Build Muscle – Get Strong

1) Warm-up. This may sound like the king of cliches, but guess what? A large percentage of the gymrats out there, especially the younger ones, are so eager to hit the bench press that they skimp on or ignore the warm-up altogether. This is a big mistake.

A proper warm up leads to the increase of the body’s core temperature which opens the door for your metabolism to get into high gear. This also aids in lubricating the joints which is also incredibly important. Basically, you will be getting your body ready to get into top shape prior to lifting heavy, excess weight.

Your warm-up should consist of 5-10 mins of moderate cardio on a treadmill or stationary bike, 5 minutes of light stretching and, as you get ready for the weights, 1-2 light sets before your “real” sets begin.

2) Stretch. Failure to stretch will make your muscle bellies shorten over time, making you less flexible. While it may seem like a minor aesthetic detail to get that slightly-hunched, gorilla-look, your muscles and joints become a lot more vulnerable.

If one of your supporting muscle stiffens or ends up becoming shortened, you will notice that is causes interference with the normal performance of your exercises. This may not seem like much of a problem at first, but if you train increasingly improperly over an extended period of time, you will end up putting a lot of extra unnecessary stress on joints, ligaments and the secondary muscle groups. The cumulative effect of this could prove problematic to say the least.

Stretching between your sets flushes out the presence of lactic acid and its byproducts while also bringing forth fresh nutrients. This makes you stronger for the next set you seek to perform. Then, the post-stretching will help you recover in a faster manner in between workouts. The bottom line here is when you stretch slowly and without any bouncing, for 30 seconds or more, you will reduce the potential for stress on your joints.

3) Control. Yes, there is a great deal of temptation with loading up on heavy weights and then cheating your way through the completion of the set. Controlled cheating may be a tried-and-true intensity boosting technique pro bodybuilders employ but one needs to avoid it in traditional workouts.

But, cheating should really only be performed at the end of a normal set in order to gain additional reps. Swaying or using momentum from the second rep on means you have selected too much weight and you can’t workout effectively.

Another aspect of control to employ will center on avoiding any means of bouncing, jerking or partially moving through the sheer force of necessity. In other words, when you stop halfway down in the negative phase of a biceps curl due to being unable to handle the exercise you are using way too much weight.

4) Strong Abs. Your midsection is the stabilizer that holds you together. Fail to build a solid, balanced midsection and you’re in the danger zone, especially from any type of overhead press.

Weigh your options on a barbell military press. From your feet to hips, you will pretty much be standing straight. When you lean backwards in order to stay balanced while pushing the barbell upwards and the only form of protection your spine gains is from the abs. In reality, ab tension is critical for a safe starting position.

5) Safety Precautions. People buckle their seat belts when they get into their car not because they expect an accident to happen. They do so just in case one occurs their injuries will be minimized. Take this attitude into the gym with you.

Likewise, attempting heavy barbell bench presses to failure without a spotter is little more than Russian roulette. You can even up the ante by using “monkey grip” (thumbs on the same side as the rest of the fingers) for the added thrill of potentially dropping 300 lbs on your face.

None of this is rocket-science, keeping these 5 steps in mind won’t guarantee an injury-free life, but the odds and the severity of any incident should be drastically reduced.

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