Do You Hold Your Weights Wrong?
There are 3 common mistakes that can cause serious damage over time.
A lot of people tend to focus on how to move weight, and lifting the maximum amount of weight possible.
How you HOLD the weight is actually more important - to prevent injury down the road and lift to your full potential.
Three Most Common Mistakes
There are three common mistakes that you want to correct in order to lift to your full potential and prevent injury.
1. Benchpress
The number one mistake here is wrist position. A lot of people bend their wrists back, which puts a lot of strain on the wrists. You should roll them forward as if you’re revving a motorcycle and keep the weight in the center of your palm.
2. Squat
The most common error made when squatting is keeping the thumb under the bar. The thumb should be around the bar (on top of it). This traps it against the traps, which creates a safe, stable position with no pressure on the wrist.
3. Kettlebell Rack
Whether you're doing squats or presses, you need to create a stable position. Often the elbows fly away, which involves the shoulder too much. Bending the wrist backwards is common here too, which again puts strain on the wrist. You want to roll your wrists straight forward, and pack your elbows close to your body.
Why Should You Care?
- Holding weight the wrong way limits how much weight you can move. When the body thinks its unstable, its going to shut you down and limit how much you can lift.
- Doing these incorrect once or twice won’t kill you, but over time these errors really take a toll on the body and cause damage down the road.
Give these a try and let us know what you think!