Originally Posted by wolfchild

Weight lifting does have some significant risks. The most important thing to remember when lifting is to maintain a proper form and technique. Majority of injuries from weight lifting are caused by using too much weight and failure to maintain proper form and technique when performing an exercise. Proper form is especially important for older people, The older you get the greater the risk of injury... I wouldn't say that lifting weights in a gym is an absolute necessity , there are plenty of other ways to do resistance training and weight bearing exercises which doesn't involve barbells and dumbbells at a gym. The most important thing is to do something that works, the tools that you choose to do your resistance training with doesn't really matter.