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It is crucial for maximum results, and for injury prevention, that bodybuilders perform the exercises in a controlled manner and with no momentum. Jerking and bouncing of weights will only take away stress from the muscle and create sheer (pushing and pulling) forces in the joints, and muscle insertions, that can lead to injury. When in doubt, use a tempo of 2 seconds when lifting the weight and 3 seconds when lowering it as the lowering (negative) portion needs to be performed slightly slower than the lifting (positive) one. It may require that you count in your head at first but eventually lifting speed becomes second nature. #7. Ensure that no one is around the path of the execution of the exercise. Be aware of your surroundings. When executing lifts like the squat, also ensure that the floor is dry. When I visit commercial gyms I see this happen plenty of times especially if there is a squat rack and a smith machine side by sides. What happens is that as a person is doing a squat on the squat rack for instance, the other person may be loading their smith machine. Ideally, gyms should not position certain pieces of equipment so close together but because some do, you need to be aware of your surroundings whether you are the one performing the exercise or the one loading the bar. Along the same lines, ensure that the floor that you will be standing on is not slippery as I have seen situations where if there is a leak from the ceiling due to bad air conditioning or just a bad ceiling. If this is the case, inform someone from the staff immediately and make sure that the soles of your shoes are not wet. #8. Needless to say, if you are feeling dizzy or feel like you are going to faint, you need to stop what you are doing, sit down and rest. This is pretty self-explanatory but as you get more advanced one tends to disregard these things. If you are having a real difficulty breathing, sit down and rest for 3 minutes or so. If you see that you are sweating cold then you need to stop as you are about to go into shock. This typically happens in very hot environments, which takes me to the next commandment. #9. If training on your garage, try to train in the morning when the temperature is comfortable. Garages tend to get hot, very hot, especially down here in Florida during the summer. Do not try to workout in a place with a temperature that is well over 100 degrees. That could lead to a heat stroke and that does not help with bodybuilding gains. If you train in your garage, then over the hot months you will need to wake up earlier and do your training when the temperature is manageable. Stay properly hydrated and also listen to your body. If you need to rest a bit more in between sets due to the heat, then feel free to do so. #10. If training alone in your garage please be very aware of your capabilities and surroundings. When training alone in your garage it is more imperative than ever that you know what your capabilities are. For instance if you have done 225lbs on the bench for 10 reps many times and know that is the best you can do, do not attempt to try an 11th rep unless you are absolutely positively sure that you can lift that weight or unless you are working out inside a squat rack with the side pins properly positioned to protect you. Otherwise, do not do it. Also, like I mentioned in item #7, be aware of your surroundings. If you are performing a bench press and someone placed some patio chairs next to the bench in the middle of your range of motion this could represent a problem. Ive trained alone in my garage for years but have never (knock on wood) incurred into any problems due to my high regard of this rule. Conclusion One final piece of advise for all beginners out there is to beware of doing too much too soon. This is another common cause of injury. If you are thinking of embarking on a bodybuilding program, please take a look at my article on Getting Started. Having said that, according to research, lifting weights is one of the safest activities out there. The key is to be safe and use common sense. If you follow the rules described above I guarantee you that you will stay out of trouble and you will have many years of happy lifting to come. Now go train! |
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