Women are flooding the gyms and hitting the weights more now than ever. This is probably because ladies are finally realizing that lifting weights is good for weight loss, tone, overall health, and they don’t have to bulk up when they strength train. The down side to this new trend for women is that injuries associated with weight training in women have jumped to an astonishing 63 percent! Check out these easy to follow steps for becoming fit without getting hurt.

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The mistake: skipping your warm-up

You wouldn’t launch into an all-out sprint the second you stepped onto a treadmill, so you shouldn’t jump right into deadlifts the instant you hit the weight room. “Working cold, stiff muscles can lead to sprains and tears,” says Morey Kolber, Ph.D., a professor of physical therapy at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. “Warming up increases circulation and improves range of motion, which preps your muscles and joints for action.”

The fix: “While opinions about static stretching may differ, a dynamic warm-up can decrease your risk for injury,” says exercise physiologist Marco Borges, author of Power Moves. After five to 10 minutes of walking or jogging, do 10 to 12 lunges and pushups (the bent-knee version is fine) before starting your routine.

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Our take- Warming up before a workout helps you to limber up and stretch out, we’ve heard conflicting information about how effective it really is for avoiding injuries related to strength training, but it couldn’t hurt. We think that warming up gets you better prepared for the workout, so maybe it’s just better that you warm up and not really question it’s utility in avoiding injuries…

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The mistake: using sloppy form

Experts agree that proper form is the single most important factor in injury prevention, yet many women don’t give it a lot of thought —especially when they’re in a rush. And women, thanks to their naturally wider hips, are more at risk for form-related injuries than men are: One study found that women had nearly twice as many leg and foot injuries as guys did.

The fix: Before you begin any exercise, think S.E.A.K., says trainer Robbi Shveyd, owner of Advanced Wellness in San Francisco: Stand straight (head over shoulders; shoulders over hips; hips over feet), eyes on the horizon (looking down encourages your shoulders to round and your chest to lean forward), abs tight (as if you were about to be punched in the gut, but without holding your breath; this helps stabilize your pelvis), and knees over your second toe (women’s knees have a tendency to turn in because of the angle created by wider hips, says Joan Pagano, author of Strength Training for Women).

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Our Take- Basically, don’t get in a hurry and use the machines the way they were intended to be used. Most gym associates are more than happy to assist you with learning how to use the machines- probably because they don’t want a lawsuit on their hands after you hurt yourself…

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The mistake: stressing our your shoulders

As crazy as it sounds, women who lift weights tend to have less-stable shoulder joints than women who don’t lift at all, found a recent study. The reason: Doing too many exercises in which your elbows are pulled behind your body (think chest flies and rows) can overstretch the connective tissue in the front of the joints. If the backs of your shoulders are tight, you’re even more likely to overstretch the front, increasing the imbalance at the joint, says Kolber.

The fix: Modify your moves. First, don’t allow your elbows to extend more than two inches behind your body. In the lowering phase of a bench press, for example, stop when your elbows are just behind you. Second, avoid positioning a bar behind your head. Bring the lat-pulldown bar in front of your shoulders, and when you’re doing an overhead press, use dumbbells instead of a bar and keep the weights in your line of vision (meaning just slightly in front of your head).

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Our Take- Don’t overdo it in the shoulder area, overstretching the shoulders can create some pretty uncomfortable tension. Modify exercises so you’re not pulling too far down with your shoulders…

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The mistake: neglecting opposing muscle groups

“Many women have strength imbalances, which can make them more prone to injury,” says Shveyd. Sometimes they’re the result of your lifestyle (hovering over a desk all day, for example, tightens and weakens your hip flexors while your glutes become overstretched and inactive). Other times they’re caused by not working both sides of the body equally (say, focusing on moves that rely on your quads but not your hamstrings).
The fix: For every exercise that works the front of the body (chest, biceps, quads), be sure to do an exercise that targets the rear (back, triceps, hamstrings). For instance, pair stability-ball chest presses with dumbbell rows, or step-ups with deadlifts.

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Our Take- A well rounded exercise routine will take you through all muscle groups, alternate days for different groups and focus on ALL sides!

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The mistake: doing too much too soon

A lot of people think that more is better — more reps, more sets, more weight. But if you increase any of these things too quickly, your body may not be able to handle the extra workload.

“Gradual conditioning prevents injuries such as torn ligaments and tendinitis, because your muscles and connective tissues have time to adapt,” says Pagano.

The fix: Practice a three-step progression. First, learn to do a move using only your body weight. “When you can do 15 reps with proper form, add weight,” says Pagano. Second, stick to one set with light weights for two weeks or until you feel comfortable with the move. And finally, when you can complete nearly all of your reps with proper form, add another set or more weight (increase weight by roughly 10 percent each time).

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Our Take- Fitness is not a race! Don’t get hung up on getting into top form ASAP because it takes time, especially if you have neglected your body for many years. Overloading your strength training routine means you’re probably going to get hurt, and then you’ll probably get burnt out and quit! Ease into it, you’ll be working out like a pro before you know it!

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Here a video with more tips about avoiding mistakes in the gym…

I think the biggest hole in the fitness industry is the ease of seeming like a expert. Anyone can get on a computer, log on a website and start giving advice. Which may be useful for many other fields, however in the delicate dance of gaining muscle, you simply do not have time to waste. If you want to take chances on random advice, it is your choice, but in my own training especially when just starting out I learned fast you need to do what is proven to work. Otherwise, your training will produce little to no results, you will get depressed, you will begin to hate training and ultimately quit.

And that is something I have seen far too many times, people who just hate training because they never really get results, which is why I decided to write his article. To give a list of tips ANYONE can apply to their training right now and expect far better results. If you already incorporate these tips into your training, great, with a sound nutrition program and consistency you can be sure you will get the results you are looking for.

1. Keep A Workout Log: If you look the legends like Dave Draper and Arnold Schwarzenegger, you can be sure they kept workout logs spanning not just months but years, or even decades . Because they knew the key to progressing your physique to seemingly unreachable levels, is to progress your workouts a little at a time. If you are not slightly stronger now then you were a month ago, you need to revaluate your training. Charles Poliquin a famous trainer employs a 1% or 2% rule, if each workout you cannot improve your strength by 1-2%, especially if you are a beginner, you need to change your approach. Now as you become more advanced, this may be harder to do or your goals may change ,but nonetheless recorded progression is key, whether that be needing less rest time, adding weight to the bar, or doing more reps or sets( up until a point).

2. Stay Consistent : Consistency is ultimately what will make our break a trainee , if you are constantly missing workouts, return to eating unhealthy or cut workouts short you will not get the near the results. Missing one or two workouts may only cause you to fall out of your groove, missing three will likely cost you results, and more then that can set you back pretty far.

3. Train The Muscle Not Your Ego: As a guy, I understand the feeling of just wanting to get in there, smash heavy weights and even go for a max. However, being a trainer I know this is all ego, knowing my bench max will not make my Chest 50 inches, but throwing a whole day out of whack finding it can set me back… Just as strict barbell curling 170 pounds( near my max) looks dang impressive, but I can’t expect to do it every bicep session and still get optimal muscle development.

4. Train Smarter AND Harder: Remember there is a difference between general training intensity, and how much stress you actually put on the targeted muscle. You can throw weight around with momentum all day or yell as you swing the curl bar like doing a power clean all you want , but if your not applying the intensity in a logical manner to challenge the muscle , its not doing anything. When old school bodybuilders talk about training intensity it involves a lot then what some of the new guns may think. You need to develop a mind muscle connection with the muscle you are training , really squeeze every rep and feel the contraction, then feel the stretch as you lower the weight. You also need to keep the rest periods consistent and not tweeting how you just benched 225. That is how you develop smart intensity, not by yelling or jerking the weight around.

5. Change your Routine Often : Changing up your routine is not only important for linear progression , but keeps you from becoming bored. The changes can be as simple as hand or foot placement, moving an exercise from standing to seated or exercise order. It is also important to entirely mix things up sometimes by working different muscles together, using different rest days, or entirely different rep schemes. So you do 4 sets of 15 for lat pull downs? Great, but did you know Vince Gironda could produce amazing results doing 15 sets of 4?

Conclusion

While I realize none of these tips are groundbreaking, but we do not always need the latest researched movements, programs, or supplements to make gains. People have been building astonishing physiques on the basics for over a century now.

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Brad Kelly writes a weekly article every Tuesday. He is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer, Performance Enhancement Specialist, and Corrective Exercise Specialist out of Panama City, Florida. Driven by a passion to help others he not only trains locals, but also performs online personal training and writes fitness articles to reach as many fellow fitness enthusiasts as possible.

We would be willing to bet that we don’t actually need to give you a reason to bring your iPhone to the gym, but just in case you were wondering- we think you should. Many of us are total social media junkies and love to take our smartphones with us wherever we go. Sometimes some people wonder about bringing the phone to the gym- does it distract or does it help us? If you use it the right way, your smartphone can be an amazing tool in the gym.

Why You Should Bring Your iPhone to the Gym

If you’re a social media junkie, we’ve got the perfect fitness class for you. In the Klout Workout—inspired by the company that uses a point system to measure your influence across social networks—participants rack up points based on their own performance in the gym.

But here’s where things get weird: The class, which was created by fitness trainer Alexandra Williams and recently debuted at San Diego’s IDEA World Fitness Convention, requires you to fiddle with your phone during an actual workout. For example, at one station that takes its cues from Pinterest, you bounce on a stability ball in the plank position while pinning motivational quotes to a board.

If you truly want to make big gains at the gym, though, you probably shouldn’t be tweeting in between sets and reps. But there are still plenty of ways that technology can enhance your workout. Download these 6 apps to help ignite your muscles and fry away fat—with the swipe of a finger.

Upgrade Your Hoops Game with Nike+ Basketball
Designed to work exclusively with shoes that contain the latest Nike+ Sport technology, this app syncs your kicks directly to your mobile and allows you to measure your athleticism. Not only can you record the height of your vertical jump, the app also tracks how quickly you can move up, down, and around the court. (Free for iOS)

Be a Better Runner with RunKeeper
You won’t find many apps—especially free ones—more versatile than Runkeeper. It covers all the basics: GPS tracking, tools that measure distance, speed, and calories burned, and it’ll keep your workouts archived. Upload everything to runkeeper.com to track your progress over the weeks, months, or years and share your newest running routes with friends. (Free for iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile.) And for more running apps that will help you burn calories and slash minutes off your mile time, check out The Best Apps for Runners.

Track Your Heart Rate with BeatMeter
Sure, you can feel the sweat dripping down your body during a workout—but how hard are you really working? Here’s an app that helps you find out by recording your measured heartbeats per minute. All you have to do is locate your pulse—try pressing your carotid artery at the base of the neck—then tap the screen each time you feel it. After 60 seconds, your results will be ready. ($0.99 for iOS)

Pump Up the Jams with Music Interval Training Tool
Whether you’re hitting the track or pounding out sprints on the bike, this app helps take your intensity to the next level. How it works: Create a high intensity and low intensity playlist to accompany your interval training, then set the number of seconds you want to exercise at each intensity. When you’re going hard, the music will sync with the upbeat tunes. Then once the interval is up, the music switches to something more low key. ($0.99 for iOS)

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Your phones are probably coming with to the gym anyways, so you might as well put them to good use. One workout called the Klout Workout is inspired by a company that uses a point system to gauge your exact influence in your social networks- this workout is the same concept but gauges your performance at the gym through a similar point system. If you live near San Diego, you will find a class at the IDEA World Fitness Convention that requires you to use your phone during your workout. We aren’t telling you to stop in between sprints on the treadmill to update your twitter followers about your heart rate, but there are some very useful tools that will turn your iPhone into your fitness buddy.

Watch this video about tracking progress…

Check out these apps for fitness:

Nike+ Basketball- this works with your Nike+ compatible shoes, it measures the height of your jumps, your speed, and more to keep you reaching for higher goals.

RunKeeper- this free app uses a gps to measure speed, distance, and even calculated calories burned during your runs.

BeatMeter-this app measures your heart rate to give you an accurate idea of how hard you are really working.

Music Interval Training Tool-this app allows you to create playlists to compliment your pace.
Have you used any of these apps?

We all have stress, and some of us have far more than others. Sometimes, stress can become so great that it actually has a physical impact, in addition to the mental strain, and prevent you from reaching fitness goals. Have you noticed that you are not making the progress you expected from your strength training workouts? Instead of chalking it up to a poorly executed routine or waiting for more time to go by to see if you can get there, you may want to instead look towards your martial issues or overdue bills. Constant stress and pressure can have a major impact on your success in the gym. One study shows that persistent stress can majorly impair your muscles’ recovery process after a workout- and any experienced weight lifters knows that muscle recovery is a huge part of sculpting the body you want.

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In the study, University of Texas researchers surveyed undergraduate students about their current stress levels. The participants then performed a lower-body heavy-resistance exercise to failure. During the hour following the exercise, students with higher chronic stress scores took longer to recover their maximum strength than their unworried classmates.

“Your body is in a state of physical stress after a tough workout,” says study author Matt Stults-Kolehmainen, a postdoctoral associate and clinical faculty member at the Yale Stress Center. Think about it: Your heart rate elevates, breathing increases, temperate rises, glucose levels drop, endorphins surge, and human growth hormone flows.

A tough lifting session also creates microtrauma—or thousands of tiny tears—to your muscle fibers. In essence, your body is a complex machine that needs to fire on all cylinders to effectively recover from a difficult workout. (Get more valuable fitness tips and workout advice sent straight to your inbox by singing up for our free Personal Trainer newsletter.)

But if you want to pack on muscle and increase strength, mental stress can slow your fitness adaptations. (Though energy levels, soreness, and fatigue were not influenced by stress, the study found.) While researchers aren’t exactly sure how it plays a role, they believe stress may cause an inadequate inflammatory response, says Stults-Kolehmainen. And inflammation helps heal the microtrauma so you can build stronger, bigger muscles. Previous research has also shown that stress can increase your chances of sports-related injury and slow recovery after illness or surgery.

Now, we’re not telling you to skip the gym if you’re stressed out. “Exercise can actually help you cope with stress, as long as you dial down the intensity,” Stults-Kolehmainen explains. So if you usually perform three intense lifting sessions a week, shoot for one tough workout and two moderate workouts instead. Allow for a couple days recovery after an intense workout, he recommends, or else you’ll continue to see poor results and put yourself at risk of injury. (Discover hundreds of doctor-approved, do-it-yourself fixes for every sports injury imaginable in The Athlete’s Book of Home Remedies.)

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A study out from the University of Texas shows that students who were under stress lacked the ability to reach their fitness goals. The study examined the muscle recovery time of those students who were under higher stress levels and suffered from chronic stress. What the study showed was that their recovery time was far greater than their follow students who were under less pressure.

Researchers believe than stress inhabits the inflammatory process that is a key part of the recovery process in the muscles. When you work out, you are putting yourself into a state of physical stress, but those with lifestyle stresses and mental stress can be putting too much of a load on their system.

While working out is actually a great way to reduce stress, it is important to put better stress management tactics into place if you want to see a change in your body. Talk therapy and counseling of all types are known to be effective in this area. Learning how to better manage your finances, schedule and relationships will take a major load off- while you can’t control everything that stresses you out, you can do your part to reduce the chaos of it all.

Watch this video about reducing stress…

Do you feel like stress is slowing your progress in the gym?