Afraid of barbell training? This post will help you. It won’t eliminate your fear. If reading words on a screen was a reliable way to conquer fear, then I wouldn’t still soil my shorts during thunderstorms, as a thirty-two year old father. Being afraid of barbell training is like being afraid flying on an airplane. [...]
Afraid of barbell training? This post will help you. It won't eliminate your fear. If reading words on a screen was a reliable way to conquer fear, then I wouldn't still soil my shorts during thunderstorms, as a thirty-two year old father.
Being afraid of barbell training is like being afraid flying on an airplane. The fear is normal, but irrational.
I used to be afraid of the iron. And yet, I would try backflips. In my backyard. Unsupervised. Without any prior coaching. Landed on my neck more than once.
I'm not afraid of barbell training anymore.
Here's one reason why.
Go to your local hospital. See how many people are waiting in line for orthopedic surgeries.
- Knee replacements.
- Hip replacements.
- Spinal fusions.
Bunch of people going under the guillotine, few of which have ever broke bread with a barbell.
Sedentary bodies break down just as easily (if not more easily) than barbell battered bodies.
Here's another reason why.
Barbell sports are safe, according to scientific research. Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, and bodybuilding have low (severe) injury rates. You're more likely to get injured running.
Especially if you're running from the truth: driving your car is more dangerous than deadlifting.
The gym is a controlled environment. There's no uncertainty. Forty-five pound plates only move if you move them. Iron doesn't have agency.
Team sports are the opposite. You're constantly bumping into other bodies, and you never know what foreign bodies will do. This is one of the reasons why team sports have higher injury rates.
If you're afraid of barbell training, but you play basketball, football, hockey, soccer, whatever, then you're afraid of the shooting range, despite being a front-line soldier. Makes less sense than dipping potato chips in ketchup.
I hate ketchup.
Here's the bad news.
A low injury rate isn't a no injury rate. It's impossible to insulate yourself from injury. If the stats don't hit your heart (they rarely do), here's one last thing to think about.
Certain positions and ranges of motion are more compromising than others. Proper exercise technique and solid movement mechanics can minimize injuries, especially if you're a noob.
Before you cut cold carrots with Chef Tony's boot butchering cleaver, you should learn safe handling practices. You should know to cut away from your body. You should know to cut from a flat surface. You should know to stop watching infomercials beyond 10PM when your willpower is nil.
If you're unfamiliar with proper exercise technique and solid movement mechanics, then punch this link to check out Zero to Barbell (Z2B).
Zero to Barbell teaches you safe handling practices using low load and low risk exercises, which will build your confidence and your coordination.
This is terrifying.
As mentioned, I used to be afraid of barbell training. Didn't make sense, considering I flung my body around my backyard, as a self-taught freestyle acrobat.
I'm not afraid of barbell training anymore. I'm more afraid of my bed post. Because I've stubbed my little toe on my bed post more times than I've gotten injured lifting a barbell.
May the Gains be with you,
Ant
ps
Barbell training has actually helped me with injuries, because it forced me to learn how the human body works. I learned about body mechanics. I learned about stress and adaptation.
Although I'm 100% aware of alternative histories, I'm rather confident saying: without barbell training, I'd be more broken than I am now.
pps
If Random Guy chops his arm off with a chainsaw, you don't condemn the chainsaw. Likewise, if Random Guy at your gym gets hurt barbell training, don't condemn the barbell.