Carrying a Weight Plate Too Casually

We often listen to exercisers gripe that their backs hurt after they perform the bench press. Yet when we go to check out their technique, it looks impeccable. We’re baffled — until these people pop off the bench, slide the weight plates off the bar, and put them back on the weight tree. Ah ha! Mystery solved. It’s not the bench press or any other exercise that’s giving them an aching back; the way exercisers carry around those big, heavy weight plates is the culprit.

Carrying a weight plate the wrong way
Sometimes we see people carrying weight plates around the gym floor as if the plates were super-size Frisbees. Other lifters tuck plates under their arms as if they’re clutching a purse. Or they hold the plate on the edge of their fingertips with a straight arm and locked elbow, as if they’re carrying a bowling ball Carrying around a lot of weight with one hand tied behind your back may be the ultimate display of macho, but even if you’re a big, strapping fellow, this sort of behavior puts your body in a terribly unbalanced position because you’re adding all the weight only on one side of your body. Your elbows and shoulders bear more of the burden than they’re designed to handle. See photo A.

Carrying a weight plate the right way
Hold the plate close to your chest with both hands. Stand as close as you can to the bar, line up the hole in the plate with the bar, and then slide the plate on. Don’t just extend your arms out straight and toss the plate as if you’re performing some sort of ring-tossing circus act. When you pick up a plate off the floor or from a low rung on a weight tree, bend your knees as if you’re doing a squat, bring the weight in close to your chest, and stand up using your leg muscles, not your lower back. All this advice goes for lighter weights, too. See photo B.