6 exercises to prevent pain and injury in the gym

You can deadlift with a 200 kg barbell, and then glance over your shoulder and pull the neck muscle. You can be proud of the wide swinging deltas, and then abruptly grab the rail on the bus and earn shoulder pain for many months.

There are many muscles in our body, and small ones matter no less than those with which you press, pull and do a squat. You are approaching imbalances and injuries without paying attention to small muscle groups.

The exercises below will help you strengthen them and develop joint mobility.

Moreover, they are suitable for absolutely everyone: experienced athletes of strength sports, and beginners, and even those who do not plays sports, but wants to reduce the risk of injury in everyday life, improve posture and make his body flexible and healthy.

1. Glute L-bridge

Most often in the gym and in everyday life, the hips move forward and backward. For example, while walking, running, squatting, lunging. Movement in the frontal plane - from side to side - is much less common. As a result, the muscles responsible for abduction and adduction of the legs are less developed than those that flex and extend them.

The gluteal L-bridge is aimed at working out the gluteus medius muscles responsible for abducting the leg to the side. Strengthening these muscles will help you increase your squat, deadlift, and lungesand also relieves some of the load from the lower back.

It will also show if you have problems with hip mobility and help increase your range of motion.

• Lie on the floor on your back, bend your legs and place your feet, place your hands, palms down.
• Tear the pelvis off the floor and lift it as high as possible, tighten the buttocks at the top point.
• Lift one leg off the floor, bend it at the knee at a right angle and pull the knee closer to the body.
• Keeping the glute muscles tense, move the raised hip to the side, as if you are going to put it on the floor. Hold for a second, return to starting position and repeat.
• Try to keep your pelvis in place, do not let it twist and bend.
• Move slowly and under control, keeping the tension in the gluteal muscles.
• Do three sets of six reps for each leg.

2. Rise in the side plank with legs on a dais

People love to fold the abs and stand in the classic plank in an attempt to pump up beautiful cubes. In this case, the oblique muscles of the abdomen are often left unattended. Moreover, girls are afraid to make turns of the body so as not to spoil their waist.

It is, however, an important part of the corset that stabilizes the core in a wide variety of exercises.

The side plank lift will pump your obliques well and will also strengthen your inner thighs, which will have a positive effect on your squat weights.

• Find a low support, lie on your side and place one hand on your forearm.
• Place your upper leg on a support, slightly bent at the knee. Straighten your lower leg.
• Leaning on your elbow, rise to the side plank and bring your legs together.
• Drop back down and repeat.
• Do three sets of 10 times on each side.

3. Reverse plank on two benches

During strength training exercises for the small muscles of the neck and upper back are often overlooked, so despite the heavy deadlifts and pull-ups with weights, people are injured in ordinary life from some simple movements or suffer from neck pain and shoulders.

This exercise will help strengthen the neck flexors, the rhomboid muscles under the trapezium, small posterior deltas, middle trapezium and small round muscles - part of the rotator cuff shoulder.

This Reverse Plank option can help you improve your posture and avoid neck and back problems.

• Place two benches or two chairs (if doing at home) about shoulder-width apart.
• Sit on the floor between the benches with your shoulders on them so that the edges are under your arms.
• Raise the pelvis so that the body is stretched in one line from the knees to the crown of the head.
• Pull your neck up, press your elbows on the benches so that your chest comes forward.
• Keep your hips high, don't let your pelvis sag.
• Hold this position for 15 seconds, then rest for a minute and repeat two more times.

To increase the load, move the benches a few centimeters further apart. Even a small change will make the exercise much more difficult.

4. Row on a block with raising arms

This exercise also helps target weak back and neck muscles, improve posture, and strengthen the rotator cuff muscles for joint stability in a variety of exercises.

• Sit on a low support or kneel in front of the block machine and grasp the rope handle. Straighten your back, hold the handle in outstretched hands. If you are practicing at home, you can grab a band and hook it to something just off the floor.
• Pull the handle up to eye level while spreading the ropes to the sides.
• Raise your arms up to full extension at the elbows, and then lower them back and repeat.
• Keep your elbows wide and keep your back in a neutral position: do not slouch or bend at the lower back.
• Lower your shoulders; don't pull them up to your ears.
• Move slowly and under control.
• Do three sets of five, resting 1-2 minutes in between.

5. Rolling the medicine ball on your back

Upper-body strength exercises often cause the shoulders to become stiff: the muscles become stiff and hammered so that you can't even just get your hands behind your head. Lack of shoulder mobility will prevent you from doing many exercises, such as the barbell snatch, the Turkish kettlebell lift, and the medicine ball throw.

In addition, imbalances in the body increase the risk of inflammation and pain.

Rolling the medicine ball will help stretch tough and strengthen weak muscles that are unloaded in most strength exercises.

• Lie on your stomach and pick up medball. For a start, a lightweight projectile is suitable (from 1 to 5 kg, depending on your level of training).
• Hold the medball in bent arms next to your head, and spread your elbows wider to the sides.
• At the same time, lift your legs and arms with the medicine ball off the floor and place the ball on your upper back. Pause briefly and return to starting position.
• Keep your chin tucked in and your neck straight. The neck can automatically extend forward towards the floor. This is a compensatory movement that should be avoided.
• Keep your elbows wide at all times. If you do biceps curls instead, you won't get any benefit.
• Perform three sets of 10 times with 1-2 minutes rest between them.

6. Hand-to-hand pancake transfer

This exercise will also help you develop shoulder mobility and move freely.

• Lie on the floor on your stomach, take a small pancake weighing 1.25 kg or a bottle of water. Stretch your arms with the pancake forward.
• Raise your legs and arms at the same time, wrap your right hand with a pancake behind your back in a circular motion and transfer the shell to your left hand.
• In the same circular motion, return the left arm with the plate to its original position and repeat.
• Do not lower your feet to the floor until the end of the set.
• Perform 8 times in one direction, rest for 1-2 minutes and repeat in the other direction.
• Take 2-3 sets.

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You can do all of these exercises separately on different days, or do them all together in one workout. Repeat each of them 1-2 times a week. Gradually increase your working weights for weights, and for bodyweight movements, increase the difficulty or number of repetitions per set.