The Mechanics Of Injury And Managing Risk in the Weight Room

The Mechanics of Injury

And Managing Risk in the Weight Room

Ben Connolly

At Mike Boyle Strength & Conditioning one of the very first lessons that we try to instill in our new interns is where our priorities lie as strength coaches. Many young coaches assume that our primary intention is to improve performance - to make athletes bigger, stronger, and faster. However, while improved performance is certainly a goal of ours, anyone who is familiar with us will know that it is far from our first priority. Rather, our top priority is to do no harm, and this desire is the driving force behind all of the choices we make. If an athlete is injured under our watch, then it doesn’t matter how strong or fast we’ve helped them become. An athlete is no help to their team if they’re too hurt to play.