Avoid Bodybuilding Injuries
Bodybuilders, as other athletes, must be prepared for injury when participating in their sport. To ignore the possibility of injury is to invite disaster that can interfere with your routine, cause you to miss training or even end a career.
What can you do to avoid injury? How should you handle occasional injuries so that you can get back in top form as soon as possible? Here are some points for beginners AND experienced bodybuilders to keep in mind.
Safety First
Any bodybuilder, whether training daily or occasionally, is likely to experience injury from their training. However, there are important steps you should take to prevent injury and reduce the occurrence of strains, sprains and more severe injuries.
Stretching and Warm Ups
Every session, every time. No matter what routine or exercise you are about to engage in, your muscles need to be prepped beforehand.
You can warm up with an exercise bike or a treadmill. Another idea is to do quick repetitions with a light set of weights. Warming up will get the blood circulating in the muscles. Flexibility and pliability are very important in preventing muscle injury. Also remember to stretch after your routine. This will improve recovery time and reduce soreness after your workout.
Use the Proper Technique
Proper technique is crucial when bodybuilding. Physical laws (including the law of gravity) limit what your body is capable of lifting and the range of motion any muscle can reach. Bouncing or jerking motions and improper grip can cause the weight to pull your muscles and overextend their range, resulting in injuries. Injury can range from minor strains to more severe sprains or ripping that can prevent you from training for an extended time.
Having a trainer show you proper technique is important, as is knowing your boundaries for the amount of weight you can safely work with. You may decide to use wraps on your joints or back to help distribute the weight more evenly, which will also reduce the chance of injury.
If you are training with very heavy weights there are some exercises that should only be performed with reliable spotters on hand. Whether you are spotting for a friend or asking for their assistance to spot you, be sure that the spotter is focused and quick to help or you could face extreme injuries.
