How To Prevent Injuries When You’re Working Out At Home – Lifehacker Australia

Hands up if youve hurt yourself doing something stupid during a home workout. I, for one, smacked my hand into the ceiling-mounted garage door opener while following along with a dance workout. And twice now Ive had a dumbbell fall apart mid-lift because I hadnt tightened the collars enough.

I got off easy. There are many ways to get seriously injured working out at home, and these risks take us by surprise because they arent things were used to thinking about. The gym doesnt have low ceilings in its dance studios. Their weights dont fall apart.

Were all in new territory now. If you got some new home gym equipment, you may not be used to using it. If youre improvising with the things you have around you, you may not be aware of their limitations. So here are a few tips. (And if you dont believe me that some caution is warranted, watch this compilation of home workout fails, which I do not find funny at all, but sad and terrifying.)

Your ceilings may be lower than you think. And youre probably not thinking about things that hang down lower than the ceiling itselfthat garage door motor in my case, or the light fixture in one of the clips above. Check your overhead clearance before you start.

I lift outdoors, but I have some hard-and-fast rules about when I consider it safe to do so. If its threatening to rain or if the ground is wet, I dont do certain lifts because I know my feet could slip.

If youre trying new exercises, make sure to look up the proper technique for them. You found a tire you can flip? Great, but dont forget that theres a serious risk of bicep tears if you do heavy tire flips. Take a minute to learn how to do it safely.

Same goes for any other lift thats new to you, especially anything heavy or awkward. Deadlifts? Front squats? Picking up heavy rocks? Get your technique down before you go all-out.

Resistance bands can snap unexpectedly, even in the best of times. The rubber breaks down over time, so most brands recommend you replace them every few months. Check the manufacturers website for guidelines. If you dont know how old your bands are, use them with caution, and stop using them as soon as you detect any cracking or other signs that theyre breaking down.

If your barbell or dumbbell has collars to hold the weights on, always check that theyre properly tightened. Even if you dont normally worry about the collars, home is a different place than the gym. Maybe youre on uneven ground, or maybe youre doing a lift that you might fail in a different way than you expect. Tighten them. Double up if youre not sure how secure they are.

We dont always question whether chairs can hold our weight, but if youre holding a hundred extra pounds of iron, maybe you should. The fail video above includes several examples of people using lawn chairs to set up an incline bench press (where youre leaning back). The same warning could apply to seated overhead press, or to step-ups or box jumps where youre putting your feet onto a piece of furniture. Make sure that anything you use is strong enough to hold your weight, and stable enough that you wont tip over.

While were at it, dont trust anything. Wall ball slams are great for cinder block walls, not so great for the drywall in your living room. Before you make use of anything in your living space, ask yourself: How is this different from the equivalent thing in my gym?

A properly installed over-the-door pull-up bar should be pretty trustworthy, but check the instructions to make sure youve done it right. Also take note of what exercises are safe to do with it: a bar that can withstand strict pullups may wiggle loose if you try to do the kipping kind.

The same goes for wherever you anchor your suspension trainer. Again, check the instructions that came with it.

If youre doing hanging exercises outdoors, please remember that dead tree limbs snap easily. They may look sturdy, but when they break they can do so suddenly. Dont do pullups off a branch that conveniently has no leaves on it. If you arent sure how much weight a branch can hold, dont risk it.

Once youve gathered your equipment and settled into a routine, you may be tempted to get complacent. But bolts can work loose and bad decisions can come back to haunt you. Make a habit of checking your space and your gear before every workout. Are the bolts on that pull-up bar still tight? Is the ground dry? Are those resistance bands still looking fresh?

I also like to look at my routine from a vantage point of: what if I do something stupid? For example, I can hold a light barbell while stepping over my duffel bag. But what if one day Im a little bit tired, or I dont see that the strap of the duffel is sticking up a little? I probably wont trip over it, but why not remove the risk? So I try to keep paths clear and arrange my stuff in a way that will keep me safe even if I forget to be careful.

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How To Prevent Injuries When You're Working Out At Home - Lifehacker Australia