When you plan to get serious with your physical fitness, the last thing you want to get is an injury. Some injuries will leave you out for weeks and some can be so fatal that you’ll have to leave the gym indefinitely! Of course, nobody wants to suffer any kind of pain that can put them away from the gym for food. And knowing about the common causes of injuries will safeguard you from them.

Equating soreness with a good workout

A common idea between gym-goers is that being sore after a workout means you had a good one. Let me tell you straight out that this isn’t exactly true. The soreness you feel comes from the build-up of lactic acid in the muscle when you flex and contract them with each rep. Now, lactic acid is important for muscle growth but having too much will eat away at your muscle tissues. As a result, you’ll make lesser gains and make yourself more susceptible to injury. That’s why you shouldn’t equate soreness with a good workout.

Not learning the proper form

Having bad form when lifting is probably the most common cause of injuries at the gym. It’s especially important that you learn the proper form as a beginner. For one, having the correct form will help you maximize your strength and muscle growth. And more importantly, you’ll put yourself in less danger! Obviously, the longer you stay at the gym without having the proper form, the more likely that you’ll pull a joint or rip a muscle.

Ego lifting

If you don’t know what this is, ego lifting is basically lifting heavier weight (well, to feed one’s ego of course) at the expense of proper form. If your hands are already shaking too much at the downstroke of a bench press or if you have to jerk up just to lift the weight for a shoulder press, then you’re ego lifting. This is also a high-risk mistake because, as said earlier, you’re disregarding your form just to lift a heavier weight. In most cases, this can be way more dangerous because you’re holding a heavier weight than usual.

Having a bad spotter

If you’re not new at the gym, you already know that some like to test their strength every few weeks with “heavy days”. No matter which gym you go to in Singapore, you’ll see one or two people lifting heavy with the assistance of a spotter. Now the spotter’s main role is to provide a little help when the bar gets too heavy for you to finish the rep. If you’re doing a heavy bench press and your spotter is looking elsewhere or messing around, the bar might fall on your chest or face without him even having time to catch it.