Do you ever get injured during your workout? Not sure which exercises to use as you get older?
Then this is the article for you…
The number one priority of any exercise coach should be to avoid injury.
I’ve always had a few issues with CrossFit, BootCamps, and Distance Running. All these workout types are too aggressive on the body for beginners and the older generation .
The only survivors of these types of workouts will be the young (because they heal quickly and have better mobility) and the experienced who have build up their condition over years of training.
There are websites and magazines devoted purely to running injuries and research shows that 50% of people will obtain a running injury within the first year
As a Personal Trainer I’m always weighing up the risk vs benefit of every exercise that I use with my clients. If one of my clients gets injured then that is a failure on my part.
Here are 3 types of exercises that you may want to avoid because the risk vs benefit is too great…
1 – Overhead Pressing & Overhead Pulling Exercises
Due to our excessive use of computers and sitting our overhead shoulder mobility isn’t as good as it should be.
When your shoulder mobility is restricted you put extra strain on your joints and compensate with your lower back by excessively arching backwards.
Not only can overhead exercises like presses and chin ups give you shoulder pain but will probably affect your lower back too.
Alternatives
If you can perform beautiful Turkish Get Ups then your shoulders should be in good shape but if not skip the overhead work and focus more on horizontal pushing like Push Ups and Rows. Better for your core muscles too!
Watch the Turkish Get Up in action below:
2 – Jumping Exercises
Jumping sends your whole bodyweight through your body in one sudden impact. For me that would be around 80kg being absorbed by my joints for every rep.
Now imagine 1500 hops on an unstable and usually weak body. That is what happens when you run 1 mile.
The same applies to Box Jumps, Jumping Lunges etc. I can immediately think of 3 people who have ruptured their achilles tendon doing these exercises!
There is no way I would be using these exercises with my clients unless they were experienced.
Alternatives
You can improve fitness and bone density without hopping and jumping around. Squats, Lunges, One Arm Deadlifts can seriously raise your heart rate and build strength without both feet even leaving the floor.
3 – Adding Big Weights to the Bar
You no longer need to lift heavy to gain strength, muscle and burn fat.
There is no reason why you should have a heavy barbell on your shoulders unless you are a professional power lifter. The compression on the spine is tremendous and again shoulder mobility and weak core strength with seriously abuse your lower back.
Alternatives
Begin single leg training. Replace barbell squats with pistol squats and split leg squats with dumbbells if needed. Use single leg deadlifts rather than barbell deadlifts. Single leg work has the benefit of improving stabilisation better than bi-lateral work too!
Watch the Single Leg Deadlift in action below:
Conclusions
Exercise should be simple, injury free and improve your health over time. If it is not then you need to change something. If you keep getting injured then it’s time to regress your exercises and workout.
Start simple. Give your body chance to adapt. Be patient and the results will come.
Take care,
Greg
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