You may love the challenge of lifting, especially if you and your friends do it together. You'll definitely see results over a few months in your muscles and in your ability to progressively lift more weight. But there are a few things to look out for.

• The most common danger of weight lifting is that people, who first start a weight lifting routine, don't work into it slowly. What they have to understand is that until you've actually lifted weights, this is something that your body is not at all accustomed to doing. You'll be using muscles that you've never used in your life. Putting too much strain on these muscles too quickly can lead to serious injury. So moderation at the start is the key to avoiding such injury.


• Steroid use. It is widely used in many sports - including bodybuilding, swimming. But because many of their long-term effects on the body are still unknown - and because they are linked to health problems like cancer, heart disease, and sterility - you should resist the urge to try them. The benefit is definitely not worth the risk!


• If you have reached the stage of lifting heavy weights, do so with proper supervision. In spite of what most people think, there is always the possibility of dropping a weight on you. Without somebody closely to assist you, this may lead to serious injury or something even worse. Never lift heavy weights without supervision.


• Another danger, that many young people don't want to acknowledge, is that there is an age limit where weight lifting is not advisable. When you are very young, your body has not yet fully matured. By lifting weights in your early or even late teens, it actually inhibits bone growth because of the pressure put on the bones when lifting. Also, you are more likely to suffer a serious injury when you are younger because your body has not fully developed yet. Children younger than 17 years of age should not be lifting weights, certainly not heavy ones.

You need to get into weight lifting with caution. It isn't a risk free activity. Nothing is without its price. That certainly applies to weight lifting as well.