How to Protect Your Back At the Gym

There is nothing worse than living with back pain. Unfortunately, living with back pain is something that happens far too often to too many people. You can hurt it from the type of mattress you sleep on, the amount of stress you are carrying, the workspace you spend your day in, or even when you are working out at the gym.

Going to the gym is very important. Not only does it allow you to enhance your strength training and build muscle, but also helps you work through any emotional issues, increase the confidence you have about yourself and even protect you from injury.

But it is all really about balance. While you need to strengthen your back when at the gym, you also need to protect your back too. A recent study showed that when done properly, doing strength and resistance training at the gym can actually reduce your pain by over 70%. But if the right steps are not taken, you could equally set yourself up with an extreme risk of injuring your back at the gym too.

That is why we are here to help you discover all the ways to protect your back at the gym. We have rounded up the top tips to ensure you protect your back at the gym and keep it strong and healthy. Here is what the experts recommend.

1. Take Time to Warm Up

First, you want to ensure that you warm your body up slowly before going into the heavy-duty action at the gym. This means that before you touch a weight, you should first do some dynamic warm-up exercises so that your blood gets pumping, your joints warmed up and your muscles are ready to go. These exercises should be focused on mobility and should all really be bodyweight exercises. Warming up consistently at the gym is going to be one of your best bets for preventing injury. All the top athletes do this and so should you.

2. Wear a Back Brace

While some people may think it is dorky, wearing a back brace is actually one of the coolest things you can do in the gym. This is because your back will get all the support needed when lifting heavy so that nothing gets busted out of place. Best of all, this back brace is designed to be worn under or over your shirt and helps reduce inflammation and discomfort while also being preventative of injury too. All the best athletes wear back braces in the gym and so should you if you are serious about protecting your back.

3. Lift with a Buddy

If possible, you should always lift weights at the gym with a buddy. This is because they can be there to spot you if you start to struggle with a certain lift and are at risk of hurting yourself. They can also help ensure that you are lifting with the correct form. One idea is to ask your gym buddy to film you lifting so that you can get a visual of your technique and make sure that what you are doing is not going to put your back at risk.

4. Strengthen Your Core

A strong core is one of our best bets for keeping our backs protected at the gym. Rather than stressing our already overworked back muscles at the gym when lifting, focusing on getting power from your core will take the pressure off your back while also creating a protective layer around it. When you are at the gym, make sure to also set aside time to do isolated core work as well so you can further strengthen this muscle and it can look after your back. A great simple ab exercise to do to achieve just this is a two-minute plank hold every evening.

5. Warm Down Properly

Just like you should be focused on the warm-up before your workout, you should also ensure that you warm down properly too. After stressing your muscles out so much, you should make sure that you help them recover faster by doing stretches and keeping your body flexible and aligned. A few minutes of stretching at the gym can make a world of difference for the health of your back.

6. Drink Water and Recover

The work does not just stop at the gym. It is important that the decisions you make after your time at the gym are equally focused on protecting your back. This means drinking lots of water, foam rolling and stretching at home, and investing in a great mattress and pillow to sleep on.

Conclusion

To protect your back at the gym, you should look at these six tips. From your warm-up and warm-down to wearing a back brace that provides another layer of protection, you will be able to strengthen your back without hurting it.

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