Move like a Pro: Avoiding Injury While Strength Training

So now you’re feeling comfortable in the gym and have a few go-to routines under you belt from Team Amino Vital Athletes Jenny and Paula. Before you start upping the number of reps or the weights, here are some quick tips from Team Amino Vital expert Nathan Jendrick to help avoid injury.

• Warm-up slowly for however long as it takes. Lots of people think a warm-up set—as in one easy set—is enough. It’s not. Take as long as you need to warm-up properly until everything feels smooth throughout a motion.
• Form is always top priority. If you can’t do an exercise right, don’t do it at all. Don’t add any weight until you’re completely comfortable.
• If something feels awkward, stop. Too many people think it’s natural for something to feel “weird” in their muscle or joints. It’s not! There is no exercise that is so superior to another that you just “have” to do it to get a good training session in, and there are plenty of movements that will work the same muscle group.

  Thanks, Nathan! Who else has a safety tip to share?