Disclaimers

Safety

Strength and conditioning has necessary precautions and safety measures put into place to reduce the chance and severity of potential injuries. 

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Key Points: 

• Warming up before any type of movement is important to reduce muscle pulls and allow for joints and muscles to loosen to perform the exercises. Not warming up before exercise not only can make it more difficult to lift and perform to full potential, but can also lead to injuries. Warming up also allows for better blood flow around the body, which therefore prepares the body for physical exertion. 

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• Wearing flat, closed toed shoes (Ex. training shoes). Wearing proper footwear helps with maintaining good lifting form. Shoes with a wedge, like running shoes, don't allow for proper range of movement and can affect the depth and can reduce grip on the floor. 

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• Performing all movements slowly and carefully. While this may seem counter-beneficial, fast reps of movements can increase the potential for muscle pulls and other injuries. Lifting slowly, especially when first starting training, can reduce the chance of these injuries. 

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• Lifting inside the squat rack with proper safety measures like catch bars can be very helpful as well. If while lifting you happen to fail out of a movement like a back squat or bench press, you can drop or lower the weight safely onto the bars. If you choose not to lift inside a squat rack, be aware of proper ways to safely drop the bar. 

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• When lifting with weight, it's important to gradually increase to a level that you feel you can push yourself at. Starting very light and then switching to heavy too quickly can cause injury. 

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• Breathe normally through the exercise, and focus on taking recovery breaths in between each exercise. 

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