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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.

Performing a proper warm up raises the body’s core temperature which aids in making the metabolism shift into gear while also “pre-lubricating” the joints in preparation for the upcoming workout. This allows the body to be ready to handle the weights.

A warm-up should consist of 5 to 10 minutes of middle of the road cardio intensity on a treadmill or stationary bike followed by 5 minutes of light stretching and 1 to 2 light sets prior to 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 a supporting muscle stiffens or becomes shortened, it will start interfering with the normal groove of your exercises. Not a big deal at first, but over time you train increasingly “wrong” and put a lot of extra stress on joints, ligaments and unintended secondary muscle groups. The cumulative effect over a couple of years can throw some serious curveballs at your bodybuilding efforts.

Stretching in between sets will flushes out lactic acid byproducts while also delivering fresh nutrients to the body which, in turn, allows you to be stronger in the next set. Post workout stretching also allows you to recover a lot faster in between workouts which may prove to be another excellent plus. Just be sure to stretch slowly and in a controlled manner to make sure you get positive results.

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 important aspect to control will center on avoiding bouncing, jerking or partial moves that are forced by necessity. That is, if you stop halfway down in the negative phase of a forearm curl exercise due to the fact you would not be able to curl up otherwise, you are using 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.

Think about a barbell military press. From feet to hips, you’re pretty much standing straight. Then you lean backwards so that you can stay balanced while pushing up the barbell and the only thing protecting your spine is your abs. In fact, ab tension is a prerequisite for getting into the starting position.

5) Safety Precautions. You don’t buckle up in your car because you expect to crash. However, if it does happen, you’re very, very happy that you took the two seconds to do it. The gym works the same way.

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 too difficult to comprehend and all of these 5 steps can help reduce the chances of an injury from occurring.

Don’t waste your time, effort and cash on B.S. “Miracle Programs” that don’t deliver results! Learn the honest truth revealed by a genuine weight lifting expert and at last start noticing the gains you want. You can also read our Weight Lifting Exercises and articles.

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