They say exercise is good for you. "tell that to my shoulders, knees and ankles”. Anyone that’s done exercise will have a story about how they tore an ACL, sprained their ankle or pulled a hamstring. Then you get the people that don’t exercise saying, "exercise is bad for you". I get what they’re saying, and yeah it can be, but the positives massively out weigh the negatives. You’re at a higher risk of being in a car crash driving to work than getting a sports related injury.
Injuries are something that cannot be avoid, as much as we wish they could. They can cause unholy amounts of pain and suffering, mentally and physically. However minor or career ending injuries can be, they aren’t something we ever want to deal with. Every time we step in the gym; do any recreational sport or even just a simple run, we are accepting an element of risk that injuries may occur.
But how can we limit our risk of injury?
Step 1- GET YOUR 8 HOURS
Overtraining is a real thing! As much as we crave the endorphins and serotonin we get from physical activity, our bodies aren’t indestructible. Ensuring we have adequate rest between high intensity bouts of exercise will strongly reduce our risk of injury. This means getting your 8 hours. When sleeping the body starts to repair by slowing your heart and releasing hormones to reduce inflammation and treat sore, or damaged muscle tissue.
Step 2- CHECK YOUR FORM
One of, if not THE most important points on this list is checking your form. Ensuring every exercise you complete is done with correct form, will drastically reduce the chances of you picking up an injury. The body's joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons all deal with a lot of stress when exercising and all move in a certain way. When the body isn't properly aligned through poor form, unnecessary stress is placed upon the musculoskeletal system and an injury is just waiting to happen. Most commonly, this occurs with people's knees through squatting incorrectly.
If you're unsure on whether you're exercising with good form, seek help from qualified personal trainer. Send me a message and I'd be more than happy to help.
Step 3- DON’T BE HELMET. WEAR A HELMET.
When your parents always said, "Don't forget a helmet!" They were right. Many sports or physical activities require PPE (personal protective equipment). For example, in cricket, a batsman would wear pads, a helmet, gloves, box and even extra padding, in order to protect themselves when facing the bowler. Without these, the batsman would be asking for an injury. Maybe slightly less at village cricket level, in comparison to elite cricket but anything can happen. PPE is there for a reason. Protection and preventing an injury.
So put your ego away, stop being a helmet, and protect yourself.
Step 4- GET WARM
Warm ups are often overlooked when training. We're itching to get started and sometimes neglect preparing our bodies for the task ahead. But why should we warm up? When warming up, the body's core temperature raises and oxygenated blood is pumped to the working muscles. This in turn allows the body to work more efficiently and helps the joints move through full range of movement seamlessly. Without warming up the muscles are like cold tight elastic bands. They need head and movement to make them more pliable. Warm up intensity should be increased gradually to properly prepare the body for exercise. Movements specific to the activity will provide the best results in performance and prevention of injury, as these are the muscles being worked and the movement patterns in which the body will be going through.
Step 5- BE A STRONG MOTHER F*****
Be strong. Strength is one of those things we all want to be. But how can being strong reduce the risk of injury? Strength training has so many benefits and it's easy to see why so many people incorporate it as part of their exercise. It is proven that strength training increases bone density, thus reducing the risk of a fracture, especially as our body deteriorates with age. The increase in muscle mass provides support to the joints by strengthening the surrounding muscles, as well as the ligaments and tendons that have had to adapt to deal with the load placed upon them. By being stronger the body can withstand more load and be more stable through movements to prevent an injury occurring. Be aware that you will also need to incorporate mobility and stretching as your muscles will become tighter.
Implement these 5 steps and know that every session you can perform at your best without worrying about picking up an injury. Obviously freak accidents can occur but there isn't a lot we can do about those, so stay safe.
Comments