Stop exercising immediately if you develop chest pain or pressure, severe or unusual difficulty breathing, fainting, or sudden weakness, numbness, or trouble speaking. If you may be having a medical emergency, call 911 in the U.S. or your local emergency number right away. Do not wait for symptoms to pass or for an answer from the app.
Signs of a heart attack or stroke can come and go and still need emergency care (American Heart Association).
Severe muscle pain after exercise
Get medical care immediately if, in the hours or days after exercise, you have muscle pain or weakness that is far worse than you'd expect, or dark urine that looks like tea or cola. These can be signs of rhabdomyolysis, a serious muscle injury that needs a medical test to diagnose (CDC). Don't treat it as ordinary soreness.
Check with a doctor first if
Healthy people without heart problems usually don't need to see a doctor before starting moderate activity (NHLBI). Talk to a doctor before starting or changing your training if you:
have a heart condition, high blood pressure, diabetes or another long-term condition;
have had chest pain, dizziness or fainting, especially during activity;
have an injury, recent surgery, or a doctor's restriction on activity;
are pregnant or have recently given birth;
have been inactive and plan to start vigorous training.
During your workout
Stop if something hurts. Pain is different from normal muscle effort. Don't train through it.
Start light. Learn each exercise with no weight or a light weight first, and add load gradually.
Drink water, and take a break if you feel dizzy, overheated or unwell.
Equipment and safety gear
Follow the manufacturer's instructions for every machine, rack and bench.
Check that safety arms, pins, straps and stops fit your rack or machine, are secured, and are rated for the load, and that the rack is stable and anchored if its manufacturer requires it.
Set safety arms or stops for the exercise you are doing, so that if you fail a rep the bar lands on them before it can pin you. For many lifts that means a little below the lowest point of your rep, for example just below where the bar touches your chest on a bench press. Before loading the bar, test it: with an empty bar, lower it onto the safeties from your normal position and check that you can get out from under it safely. If you're not sure, ask qualified gym staff before you load it.
Use collars on loaded barbells.
Use a trained spotter when an exercise calls for one, especially for heavy presses and squats. A spotter and safety arms do different jobs; one doesn't always replace the other.
If the safeguards an exercise needs aren't available, don't do that exercise.
Use stable benches and boxes, keep the floor around you clear, and lock machine safety catches as the machine's instructions say.
About Rite and LiftWrite's estimates
Rite, LiftWrite's AI coach, and LiftWrite's calorie, protein and water targets give general fitness and wellness information. They are not medical advice, they can be wrong, and they don't know your medical history. Check with a doctor before making medical decisions, and before following a calorie target or diet if you have a medical condition, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have had an eating disorder. Rite doesn't answer questions about pain, injuries, symptoms or medication; see a doctor or physical therapist for those.
About our videos and instructions
The animated figure shows a typical way to do each exercise. It can't see you or correct your form, and your body or equipment may need a different setup. If something in a video or instruction looks wrong or unsafe, tap "Report a problem".
Results differ from person to person, and no result is promised.