If you workout in a home gym, are new to a gym and don’t have anyone to assist you with lifts, or you just happen to catch a day when no one is around to spot you, you should know proper lift techniques in order to avoid injury and get the most from your exercise program.

Also, since most people plan on weightlifting for a number of years (if not for their entire lives), you want to make sure that your body is able to handle the increased weight of heavier loads as you progress towards your weightlifting goals. Proper weightlifting techniques will ensure you have a long and prosperous journey.

Some Common Weightlifting Errors

First, let’s look at some of the mistakes made when lifting weights. Although most of these erroneous weightlifting techniques may show rapid results, ultimately they can easily cause problems in the joints, tendons and ligaments, which will eventually hinder your muscle mass progress if not corrected.

• Allowing the knees to extend past the toes in standing weightlifting exercises.

• Not keeping the back straight during deadlifts and squats.

• Overextending the neck during deadlifts and squats.

• Uncontrolled extension of the elbow joints during exercises such as triceps extensions and bicep curls.

• Allowing the elbows to move out and away from the body during bench presses.

• Allowing the wrist to extend backwards during exercises such as military presses and snatches.

Proper Lifting Techniques

For whatever reason you find yourself weight training alone, the following tips will allow you to improve your lifting technique and maximize your ability to handle heavier loads.

• When at all possible, talk with a trainer or coach, or read up on proper lifting techniques from an experienced source before beginning any new lift.

• Utilize “power talking” which is a technique used by many old school weightlifters. Spend a minute talking yourself through the lift before performing it so that you have a clear mental picture of how to properly complete it.

• Use mirrors when lifting alone so that you can watch yourself through the entire lift and make any corrections in lifting technique that you might notice.

• Try a lift with your eyes shut. When you close your eyes, you are more in-tune with your body and can feel subtle variances which might not be noticeable with your eyes open.

• Use your rest time after each lift to evaluate your performance to see if there is anything that you might do differently on the next lift.

• Watch videos of professional weightlifters and bodybuilders and compare your lift technique with theirs. Make any adjustments based on what you see them doing and how each technique feels when you apply it.

Keep in mind that when performing circuit training exercises, you won’t have time in between sets to evaluate your lift techniques. In these cases, do your mental power talking and evaluations before you begin and after you complete your circuit.