Not all injuries are due to excessive exercise or tension. But prevention starts with common sense, but even experienced athletes do not know how such common routines put them at risk. Therefore, it is essential that you know how certain injuries occur so that you can prevent them, especially those that originate from free weights and lead statistics worldwide.
Problems working with free weights
If you are going to lift discs or dumbbells and have to put them on a shelf several times in the session, each time you risk one falling on you or someone else. The problem is that most of us don’t think about raising and lowering discs or dumbbells off the shelves, as it’s the only lift done repeatedly in the gym without paying much attention. Just being vigilant when you move the dumbbells or discs will minimize the chance that one will fall on you.
When you load the discs onto the bar to make your movements and the bar is at the mid-height of the shin, take the discs with the edges inward. This way, you can get a secure grip when you slide them in and out. Now when the shelf or bar is low, load the discs with the edges facing out. Take it and place your fingers under the edge without having to slide the disc.
If you are a gym owner, the ideal is to place the heaviest discs or dumbbells at the torso level. This can help reduce the chances that an athlete will drop a larger disc on himself or that there will be greater ease of manipulation.
Some racks or shelves are specifically designed for the larger disks at the bottom and cannot be modified when you are working hard. So you should keep at least 2 fingers wide between the end of the shelf and the last disc to have a safe margin or grip that avoids the risk of injury.
Another situation where you could be injured is when pulling a larger disc off the shelf from a low position with one hand, you get up to grab it with the other hand, as this also increases the risk of it falling. It is recommended to use both hands to slide it , or take it to the floor and rest it upright, and then hold it more securely with both hands. Likewise, the feet must be at an estimated width and outside the drop zone to be able to maneuver well.
Perhaps, these tips may seem somewhat absurd, but this is a smart precaution when disassembling the discs or dumbbells to avoid injuries that would make a difference.