Weight Room Safety For Schools

1) Weight Room Safety Starts With A Proper Introduction

Schools must start with a proper introduction to the weight room and resistance training to ensure weight room safety. While this can happen with sports coaches and teams, the best place to start this introduction is through Physical education classes. By doing this, all students at the school, rather than a select few student-athletes, get a baseline understanding of the weight room and resistance training.

Two major components come with an introduction:

1) Introduce Students To The Room and its Parts 

The weight room might feel like a second home to teachers and coaches who have been involved in resistance training for most of their lives. But for many students, walking into the weight room might feel like stepping onto another planet. Therefore, learning about the equipment and space is a crucial component to weight room safety.

From free weights and weight plates to different types of machines, students should explore and learn about what they are and how they work. This process also serves as the first introduction to weight room rules like cleaning, using, and putting away different equipment in the weight room.

2) Build A Strong Foundation With Proper Technique 

As you introduce students to the space, they will also begin participating in their first weight training programs. While we (students and teachers) might be eager to max out and dive into workout programs, all students should start with an introduction to the basic elements of strength training exercises.

For example, below is a sample from school-2/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>PLT4M’s Intro To Strength Training program that breaks down the barbell bench press in all of its parts. This is students’ first introduction to a common weight room exercise, from setup and safety tips to executing the movement. Notice that we start with an empty barbell and spend ample time ensuring that proper form is established before we add lighter weights and eventually move to heavier weights.