Weight Lifting Safety

1. Weight Lifting Safety Foundations of Personal Fitness

2. Applying Basic Safety Rules and Procedures Basic Safety Guidelines Familiarize yourself with the training facility. Warm up before each session. Learn and use proper technique on any exercise. Use spotters appropriately. Wear a safety belt when necessary. Use clips when adding weights to barbells.

3. Continued Safety Rules and Procedures. Basic Safety Guidelines Practice all lifts. Control the speed of the resistance movement at all times. Be alert and act responsibly. Cool down after each session. Return equipment to correct location. Allow time for muscles to repair.

4. Safety: Spotters The main duties of the spotter are: • Helping the lifter keep the weight moving in a smooth, steady motion. • Observing and pointing out any improper technique. • Providing motivation and encouragement.

5. Proper Technique Remember these basic technique tips: • Keep your back straight at all times. • Adjust all weight machines/barbells for proper body alignment. • When performing standing lifts, have a wide stable base and keep your feet flat on the floor. • When lifting objects, keep your core activated.

6. Proper Technique Tips Continued: • Keep the weight close to your body to maintain proper leverage. • All lifts should be done through a full range of motion. • Concentrate on the muscles that should be doing the work. • Keep your hands on the bar and maintain pressure until all weights are safely put back on the racks.

7. Proper Breathing Three steps involved in breath control: • Slowly take two or three deep breaths, holding the last breath. • Begin your lift, exhaling the air slowly. • Return the weight to its starting position, inhaling as you do.

8. Term to Know Overhand grip A grip in which the bar is grasped with the palms facing downward and the knuckles facing upward. Proper Grips Gripping the bar correctly ensures that the bar is firmly within your control. The type of grip used depends on the exercise. The overhand grip is one type of grip.

9. Term to Know Underhand grip A grip in which the bar is grasped with the palms facing upward and the knuckles facing downward. Proper Grips The grip ensures that the bar is controlled. The type of grip used depends on the exercise. The underhand grip is one type of grip.

10. Term to Know Alternated grip A grip in which the bar is grasped with one palm facing downward and the other palm facing upward. Proper Grips The grip ensures that the bar is controlled. The type of grip used depends on the exercise. The alternated grip is one type of grip.

11. Proper Grips What are the names of each grip? Overhand Underhand Alternated

12. Proper Grips Your hands should always be evenly spaced from the ends of the bar. Common Narrow Wide

13. Weight Room Etiquette Remember these rules of weight room etiquette: • Limit your time on a machine or work station, especially at peak hours or high volume of use. • Use one machine or station at a time. • Put away weights and equipment at the end of your session. • Use a towel to wipe down the equipment when you are done.

14. Term to Know Free weights A term applied collectively to dumbbells and barbells, as well as plates and clips. Resistance Training Equipment Free weights are called “free” weights because of the unlimited direction and movement capabilities of this equipment.

15. Resistance Training Equipment A dumbbell is a short bar with weights at both ends, designed to be lifted with one hand. A barbell is a long, metal bar with weights at both ends, designed to be lifted with both hands.

16. Term to Know Weight machines Mechanical devices that move weights up and down using a system of cables and pulleys. Resistance Training Equipment Most weight machines target a single muscle area. They require little or no balance on the part of the user.

17. Term to Know Exercise bands Elastic bands of tubing made of latex that are used to develop muscular strength and endurance. Resistance Training Equipment Exercise bands are a low-cost alternative to free weights and weight machines.

18. Muscles and Exercises:Upper Body • Pectorals • Bench Press, Incline Press, Push Ups • Deltoids • Bench/Push Ups, Military Press, Shoulder Raises, Upright Rows, Shoulder Shrugs • Triceps • Bench/Push Ups, Triceps Extension, Triceps Kickbacks

19. Muscles and Exercises:Upper Body • Trapezius • Shrugs, Bent Over Rows, Lawnmowers, Pull Ups • Latissimus Dorsi • Lat Pull-Downs, Bent Over Rows, Seated Rows, Lawnmowers, Pull Ups • Biceps • Bicep/Hammer/Reverse Curls, Reverse Pull Ups

20. Muscles and Exercises:Upper Body • Abdominals • Crunches, Sit Ups, Scissor Kicks, Toe Touches, Bicycles, etc. • Oblique's • Twisting Crunches, Side Planks, Side Medicine Ball Tosses, etc.