Three Things Everyone should be doing in the weights room

1 - Wearing a decent pair of weightlifting shoes

No vibram 5 fingers don't count!  One of the biggest barriers to entry to people wanting to lift weights during squat movements is their horrific ankle mobility.  Of course you can stretch and get a great ROM in just your feet or you can spend 60-165 quid on a pair of shoes that will take out a lot of the guess work for you.  If you have just taken up lifting or don't already own a pair of shoes then I strongly suggest you buy a pair.  They are almost essential for squatting, weightlifting or overhead movements.  Offer greater stability in lifts for your ankle and allow a better ROM for you ankle and shin which makes life so much easier.

2 - Paused Goblet Squats.

If I could only use one stretch for the rest of my life this would be it.  It offers better ROM at the ankle, knee, hip and lower back as well as teaching an essential skill for any lifter namely thoracic extension.  To perform best do it in your bare feet grab a dumbbell or kettlebell, Squat down to the position seen in the picture.  Use your elbows to push your knees out, pull your lower back flat and extend your upper back.  Looking in a mirror side on can help a lot with getting the correct position.

3 - Performing an obscene amount of volume for your upper back (lower traps, rhomboids and lats).

This is the cause of many a lifter's woes be it your slouched posture, tightness in an overhead position or your chronic shoulder pain.  A lot of shoulder problems stem from a weak upper back particularly the muscles that articulate the scapula.  To be proactive in this and also to look a bit more hence from the back you can perform the following exercises 2-3x a week.

1 - Chest Supported DB Row Paused - 5 sets of 10 (2 second pause at the top)
2 - Underhand Machine row to belly button - 5 sets of 10
3 - Medium Grip Lat Pulldown to the collar bone - 5 sets of 10

The weight you use should cause local fatigue in your upperback from about the 8-10th rep of set 4-5.  Good form is key no body english!

Marc.