Going to the gym and simply going through the motions without a sweat just isn't going to get the job done. You will have to overload your muscles with heavy weight and high intensity if you want to see real results. This is without a doubt the most effective means of stimulating muscular growth.

Muscles grow due to a natural adaptive survival response, and if you don't give them a damn good reason to grow, they won't.

People doing serious training are always at a higher risk of injury. But there are several simple steps that when performed carefully will reduce your risk of injury.

An injury will stop you in your tracks when doing serious muscle training.

Below I will outline my 5 golden rules when it comes to minimizing the risk of injury. If you can honestly say that you implement all 5 of these into your training program, then your risk of getting hurt will be much lower than someone who does not.

1) Proper warmup

Proper warmup is the single best thing you can do to minimize your risk of injury. This simple 15-20 minute process will prepare your body for the hard work to come by increasing blood flow into the surrounding connective tissue and by lubricating your joints. I recommend that you perform 5 minutes of light cardiovascular exercise before each workout followed by 4-5 warmup sets for your first major exercise of the routine.

2) Train with the right form

I almost didn't mention it because it might seem obvious. Each single exercise must be carriedd out using the proper techniques for keeping stress off your joints. Don't start deadlifting with a rounded back. Don't jerk around weights in some ballistic manner. You will hurt yourself sooner or later.

3) Always train within your own personal limits

If you let your ego take over it is almost always a recipe for disaster. It doesn't matter what the guy next to you is benching and it is completely irrelevant to your training program. You must always use weights that you can handle and control with proper form, and if you start piling on the plates to impress the people around you, you'll be stretching your limits and putting yourself in a very vulnerable position.

4) Always know when to quit

I sometimes see guys that always try to crank out a couple of extra reps at a point when they should have stopped. Don't do it. If you cannot complete another rep in its proper form then it is time to quit.

5) Don't ignore aches

Never ignore pain or signes of injuries. Don't try to 'work thorugh' and ignore what your own body is telling you. It is your own body you want to train and you better listen to what it tells you. If you stress your body pain won't just disappear but get worse.

More often than not, it will only get worse. If you feel that something definitely isn't right and can sense that you probably shouldn't be training, get the issue checked by a professional and then take the proper measures to heal. While it may hurt your progress in the short term, the overall long-term effect will be a positive one.

There is also a specific way to perform a proper weightlifting warmup, which will not only greatly decrease your chances of injury but will also result in virtually instant strength increases for your major exercises.