Muscle Building - Avoiding Injuries

You can't do muscle building training while you're injured. Be sure to ask for a spot if there is the slightest doubt in your mind about your ability to do a lift. Don't hold your breath during a repetition, as this raises your blood pressure. Instead, breathe in during the eccentric (negative) movement and force the air out on the concentric movement. Use proper muscle building exercise technique all of the time.

Safety doesn't always make it on a list of training principles, but it is fundamental to success. Once again, you can't do muscle building training when you're injured. A safe-and-sound approach to muscle building training will ensure that you continue on an upward path toward the achievement of your goals. In the long run, this is better than impulsively jumping into something before you are ready or trying to lift too much weight to impress someone. Safety comes first, in this and all things. It’s much more important than muscle building.

Athletes tend to be impulsive go-getters. The concepts of patience and safety do not come easily. You need to harness your energy and enthusiasm so it is channeled into constructive ends.

By accepting that muscle building is a gradual yet long-lasting process, you can fight off the impulses to do more than it is safe to do on a particular day. Of course, you need to push the limits of your abilities. Still, a wise athlete knows the fine line between positive intensity and foolishly going over the edge, and stops just short of that line.

If you have any doubt about your ability to lift a weight, ask a gym-mate for a spot. There is nothing negative about realizing you need assistance and asking for it, especially when it allows you to force out a few more growth-stimulating repetitions. Nearly everyone in a gym will be glad to spot you. They may even ask you to return the favor!

Pay close attention to your breathing. Don't hold your breath while doing an exercise, even involuntarily. Sometimes athletes do this intentionally thinking that it will help their concentration or power, but the opposite is true because the body is deprived of a regular flow of oxygen. The lack of oxygen to the brain, called anoxia, is potentially hazardous. Holding your breath sets off a series of physical changes that results in temporary high blood pressure and forceful heart contractions, especially when heavy weights are used. People have even burst blood vessels in their eyes from the high pressure created. This places needless stress on your heart as well.

Instead of restricting your breathing, use it to your advantage. Think of yourself as a steam engine, and let the forcefulness of your exhaling push your body to new heights of intensity. When you do an eccentric movement, such as going down for a squat or lowering your arms for another biceps curl, breathe in. Then, as you do your concentric movement, such as curling or pushing up from your squat, force the air out while you do your repetition. This will improve your intensity in muscle building and be a lot safer.

Use proper form on all exercises. Prevent injuries by lifting and lowering the weight without swinging or momentum, and make sure that the weights you lift are within your current capabilities. This will ensure a safe completion of the lift and permit the maximum use of the muscle you are training. It will also produce the most effective muscle building in the long term.