The fact is that if you want to be big, you have to train big. Entering the gym and simply going through the motions without a sweat just isn't going to get the job done.
If you want to see real results, you have to overload those muscles with heavy weights and high intensity. Muscles grow due to a natural adaptive survival response, and if you don't give them a damn good reason to grow, well, they won't.
Even though hard and heavy training might be good for your muscles, remember that it can spell trouble for the health of your connective tissue and joints. This is simply the reality of intense weight training, and while there are no guarantees that you will be able to completely avoid getting injured, you can certainly take specific steps to lessen the chance.
You do not want to get an injury-it will stop you cold in your muscle-building tracks. Down below I'm going to outline my 5 golden tips for weight training that will minimize the risk of injury.
1) Your warm-up must be thorough.
Since this 15–20 minute process increases blood flow into the surrounding connective tissue and lubricates your joints, your mind and body will be prepared for the hard work to come.
You should perform 5 minutes of light cardiovascular exercise before each workout, and follow that with 4–5 warm-up sets of your first major exercise.
2) Proper form is essential.
After all, you need to keep the stress off your joints at all times, and that can only be done by sticking to proper form and technique.To keep the stress off your joints, every exercise should be completed done with proper form and technique.
Once you begin squatting or deadlifting with a rounded back, getting crazy with the weights, or performing dangerous exercises, you are begging to get hurt.
3) Know your limits.
When you lift, it's a personal battle, and if you start to compare yourself to others, you will get into big trouble. It doesn't matter what the guy next to you is benching, and it is completely irrelevant to your training program.
Don't pile on the poundages to impress people around your; know your limits, stay within them, and maintain proper form.
4) Always know when to quit.
One of those major tips for weight training that every bodybuilder should adhere to is this one. When you are incapable of doing another rep using proper form, the set is over, plain and simple.
Start resting for your next set. You risk injury if you start using momentum and jerky body motions to force extra reps.
5) Pay attention to aches and pains.
This is one of those tips for weight training that will help keep you from ignoring something serious. When you're motoring along through a training program and are making progress from week to week, the idea of quitting just seems impossible.
So, we sometimes choose to ignore obvious injuries, "work through" the pain, and hope that it magically disappears, which it will not. Most of the time, it only makes things worse.
It's critical to get the problem checked out by a professional and to take the time to heal if you feel that something definitely isn't right. In the long run, you've made a very smart move, although your short term progress may be temporarily affected.