Health Management & Body Shaping
Personal Training, Nutritional Advice & Exercise Tips in London
Working Around Injuries
Injuries are the bane of anyone that does any kind of sport or regular physical activity. It’s always frustrating having to take days off from a routine, especially when you are experiencing good progress. Having personally experienced injuries in the past I’d like to use this article to explain how you can prepare for training sessions properly, and take better steps to prevent injuring yourself when pushing it to the limit.
Before Doing Anything
Make sure you warm up and stretch thoroughly. It’s seems such a trivial part of the workout that we are so often inclined to replace it with a couple of very brief stretching movements. Make no mistake; you must prepare your joints and ligaments for the workout to follow. So jump on a bike or cross trainer for 6-10 minutes performing the exercise at a moderate intensity. Your objective here is to gently raise your body temperature in order to be able to stretch thoroughly. If the temperature is cold where you are training it may take a little longer
Wrap up in more layers of clothes if need be. Once you feel warm go and stretch all your major muscle groups. A full list of stretches can normally be found in most gyms. The idea is to hold each stretch for a good 5-10 seconds, being sure to ease into each position in a controlled manner.
Things to Watch Out For
Once you’ve completed a thorough warm up, you still need to protect yourself throughout your training or sport session. Most injuries that occur happen in any of the following main areas: Lower back, shoulders, elbow, knees, wrists, ankles, elbows
The lower back seems to be the main place of pain for a large number of adults. This can be put down to poor posture when seated and/or when exercising. Shoulders back and chest out like your mother used to tell you is a good rule to follow, especially when lifting weights. When you pick up weights from the ground bend your knees and push up through your legs while lifting the weight. Yes I know this is all basic stuff, but it’s these basic principles that will enable you to continue training without injury.
If you are performing exercises that involve lifting and then lowering the weight, make sure you keep it under control. Simply dropping a weight will cause a sudden stress to the muscle and the joint, and can result in nasty muscle tears and ligament damage. Above all, listen to your body. If you feel a pain on joints involved in the movement find an alternative. There is always an alternative.
Alternatives
Running is a brilliant way to burn fat and increase your fitness. But running 3-5 nights a week all month will gradually wear away at knee joints and could well lead to lower back pain. So the message here is to vary your activities. A swim can be just as effective as a run, but without any of the impact to your joints. Other alternatives are using a stationary bike or cross trainer. In fact, why limit yourself to the gym? You could go for a cross-country bike ride when the weather’s nice. Less impact on joints and good cardiovascular exercise, as well as natural vitamin E from the sun.
When It Happens
Ok, so despite all the above precautions you could still get injured at some point. It may well result from something stupid and very possibly not even related to anything you did in the gym. An injury is an injury though, and you need to be mature in your response when this happens and especially in allowing enough time to recover. The first thing to do is to immediately get some ice on the affected area. This will prevent the swelling that occurs and help relieve the pain by numbing the affected area.
To give an injury two or three days and then say, “right, I’ve given it enough time. I’m going back to the gym now.” is not really the right attitude. If you have an injury that has not completely repaired itself you will not be able to put 100% into your sessions and at the same time will probably cause the injury to take longer to recover fully. A severely twisted ankle can hinder you almost as much as a broken leg, so don’t treat it any differently.
General Maintanance
So I take it you get your car serviced regularly? What about going to the dentist every six months? Ever have an eye test? Do you see what I’m getting at here? When did you last get your body serviced? A good osteopath can help detect imbalances in your body’s skeletal structure before a major injury occurs. At the very minimum if you are doing a regular sport or any kind of intense training you should be getting a sports massage from a qualified masseur. Don’t think I mean one of those superficial pampering massages though. I mean one that gets deep into your muscle tissue to help alleviate the build up of tightness that occurs over time. This will keep the muscle supple and healthy. Remember, everything is fine when your body is functioning properly, but when you get an injury it controls your life forcing you to feel the pain every day until it goes away. Why not take every precaution possible?
In Summary:
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Injuries are the bane of anyone that does any kind of sport or regular physical activity. It’s always frustrating having to take days off from a routine, especially when you are experiencing good progress. Having personally experienced injuries in the past I’d like to use this article to explain how you can prepare for training sessions properly, and take better steps to prevent injuring yourself when pushing it to the limit.
Before Doing Anything
Make sure you warm up and stretch thoroughly. It’s seems such a trivial part of the workout that we are so often inclined to replace it with a couple of very brief stretching movements. Make no mistake; you must prepare your joints and ligaments for the workout to follow. So jump on a bike or cross trainer for 6-10 minutes performing the exercise at a moderate intensity. Your objective here is to gently raise your body temperature in order to be able to stretch thoroughly. If the temperature is cold where you are training it may take a little longer
Wrap up in more layers of clothes if need be. Once you feel warm go and stretch all your major muscle groups. A full list of stretches can normally be found in most gyms. The idea is to hold each stretch for a good 5-10 seconds, being sure to ease into each position in a controlled manner.
Things to Watch Out For
Once you’ve completed a thorough warm up, you still need to protect yourself throughout your training or sport session. Most injuries that occur happen in any of the following main areas: Lower back, shoulders, elbow, knees, wrists, ankles, elbows
The lower back seems to be the main place of pain for a large number of adults. This can be put down to poor posture when seated and/or when exercising. Shoulders back and chest out like your mother used to tell you is a good rule to follow, especially when lifting weights. When you pick up weights from the ground bend your knees and push up through your legs while lifting the weight. Yes I know this is all basic stuff, but it’s these basic principles that will enable you to continue training without injury.
If you are performing exercises that involve lifting and then lowering the weight, make sure you keep it under control. Simply dropping a weight will cause a sudden stress to the muscle and the joint, and can result in nasty muscle tears and ligament damage. Above all, listen to your body. If you feel a pain on joints involved in the movement find an alternative. There is always an alternative.
Alternatives
Running is a brilliant way to burn fat and increase your fitness. But running 3-5 nights a week all month will gradually wear away at knee joints and could well lead to lower back pain. So the message here is to vary your activities. A swim can be just as effective as a run, but without any of the impact to your joints. Other alternatives are using a stationary bike or cross trainer. In fact, why limit yourself to the gym? You could go for a cross-country bike ride when the weather’s nice. Less impact on joints and good cardiovascular exercise, as well as natural vitamin E from the sun.
When It Happens
Ok, so despite all the above precautions you could still get injured at some point. It may well result from something stupid and very possibly not even related to anything you did in the gym. An injury is an injury though, and you need to be mature in your response when this happens and especially in allowing enough time to recover. The first thing to do is to immediately get some ice on the affected area. This will prevent the swelling that occurs and help relieve the pain by numbing the affected area.
To give an injury two or three days and then say, “right, I’ve given it enough time. I’m going back to the gym now.” is not really the right attitude. If you have an injury that has not completely repaired itself you will not be able to put 100% into your sessions and at the same time will probably cause the injury to take longer to recover fully. A severely twisted ankle can hinder you almost as much as a broken leg, so don’t treat it any differently.
General Maintanance
So I take it you get your car serviced regularly? What about going to the dentist every six months? Ever have an eye test? Do you see what I’m getting at here? When did you last get your body serviced? A good osteopath can help detect imbalances in your body’s skeletal structure before a major injury occurs. At the very minimum if you are doing a regular sport or any kind of intense training you should be getting a sports massage from a qualified masseur. Don’t think I mean one of those superficial pampering massages though. I mean one that gets deep into your muscle tissue to help alleviate the build up of tightness that occurs over time. This will keep the muscle supple and healthy. Remember, everything is fine when your body is functioning properly, but when you get an injury it controls your life forcing you to feel the pain every day until it goes away. Why not take every precaution possible?
In Summary:
- Warm up thoroughly.
- Vary your exercises so that the same joints aren’t overused.
- When an injury does happen, let yourself recover properly.
- Get regular sports massages and osteopath check ups.
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