Working out in the gym can be a lot of fun, particularly if you are consistently losing weight, for example, or consistently gaining more strength and increasing muscle mass as time goes on.
However it can also be quite dangerous because people injure themselves all the time, and I’m not just talking about beginners either because even the most experienced of bodybuilders will suffer an injury from time to time.
Injuries can sometimes occur when people fail to warm up properly (or fail to do any stretches or warm-up exercises at all), but they generally occur when people perform certain exercises with poor form and poor technique.
So with that in mind, here are four ways to ensure that you always perform exercises with correct form, and subsequently help to avoid getting injured:
Hire A Personal Trainer
The best thing you can do when you first join a gym is to hire a personal trainer because they will be able to show you how to use all of the exercise machines and equipment with proper form.
Many people choose to figure out how to use all of the equipment themselves because it can be quite expensive to pay for a personal trainer on top of their monthly gym membership fees, but this can be very dangerous because it is all too easy to injure yourself if you don’t know what you are doing.
The leg press machine is a classic case in point because if someone lets the weight come down too low, it can easily result in a lower back injury, and the same result can occur when people do barbell squats with poor technique.
Read The Labels On The Exercise Equipment
If you cannot afford to pay for a personal trainer, you should read the labels on the various items of exercise equipment at the very least.
That’s because as well as telling you what muscle groups a particular machine will work, they will also give you tips and advice with regards to how to use the machine with correct form (and tell you what not to do).
Watch YouTube Videos
YouTube is arguably the number one site to go to if you are looking for instructional videos on any conceivable subject, and this is certainly true if you need to know how to perform a certain exercise or how to use a particular machine.
You will generally find that many of these videos will have been produced by fitness experts and personal trainers. Therefore you know that you are getting the best possible advice, and as a result, you are far less likely to injure yourself if you listen to what they are saying and copy their technique.
Use The Mirrors
Not everyone enjoys working out in a gym that is full of mirrors, but these mirrors are actually very useful because you can look at yourself and ensure that your technique is spot on whenever you perform certain exercises.
It is very easy to let your form suffer when you start to get tired, or use weights that are too heavy, for example, but looking in a mirror will ensure that you maintain correct form throughout each exercise.
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