Weight Room Safety

As most people in the sports community have heard, Stafon Johnson, USC running back was injured earlier this month in a weight room accident. This incident has triggered many athletes to question their weight room abilities and knowledge. I know that as an athlete there are times where I wasn't 100% focused on spotting, just because I knew that the person I was spotting has done the weight hundreds of times before with ease. I also found myself wondering had I ever in my 10 years of lifting weights gone through a weight room safety course or even learned proper spotting technique. I found the answers to these questions to be no! Below is a list of ideas that could prevent injury in the weight room:

1. Have a medical check up before you begin working out, especially if you have been living a sedentary lifestyle over the past year or more.


2. Always warm up prior to working out. Most injuries are the result of jumping into a heavy workout too quickly. A good warm up only takes a few minutes, but it can prevent pulled muscles and injured joints.


3. Use collars on all barbells. If you forget to put the collars on the barbell, the plates may fall off. This can cause serious injuries such as muscle tears, pulled tendons, etc. Play it safe, and use the collars.


4. Use a spotter when necessary. When doing exercises such as bench press, squats, shoulder press, lying tricep extensions, etc. have someone stand behind you and provide assistance lifting the weight if necessary.


5. Where applicable, use catch racks such as the squat rack or power rack. The rack will prevent you from getting pined under a heavy barbell. This is a must if you are working out alone and do not have a spotter.


6. Use proper exercise form at all times. Training with poor exercise technique will produce poor results and increase the risk of injury.


7. When unsure how to do an exercise, ask a knowledgeable instructor or experienced gym member.


8. Use a weight lifting belt when doing heavy squats, dead lifts, or heavy rowing exercises. A good belt can help support the lower back muscles and help keep your back in proper alignment. However, do not use a belt for lighter exercises. Your lower back muscles need to be exercised just like any other muscle and if you wear a belt all of the time the lower back muscles will get weak.


9. Dress appropriately for your workouts. If it is a cold winter’s day, make sure to wear a sweat shirt and sweat pants. This will keep the muscles warm and prevent injury. The opposite applies during a warm summer’s day, wear lighter clothing to keep cooler and prevent dehydration.


10. Put your weights back when you are finished with them. It is not safe to have barbells and plates laying around on the floor or left on the exercise equipment. Return all equipment to it correct location when you are finished, this is good gym etiquette.


11. Drink water during your workouts. This will prevent dehydration and help maintain your energy levels. Carry around a water bottle and sip water between sets. It is best to drink water that is at room temperature because cold water can cause stomach cramps while working out.

http://www.leehayward.com/safetytips.htm

If you follow these tips and think safety first, you may be able to prevent a weight room accident such as the one that occurred to Stafon Johnson.

Cross fit

With the change in football comes a change in training. The days of straight ahead football are long gone and the fast passed offenses require athletes to be in the best shape they ever have been. Cross Fit and cross fit football have designed a program that works different muscle groups using high intensity, body weight and very low weight. The most beneficial part of the program is that it is free for anyone to use just by going to crossfit.com (gneral population and athletes) or crossfitfootball.com (football players). These programs are really cool and I encourage everyone to look into them.

Breast Cancer and Weight Lifting

Some women are afraid to lift weights because they are afraid of becoming bulky. The truth is that weight lifting is a great way for women who are trying to lose weight or body fat reach their goals. However, a new study shows that contrary to past belief, weight lifting will help women recovering from an ailment, such as breast cancer, to recover with less pain. Fister (2009) reported that those women who were recovering from breast cancer that lifted weights had a stronger upper and lower body, and reported “less severe lymphedema symptoms”. The most common severe symptom was arm pain from the treatment. It seemed that weight training reduced the amount of pain the women was suffering (Fister, 2009). These findings are helpful not only for the women, but also for the entire medical field. The reason being is that up to a few years ago women who were in treatment were told not to do any strenuous activity, up to and including carrying groceries into the house.

Fister, K. (2009). Weight Lifting is Safe for Survivors of Breast Cancer with Lymphoedema. British Medical Journal, 339(7718), Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1854486261&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=1534&RQT=309&VName=PQD