Gyms are a fantastic
way to get fit in a controlled environment, but even the most safety conscious
gyms cannot prevent injuries from happening. It is easy to become complacent
when you are a gym veteran, but even the most experienced of us can fall into
bad habits over time. And if you are a newbie to the gym world then it is
essential that you familiarise yourself with the correct way to work out from
day one. Here we offer our top tips to avoid injuries in the gym.
1) Know your equipment
There is nothing more
embarrassing than disregarding an introductory session when joining a gym, only
to discover that you have no idea how any of the equipment works. To save
yourself standing around like a lemon, make sure you sign up to an induction
before getting started. Yes, it may be dull, but not only will it save your
blushes, it might also prevent unnecessary injury. Qualified instructors will
show you how to avoid hurting yourself on potentially dangerous equipment like
the running machine- they can at least point you in the direction of the stop
button!
2) Warm-up
Your warm up is one of
the most important parts of your exercise routine. An efficient warm up routine
will prevent unnecessary injuries, increase your flexibility and speed up
recovery time from your workout. Begin with low intensity aerobic activity,
like power walking or a gentle job, for 5 to 10 minutes to get your heart
pumping and your lungs working. Then begin stretching your leg muscles, arm
muscles, lower back and chest (remember, avoid bouncing when you stretch- you
risk tearing the muscle). Don't rush your warm up- doing the exercises correctly
is more important than speed! Even if you are short on time, make sure you put
aside an extra 5 minutes to get your body moving- or you will regret it the
next day when you can't walk up and down the stairs.
3) Pace yourself
Starting a fitness regime
generally means that you are eager to see results - whether that means
developing a slimmer, more toned physique or a healthier cardiovascular system.
But the biggest mistake you can make is throwing yourself into a routine all
guns blazing. Of course you could start out going to the gym for 2 hours a day,
7 days a week, but this may not be sustainable. Your body only has so much
energy to work with, and you must pace yourself to avoid overtraining. Soreness
is normal the morning after an intense workout, but needing a crane to get out
of bed isn't. Start slow and concentrate on long-term goals. Some gyms offer
free training programmes which can be handy if you don't know where to begin.
4) Stick to the rules
In the gym, rules are
NOT made to be broken. Health and safety is important in the gym (even if you
think it is a waste of time in other areas of your life like the workplace!).
Know who your first aider is- all gyms should have a qualified member of staff
on duty that is trained in first aid. In addition, familiarise yourself with
the fire escapes in case of an emergency. Finally, pay attention to diagrams of
how to use the equipment to avoid hurting yourself or those around you.
5) Hydrate
When doing any type of
exercise it is important to stay well hydrated. Working out whilst dehydrated
will affect your performance and slow your recovery time. Drink plenty of
fluids before, during and after your session and adjust your intake depending
on how intensely you exercise. For shorter workouts - those lasting less than
one hour - sports drinks are not necessary. However, for longer, more intense
workouts, sports drinks can replace lost electrolytes and provide sugar for
energy. If you forget to bring a drink with you, make regular trips to the
water fountain. And whatever you do, avoid alcohol and caffeine at all costs!
6) Good posture
If you carry out an
induction session, you will be told by your instructor how to use correct form
when working out. If you don't maintain good 'form' or technique when doing
exercises at the gym, you won't be exercising the muscles you are supposed to. Worse
still, you may even be putting yourself at risk of injury. A classic place to
spot poor posture is on the rowing machines; people will round their shoulders,
hunch their back and pull as hard as possible, putting a lot of pressure on the
spine and back muscles. Another common area of mistake is on the treadmill,
where users will have poor dynamic body control when running. If you are
getting pains in places where you shouldn't, then talk to a personal trainer
before you do yourself a mischief.
7) Mix up your routine
It is easy to get stuck
in a fitness rut when you go to the same gym day after day, month after month,
but it is important to mix up your routine every 4-6 weeks. It is around this
time that your body begins to adapt to your training and is no longer
challenged. Not only will your fitness grind to a halt, but you run the risk of
overworking particular muscles and joints. Try changing equipment, increasing
your weights or adding sets. If your routine is stale, then take a fitness
class to learn some new moves and gain some motivation. Variety is the spice of
life after all!
8) Protect yourself
with Physiotherapy
With all the best
intentions in the world, we can all fall victim to sports injury at some point
in our lives. Common gym injuries include foot and ankle problems like plantar
fasciitis, stress on the knee, lower back problems and misalignment of the
neck. If you are serious about your gym routine, then be prepared to visit a
physiotherapist. Look for a health insurance policy that has cover for private
physiotherapy- it will stop you having to wait on the NHS for treatment if you
do hurt yourself. When investing in health insurance, choose an insurer that
offers discounted gym membership- you might save yourself a pretty penny.
Chloe Hibbert writes on
health and fitness for ActiveQuote, a website where you can compare health
insurance quotes online.
The largest criticism I
hear about CrossFit is about how dangerous it is and how many people get hurt
doing it, blah, blah, blah. Maybe we should all just hide in a closet and pray
for muscles and a six pack? That's probably safer then trying something
challenging like a snatch. Of course it's not great to plow through random
exercises with terrible technique for hundreds of reps. But if that's what you
believe CrossFit is then my friend you need to find a better gym.
Crossfit can be done
poorly and can be done correctly, just like any other fitness system. Instead
of condemning crossfit as some sort of fitness fad that's sure to blow up your
rotator cuff let's try to figure out a way to make it better shall we?
1. Get Your Mind Right
"Whether you
believe you can, or you believe you can't, you're right"
- Henry Ford
What's the difference
between you and an olympic gold medalist? Genetics? Coaching? Programming? Great
Facilities? Training partners? Well for one I bet you 100% that the olympic
athlete has a very specific way of thinking. Their mental game is iron clad.
They believe in themselves.
However, I will say
that we all put our pants on one leg at a time. These individuals may seem like
it, but they aren't superhuman. Laird Hamilton (Professional Big Wave Surfer)
has an awesome quote that helps to point out the difference between normal
individuals and those who have achieved greatness.
"We are our own
worst inhibitors"
If we could stop making
excuses for our goals and dreams we'd be that much closer to actually attaining
them. Humans are capable of tremendous things. Having the right mindset is
definitely at the foundation.
Making the commitment
to excellence isn't easy. It's a lonely road, set apart from status quo and
away from "normal" by society's standards. Sitting on the couch is
easy. Eating doritos for lunch is easy. Staying up late and sleeping in is easy.
However, is this the way you want people to think of you? Or the way you want
to be remembered once you're dead and gone? For me, hell no!
Every action you take
in your life is either a step toward the person you aspire to become or a step
in the opposite direction. The power is yours (Captain Planet reference).
On top of that your way
of thinking has an incredible influence on whether or not we get injured and
also how we recover from injury. Fear about your current injury decreases your
ability to recover. Stress and an introverted personality can increase your
risk of injury. Having competitive anxiety increases your risk for injury.
Believing you are more prone to injury or ill-health can be a self-fulfilling
prophecy!
2. Don't Put Fitness on
Dysfunction
I stole this directly
from Gray Cook. It means that we shouldn't be using complex exercises to
develop fitness without having taught proper technique and mastery of these
exercises first. Crossfit is large group of skills that require disciplined
practice to master. To me this is part of what makes crossfit so enjoyable and
challenging.
As fitness
professionals and enthusiasts we're so caught up in the more reps, more weight,
beat the clock mentality we forget that we're trying to actually get better at
moving properly.
Squats are a skill,
pullups are a skill, olympic lifts are a skill, running is a skill, jumping and
landing are skills. What happens when we just throw complicated movements
together and tell you to perform them as fast as possible without getting your
technique together first? Torn meniscus, rotator cuff tears, disc herniations,
volcanoes erupt, planets colide, etc etc. You get the point?
Using crossfit properly
involves teaching how to do these movements correctly and then practicing,
practicing, practicing.
3. Perfect Technique
Always
This is a bonehead rule
and an extension of the above principle. Do you want a surefire way to get
better, stronger, faster and more efficient while decreasing the likelihood of
getting hurt? Stop using crappy technique.
Want to know what
happens when your form breaks down? You get less efficient, you get weaker, you
get hurt. Ever wonder why when someone breaks a world record in a given sport
it looks so effortless and perfect? That's because if their technique broke
down they wouldn't have set a world record. It's that important.
Poor technique is also
going to decrease your efficiency. Remember the old saying that practice makes
perfect? Well perfect practice makes perfect. Practice just makes permanent.
When we practice poor technique we get better and better at doing poor
technique. We want to get better not worse right?
On top of that crappy
technique makes you look like a tired and mortally wounded animal flopping
around in the gym. It curdles my blood. It's like someone scraping their nails
against a blackboard to me. This is probably the biggest reason why so many
crossfit haters exist.
4. Find a Good Gym and
a Good Coach
There are good and bad
doctors right? Unfortunately I can tell you the local surgeons who have a bad
track record for their patients getting infections after surgery. That's a bad
thing.
What's the difference
between becoming a surgeon and a crossfit trainer? Becoming a surgeon takes
hundreds of thousands of dollars and up to 15 years of school and training just
to start practicing. On top of that you still get bad surgeons.
Becoming crossfit
certified means $1,000 and a weekend course. Do you think everyone out there
teaching crossfit is competent? Unfortunately with crossfit gyms popping up
around every corner not every gym will be created equal. Here are a few tips
when choosing a gym.
Established gyms are
usually better then new gyms
Coaches should practice
what they preach. (Nothing is worse then a trainer who's out of shape *vomit*)
Credentials count -
Coaches who go out of their way to learn olympic lifting through USAW are a
plus. I've seen a recent trend in physical therapists and chiropractors becoming
coaches and I've got to say, that's awesome.
Assessments and
Introductory classes - Many programs have introductory classes (on-ramp) but
not too many offer assessments.
Having a good coach
will ensure that your programming isn't stupid and leading you to a romantic
date with an orthopedic surgeon. On top of that good coaching is pivotal to
success. If you want to actually be good at this stuff the right coach is going
to help tremendously.
Next time we'll go over
some more fancy things such as assessment, nutrition and warming up. Hurray!
I just did 5 Frans in a
row,
Dan Pope
Go out there and get
yourself in shape without hurting yourself. Crossfit is an incredibly powerful
tool for getting very fit, just make sure you do it correctly.
Injury associated with CrossFit, what does the evidence say?
This is part three of the same presentation.
My lecture concludes that the highest recorded injury rate from the evidence was 3.1 per 1,000 hours of CrossFit exposure.
This is the same number (3.1 per 1,000 hours) that has been used by Parkkari et al for going to the Gym normally. Most injuries were acute and mild. CrossFit has have an association with shoulder, low back and knee pain. Males, heavy, tall or previously injured participants are at higher risk of injury than other participants. The picture below sums up the evidence from the literature.
Injury associated with
CrossFit, what does the evidence say?
Yesterday I presented
at the Therapy Expo at the NEC in Birmingham.
A big thank you to all
those who came to watch the presentation and for those who came to chat with me
afterwards.
Having looked at the
evidence from the literature, my research and the audits of my clinic
/competitions it is clear that there is a pattern emerging.
The pattern of injury
presentation of the shoulder, low back, knee and wrist as the most common areas
for injury has now been established in terms of evidence.
While other traumatic
injuries are acknowledged, they are rare with no established pattern.
The blisters on the
hands solution is simple. Tape up so you don’t have to man up! Or wear gloves
as I do for training.
