six simple tips to keep the injuries at bay.
Focus on form not weight
A common habit amongst beginners is to try and play catch up with the regular gym goers around them. It’s an easy mistake to make, but one that often leads to muscle strain or other types of injury.
Instead of focusing on the amount of weight you’re working with, focus on the form and allow the weight to grow over time. You’ll get more gains and run less risk by doing so than if you pick up the heaviest dumbbell you can lift and throw it up in any manner.
Control your tempo carefully
Similar to above, tempo is important, particularly if your body is still getting used to different exercises. Too much at once, and your muscle fabric can tear. As with form vs. weight, it’s important to build on a new activity over time, getting faster as you get better.
Breathe
Breathing during excercise. Simple, but easy to forget. Forgetting to breathe during strain can cause internal injuries such as blood vessel strain, hernias, and high blood pressure. Breathing during your workouts, particularly on exertion, can also provide focus.
Recover with appropriate time
There’s a huge tendency in fitness to push through the discomfort and pain. Certainly, fighting past discomfort is essentially the name of the game, but one of the most likely way to get injured is ignoring your body when it needs a rest.
A decent and appropriate recovery period can be as important as the exercise itself. While it’s something of a skill in itself, learning to know when you need to take a few days off can help you going from hurt to injured.
