Preventing Injury When Losing Control Performing Weight Lifting

When lifting weights, particularly heavy weights, it is easy to lose control of the weights that you are moving. This is especially true if the weights do move into an awkward position. No matter how controlled your movement, you run the risk of causing a major injury to yourself in such an instance. So, let’s discuss this topic and identify exactly what to do when such a situation arises to prevent the onset of injury.

To begin with, I was inspired to write on this particular topics today following my abdominals workout at the gym. I was performing some cable ball curls in a particularly low rep range (4-6 reps to failure). The first set went okay and I then attempted a heavier weight. Attempting to get into position for the set, I lost my balance and rolled onto the floor. Now I know what I have put some of my personal training clients through who have had exactly the same experience!!

I wouldn’t classify such an exercise as dangerous. Sure, it is quite easy to lose your balance, but the risk of injuring yourself is quite low – you’re only going to roll over onto the ground. But what about higher risk movements such as a flat dumbbell chest press, barbell bench press or shoulder presses with heavy weights? If you were to lose control of the weights you could cause some serious injury by dropping a heavy load on your head! Alternatively, what if you are performing heavy barbell squats and you lose your balance? This is a back injury waiting to happen.

Of course, you must take all necessary precautions such as ensuring that the weight isn’t “too” heavy, controlling the weight, having a spotter etc. But what I really want to talk about is, assuming you have taken these steps, what do you do in the 3 or so seconds that you have prior to potentially causing a serious injury.

Let’s begin with all of the pressing movements. Particularly in my earlier stages of training, I had some run-ins on these exercises. I distinctly remember performing an incline dumbbell chest press with very heavy weights (about 4 reps to failure). As I neared muscular fatigue, I pressed up, but moved the dumbbells backwards a little; enough to the point where I began to lose control of the dumbbells. At this point, I had a choice:

1. Try to push the dumbbells forward again
2. Let go of the dumbbells

Option 1 could have resulted in serious injury. The shoulders are in a highly compromised position and trying to move the dumbbells from behind your head is extremely risky. Option 2 really is the only viable option. In such a circumstance, you need to get rid of those dumbbells before they induce serious damage to your shoulder joint, which is extremely prone to injury. It is far safer to push the dumbbells away from your body (and thus avoiding them from dropping on your head) than trying to bring them back forward and either hurting your shoulder or dropping the dumbbells on your head.

Of course, let anyone in the close vicinity know to get out of the way of the falling dumbbells! (You should always ensure that there is no one within your immediate vicinity just in case of such an emergency).

The same approach would reign true for any dumbbell press work. Get those dumbbells out of the way. You need to ensure your own safety before you worry about a big “bang” on the floor.

With barbell presses, this is a tougher scenario. You cannot just drop the bar. This is where you absolutely must get a spotter if you are training to (or close to) failure. A spotter is also essential just in case you lose control of the barbell by pressing forwards or backwards too much. If you do get stuck down the bottom of your rep and cannot push the bar up, yell out for help. This can be a potentially dangerous situation if you are resting an excessive amount of weight on your chest.

Barbell squats are another problem area when it comes to injury. It is quite easy to lose your balance on this exercise, particularly if you are new to it as it is a very complex movement. Although this has never happened to me, I have witnessed some squatters lose their balance. Fortunately I have never seen anyone sustain a major back injury from this, but considering how susceptible the spine is to injury, it is not difficult to accomplish. So if you do find yourself losing your balance on the squats, what do you do?

If you have a spotter, have the spotter assist you in regaining your balance by hooking their arms underneath your armpits. This is usually most practical if you are only slightly off balance. If you are using a squat rack or a cage (and so you should be), you may need to just lower your body down (if safe) or drop the bar down onto the rack. If, for some reason, you are performing squats with no squat rack and find yourself falling over – just let go and drop the bar. Your goal when you are losing control of the weight is to get that bar off your back so it doesn’t seriously hurt you.

Because you only have a limited amount of time if something does go wrong when weight lifting, you are heavily reliant on your reflexes. Never try to move a weight if you are in an awkward position – if all else fails, get that weight away from you as quickly and safely as possible. Prior to initiating your exercise, ensure that your exercise space is well clear so you don’t present any risk to surrounding people just in case something does go wrong.

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