How to Prevent Most Common Bodybuilding Injuries

When I was younger my dad would tell me that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Now as I have had children and grandchildren I am often heard using this same phrase. I also find myself echoing that same statement to many of my clients, and the ones that listen and follow the rules of safe exercising have an extremely low incidence of accidents.

All athletes including bodybuilders are aware that they can be injured. While many of these injuries will not be severe, there is also the possibility of a career or even life ending injury.

I am not saying that we can prevent all injuries there will always be some but we can prevent a good many by following some simple rules and using some common sense.

I read recently where an apparently healthy High School football player died in his sleep. That is not the type of injury we can anticipate nor can we be sure that there is any way to completely prevent that type of incident.

Whether you are a professional bodybuilder or a weekend warrior here are some things you can do to prevent injury.

Warm up before exercising prepare your muscles by getting them warmed up, you can do this through stretching, riding a bike, walking or running on a treadmill or even some quick reps with a light weight. This will get the blood circulating through the muscles. Stretch the muscles to the fullest degree and hold for 30 seconds; do not bounce, to help increase flexibility. Pliability and flexibility are extremely important in preventing muscle injuries such as strains and it will improve the muscle's ability to respond to exercise.

Stretching after exercise helps to allow the muscles to cool off slowly, decreases recovery time and muscle soreness.

It may seem pretty obvious but one of the easiest things to do to keep from getting injured is to use proper form for the exercise. Bodybuilding can be safe and enjoyable and if you follow the law of good form you will have far less injuries than the person who just wants to see how much weight they can toss around.

You should avoid bouncing or jerking movements and make sure you use the proper grip for the exercise. If you are not sure if you are doing an exercise correctly then you may want to hire a trainer to help you with technique. A couple hundred dollars for some lessons with a professional trainer is not really a bad price to pay for their expertise in helping you with form and technique.

You may want to wear lifting gloves or wraps to help distribute the weight more evenly and help to prevent injury.

At some pint you will probably decide to use heavy weights, when you do get at least one spotter and depending on the exercise you may want two.

When you wear down or get fatigued, stop for awhile, rest. Distraction and fatigue are two of the most common reasons for accidental injuries in the gym. Lifting weights especially heavy weights requires concentration. Chatting with buddies, watching TV or watching other people in the gym can cause you to lose focus and drop weights on you or on anyone nearby and cause serious possibly long term injury.

Overtraining can also be a problem especially for those that do not workout regularly. Not eating, poor sleep habits, overtraining, using too much weight, not preparing properly, bad form and even sometimes just making sure the area around where you are exercising is free of possible obstacles. You would want to set a Personal Record, take a step back fall over a weight plate and break an arm or leg would you?

Follow the rules, use good sense and proper form and you should be just fine. If you do get an injury always remember the acronym RICE for the first aid for most muscle injuries. It stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation and is pretty much the standard treatment for muscle strains and sprains.

Jerry Goodwin has been certified as a Medical Technologist since 1977. He is an avid Cyclist participating in Road racing, Mountain Biking and BMX Racing. He sponsored or been the event director in numerous cycling events for various charities including the Toys for Tots, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, The South Georgia Foiod Bank, Carolines Ride, and the Soutwest Georgia Cyclefest-Making a difference in the lives of wounded warriors in Southwest Georgia.

Jerry was certified as a Personal Trainer for several years and still answers questions about weightlifting and exercise as well as cycling at allexperts.com

Jerry served in the US Navy during the VietNam era aboard the Jesse L. Brown DE1089. After release from Active Duty in the Navy Jerry served in the Ohio National Guard, the Kansas National Guard and the Georgia National Guard. Honors include the Ohio Award of Merit, The Ohio Special Services Ribbon and the Army Commendation Medal.

For more information on Jerry, cycling or weight training check out the blog at http://www.bodymindgoalsnews.info

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