I was recently speaking to a strength & conditioning coach with a wealth of experience in high end coaching. From years of working with top performers there was one big take away. Don’t break anybody. Sounds super simple, however there is more to it than you may think. In order to perform effectively on the pitch, athletes put themselves under higher levels of stress and resistance within the gym. With this comes more opportunities for injuries to occur. Therefore a huge part of strength & conditioning is focused towards injury prevention.
Because of this, there is a mass of guides and resources available for improving technique, movement and mobility for injury prevention.
I’m Not Injured, Am I?
You’ve seen these books and guides and perhaps had a flick though a couple. But you don’t move how they do, your’e running style isn’t like the ones they present. Yes, your knees cave in when you run but you’re fit, healthy and training is going well. You’re on top of your nutrition and (currently) injury free. Sure you’ve got a few little niggles, but they tend to ease off once you’re through the warm up. That strange, warm feeling you get inside your knee? It soon wears off once you’re 3 miles deep into your morning run. The dull ache in your elbow that appears after every couple of sets on the bench press. They all fade away with an anti inflammatory (or 2) and some ice in the evening. They’re just the small sacrifice you are happy to give as your performance continues to improve. These little niggles may be minor now however 5, 10, or 20 years down the line, it’s probably going to be a different story.
Be Proactive not Reactive with Injury Prevention
Just because you don’t currently have any major issues does not mean you are injury free. Those little niggles you are experiences… they are injuries!! They may only be small, but pain is your bodies way of telling you something is wrong. I’m not suggesting you completely ditch your current training plan with a fear of major injury or death. Merely address some of your issues right here, right now.
Attack your weaknesses from the word go. The warm up is the perfect opportunity to get into some of those tight spots or to drill movement patterns. I can remember once hearing a comment about Rich Froning doing a warm up. He simply complete 10 perfect air squats on the minute every minute for 10 minutes. Why? Simply to drill the movement patterns for correct and safe technique. Rich Froning – 4x CrossFit Games Champion and Fittest man on Earth – Documentary available on Itunes & Netflix
Ultimately you want to be fit for life. Just because it’s not currently broken, doesn’t mean there isn’t going to be a major breakdown somewhere down the line.
A common goal set out by personal training clients is to install healthy habits for life. Yes doing regular exercise is a healthy habit. Only if you’re not compounding an already present issue. Running 10 Miles a week with your knees caving in IS NOT a healthy life habit. As an Expert Personal Trainer in Twickenham sessions will constantly be tailored to assess and act upon current issues and prevent future injuries occurring. To get in touch, please sigh up for a FREE consultation HERE.
