If you’ve been following the workout articles on this site, you won’t be surprised to know that you should be exercising with intensity.  The only way to push your body to grow is to overload it with workloads that it hasn’t seen before.

If you’re working out as intensely as you should though, you’re at risk of injuring yourself if you make a stupid move.  There’s usually very little room for error when you have 300 pounds sitting on your shoulders.

One way to decrease your risk of injury is by properly warming up.  This goes for both cardio and resistance training.  Regardless of which type of exercise you do, you should always warm-up with some light cardio.  This will get your heart pumping and will push much needed blood into your muscles, getting them ready to be placed under stress.

If you’re lifting, you should also do an additional warm-up for every muscle group you work.  This should be a relatively light, non-fatiguing set (or two sets) of lifting that will get your muscles ready for the weight you’ll do during your main workout.

Some lifters will also recommend doing a “weight adaptation” set as part of your warm-up routine.  This set, which is again non-fatiguing, should be performed at 80-90% of your repetition weight, and is designed to get your muscles primed for the heavy lifts.

If you follow these simple steps, you’ll go a long way towards avoiding injury.  If you add on a little stretching at the end of your workout, as I mentioned in my last Gym Tip article, you’ll be even better.

Image by florriebassingbourn.