5 Reasons You Keep Getting Injured in the Gym

Trying to keep in shape is important. Research shows that regular exercise actually reduces the risk of age-related diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and even Alzheimer’s.

However, it can be hard to stick to a training routine if you keep getting yourself injured, and you won’t experience the benefits of your efforts.

Of course, your physiotherapist will appreciate your injuries as they can help you to heal faster. Even if you don’t suffer from regular injuries it’s worth contacting a reputable physio Botany and having them check you out. You’ll be surprised at what they’ll notice and how this can help your workout routine.

Reasons You Keep Getting Injured in the Gym:

In the meantime, there are 5 common causes of injuries in the gym. Knowing what they are can help you to prevent them from happening to you.

Failing To Warm Up

Warming up is often overlooked and yet it is the most important part of any exercise. Warming up prepares your muscles for what they’re about to do. If you skip the warm-up you’re asking your muscles to go from relaxed to fully stretched in no time. That’s asking for an injury that can put you out of action for months.

You should also warm down after you’ve completed your session.

Incorrect Technique

This is another common issue. If you’re not adopting the correct technique for lifting then you’re placing strain on a different part of your body, which won’t be expecting it. This will increase the likelihood of injury as tissues and tendons are probably not prepared or strong enough to handle the force you’re putting them through.

It’s better to learn the correct form with a lightweight and then increase the weight, maintaining the form as you go.

Overdoing It

You need to gradually increase weight or resistance to see positive results. However, if you attempt to increase the rate too fast you’re likely to cause yourself an injury. This is because your muscles will experience fatigue and struggle to achieve the task. Your body will then compensate by adopting poor form and the strain on other parts of your body.

Experts recommend that you increase your routine by no more than 10% at a time to help avoid injury.

Targeting One Body Part

Many gym-goers are keen to have a great looking chest and arms. However, when doing this they often neglect the rest of their body. This leads to a muscle imbalance which places additional strain on joints increasing the likelihood of injury.

For example, plenty of bicep curls will increase the size of your biceps, but it won’t strengthen your rotator cuffs which strain as the exercise is being performed. As your biceps get stronger the risk of injuring the rotator cuff gets bigger.

You can also over target part of your body by exercising too often. It’s a good idea to give your body 24-48 hours rest between exercising a specific body part. If you don’t you’re more likely to suffer an injury as your muscles won’t have healed properly.

Poor Nutrition

Finally, what you eat plays an important part in your ability to exercise and avoid injury. A poor diet, one that is high in unhealthy fats and processed foods, will not improve your stamina and the stress on your body of eating these types of food can actually increase the likelihood of injury.

Remember, taking any shortcut will increase the likelihood of injury. Being injured means you’ll be unable to exercise and lose the gains you’ve made, it’s not worth it.