When hitting the weight room, don’t let poor technique limit the effects of your workout and leave you more susceptible to injury.

Here are three common lifting exercises, injuries that can occur if they are done improperly and the best ways to avoid those injuries.

• Overhead lifts: Back pain tends to be an issue with this exercise as poor core strength sometimes causes lifters to arch the lower back. To correct this problem, engage the core to keep your body from slipping into bad form, focus on maintaining upright posture and use the core muscles and glutes to keep the spine neutral.
• Bench press: By flaring out at the elbows, lifters can put unnatural stress on their shoulders and sustain arm injuries as a result. But if they push hard through the movement until the upper back is filled out, the chances of getting hurt are greatly reduced. It also can help to wrap a resistance band around the wrist and imagine driving it outward.
• Squats: When squatters turn their legs inward, they are putting added stress on the knees, making them susceptible to ACL injurys. To help keep the knee bent properly, wrap a mini-band around the thighs just above the knee.

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