Gym Safety

I had written this article and it was set for publishing before a friend sent me a video of his deadlift workout. He did his deadlifts wrongly which resulted in lower back injury (spine) and is now awaiting X-ray results so we can know the extent of damage done.

I have placed a link to my YouTube channel where you would find a video on deadlifts workout. I elaborated on his wrong doings and demonstrated  the right move.  

 

It became obvious to me that this article is indeed indispensable. I've always known that beginners react differently to workout, especially in terms of pain, but sometimes there are things they do wrongly that might result in severe muscular injury. 

As a beginner you may want to consider gym safety, a subject that's broader than it seems. 

An important part of gym safety is "PPE" i.e personal protective equipment which includes your gym wear, a glove, footwear and sometimes belt. 

See:Gym: Fashion,Time and Place 

The nature of your stomach is also important, which should be empty before/during morning workouts. For evening workouts, you may want to stall dinner until you are done with the gym. 

See: Combat Fat with Fast Circles

In addition to picking out the right outfits, two items you may need are leather gloves and a waist belt which is mostly used by guys. 

Hand gloves are important if you cherish your soft palms, I never use them which means they aren't compulsory although that has lead to though scaling palms. This however, wears away if you stop working out or start using gloves.

Waist belts come in when you do deadlifts and sometimes squats. Most people abuse them by using them when working with light weights. Since the term ‘heavy weight’ is subjective, waist belts are used when engaging in heavy duty programs that may affect the spine. By heavy duty, I mean heavy weights. 

Safety With Equipments. 

Standard equipments have safety stickers you should lookout for, an example is seen in cable machines where a diagram of a red swollen thumb is the right hand writing for anyone who has eyes. Never put your hands between weights or try to change weights when the cable machine is in use, most likely by someone else but sometimes you can hurt yourself. 

Some dudes like to act as ‘pros’, they do so by padding weights on the barbell without inserting the lock bolts. Don't join these professionals, they too might someday get stranded under heavy weights. 

As a general rule for adjustable barbells or dumbbells, always insert lock nuts or bolts.  Remember to have someone nearby when bench pressing for heavy weights or trying to perfect your handstands. You might never be able to use a gym again. 

The treadmill or stationary bike have some safety gadgets like the clip and emergency stop button. You may want to use this although most people ignore them, I do so sometimes although I rarely use the treadmill. With a stationary bike the hazards are limited but a treadmill moving faster than your legs can take you to the emergency room and I say this in Rihanna’s voice. 

Lastly, ask questions, stay watchful and use the mirrors, I have left the gym with a few injuries myself, although they were minor injuries, I still have more scars than I'd like to.