Posture
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Lifting weights can be very useful to either help with different kinds of pain and injury or prevent them, but it can also be the cause of pain and/or injury if not performed properly.
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Posture is an essential element to help prevent injury during weight bearing exercise. Posture is especially important for free weight exercises such as the bench press, squats, deadlifts and any more.
Free Weight Exercises
Squats
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Keep feet slightly wider than shoulder width, pointed slightly outwards.
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Legs should come down to about 90 degrees.
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Back should be kept straight and come to about 45 degrees during contraction.
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Lower back should be slightly arched, not flexed.
Bench Press
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Place hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Make sure wrists are stable and firm, not bent.
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Squeeze and bring shoulder blades inward while raising chest.
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Plant feet firmly on ground. Push into ground during contraction.
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Gently touch the bar to the lower region of chest during contraction.
DeadLift
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Feet should be about shoulder width apart for regular deadlift but about twice as wide for Sumo.
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For regular deadlift, hands should be placed about shoulder width with both palms of hands facing you. A Sumo deadlift will be performed with reverse grip.
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Bend the knees as you go down and use legs to lift as well as your back. Do not rely solely on back to perform lift when lifting heavy.
Cable Machines
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Cable Machines are a great alternative to free weight exercises.
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If someone is new to weight bearing exercise and they are not confident in their ability to perform a free weight lift correctly or if they don't have someone who can help, then working out with cable machines could be a better route to go.
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The "Smith Machine" is a great way to perform the bigger lifts that involve large movements such as squats, bench press, and deadlifts through a cable mechanism.
