I am very much still at the beginning of my health and fitness journey. While I have been going to the gym for the past few months and lost a lot of weight, so far I only used machines. I want to start incorporating free weights as I focus more on building muscle but I don’t know where to start.

Free weights seem very daunting to me, I have heard and read so many horror stories about injuries when using improper form while using free weights that I don’t really know where to start and then how to improve.

  • @CriticalResist8A
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    2 years ago

    Start off with the empty bar and focus on technique. If you’ve been doing machine work the empty bar will probably not be too much of a challenge for you.

    They’re not that dangerous and look, even if I deadlifted 100 kilos with a rounded back, it wouldn’t completely destroy my spine the first time around. It would hurt my back probably, it might hurt for a few days too, which is a signal to mean I fucked up, but it’s not like it would paralyse me from just lifting badly once.

    I picked 100 kilos because it might look like an impressive weight. Truth is I deadlift heavier than 100 kilos and you probably don’t yet. That’s the other rule; don’t try to overdo it. You have to challenge yourself and increase the weights (if you stay at the same weights all the time you will only learn to lift that weight and it will never get easier), but if you struggled to deadlift, idk, 60 kilos, then next time try 65. Not 100. That’s how people injure themselves. Your muscles also have a role to prevent injury and so as you lift heavier, you can get away with improperly lifting higher and higher weights.

    I was lucky that I had good coaches early on who instilled proper form, but you can also look up videos from good don’t be afraid to ask people for tips – as long as they seem to know what they’re doing. Many people at the gym might look buff but they have terrible form lol.

    Form does two things: prevent injuries and allow you to lift heavier. There’s so many granular tips you can get into but as long as you get the bar up, it counts as a rep. The rest will come naturally.