People work out for a variety of reasons: to lose weight, to tone up, or to improve their strength. When it comes to strength training, there are some common mistakes that can lead to injury, but these can be easily avoided. Follow the simple tips in this article and you will improve your strength without hurting your body.
One mistake that people make when beginning a strength training routine is that they move too quickly. While you may be excited about your new workout, it is important that you move through it carefully. Fast-paced strength training can be harmful to your body because it increases the likelihood of injury to your joints and muscles. Not only that, but the faster you move through your routine, the less attention you will be paying to your form. In strength training, compromising your form is compromising your results. Regardless of your fitness level, it is much safer to complete your workout slowly, and it offers a high-intensity workout so you aren’t losing out.
Warming up before your workout is especially important in strength training. You will be performing exercises that strain your muscles during your workout, so missing out on a warmup could lead to muscle tears or sprains. To reduce your risk of injury, warm up stiff muscles with muscle-contracting exercises. Exercises such as squats, side bends, and trunk twists are ideal for a strength training routine, as these exercises can raise your body temperature quickly, unlike aerobic warmups which take much longer and do not target specific muscles. A solid warmup not only reduces your risk for injury, it also improves your workout results.
A harmful mistake that many strength training beginners make is starting out with heavy weights. It is essential to progress through the workout from light sets to heavy sets. While it is important to reach exhaustion by the end of your workout, you want your workout to end with increased strength, not injury. To make sure you are training safely, start with a lighter weight and work your way up to a heavy weight so that you last set is difficult to complete. Increasing your workload throughout the exercise helps your body to avoid a strength building plateau.
If you are starting a strength training routine, you probably know about the benefits of stretching. Some people stretch after their warm up or at the end of their workout, but it is actually beneficial to stretch lightly between every set. Stretching decreases muscle tension, improves your range of motion, improves your muscular coordination, increases circulation, and increases your energy level, so performing stretches between sets can help improve your workout. The increased blood circulation also has post-workout benefits, as it supplies nutrients to your body which can reduce the soreness you would otherwise feel. Stretching between sets can help reduce injury and can improve your ability to lift more intensely, promoting better results from your exercise routine.
Whether you want to lose weight, tone up, or build strength, strength training can help you achieve your goal. In order to get the best results, it is essential for you to perform your routine safely. This article gives you the tips you need to improve your strength training sessions and get the body you want.
