Any athlete stepping into a weight room wants to get better. Unfortunately, there are many things you can do to screw up gains in the gym, and even more you can do to really hurt yourself.
Lucky for you, our friends at Men’s Fitness put together the top six ways to get hurt in the weight room, so you can avoid the mistakes that lead to injury and stay on track to achieve your goals.

Using Bad Form

No matter what exercise you’re performing, you can get hurt if you do it incorectly. Even seemingly harmless movements can cause big damage if you don’t know what you’re doing. Don’t attempt complex movements unless you know exactly how to perform them. Squatting or deadlifting incorrectly is a great way to pull a muscle in your back and end up sitting out of practice.

Going Too Heavy

We’ve all been there. Your warmup sets seemed light, you’ve been eating right, and you just feel ready to bump up the weight during a lift. The problem is you might not be ready to go up just yet. It’s better to rep out under control with lighter weight than to struggle against heavier weight. Work with weights that allow you to get an extra rep or two above your normal range. If you’re doing sets of 10 reps, go with weight you can lift for 12 reps.

Doing the Same Old Thing

Variety is the key to making progress in the gym. You can’t perform the same movements or routines over and over and expect your body to continue to be challenged in the weight room. Switch up your program every few weeks with new exercises to keep your body fresh and prevent it from adapting.
Head over to Men’s Fitness for all six ways to get hurt in the gym.
As always, find more great training advice on STACK.com.
 
Photo: mendocino.edu