Be health and happy

If you run, the question is not if you will become injured but when you will become injured. In fact, I was injured in a recent triathlon. It was an off road race in the mountains. When I came out of the water, I found myself in 8th place. The second portion of the race was a hot, hilly, humid trail run. I was able to catch and pass the front runner with some degree of difficulty. Now that I was in the lead, my goal was to hold the lead and to increase the distance between myself and the second place runner until I made it to the mountain bike portion of the race. I knew that if I could hold the lead all the way to the bike, I could maintain that lead until the finish line.

Remaining injury free is of the utmost importance to all people who exercise but especially to those who are over thirty five years old. Can a person lose fat and gain muscle while sitting on the couch recovering from an injury they incurred while training? The answer is no. The reason my clients achieve superior results is because they continue to diet and workout uninterrupted by injury. In this article I will share some techniques I have used to successfully train clients at high intensity without injury. I do take pride in the fact that none of my clients have been seriously injured while training in over twenty years of practicing my art. Stretching is very important for injury prevention. I use basic stretches for both upper body and lower body to get my client's bodies prepared for the stress of intense exercise. Stretching increases muscular circulation and prepares the tendons, ligaments and joints for the work to be done.Warming up is also important for injury prevention. I always have my clients perform their initial sets for a body part with a light weight for high repetitions, this increases circulation in the area we are working and prepares the tendons, ligaments and joints for the more intense work to come.


When it comes to the nitty gritty of the actual high intensity work, one of the secrets of my success in keeping my clients uninjured is that I avoid fixed movements through pre-set ranges of motion. I favor using dumbbells over barbells and machines almost every time. Dumbbells allow a trainee to use more natural range of motion in all pressing movements such as Chest Presses and Shoulder Presses. For example, instead of doing shoulder presses with a fixed barbell or a machine, I prefer using dumbbells; they allow a trainee to make micro-adjustments in exercise form to avoid overly stressing injured tissue. A client with a micro-injury to a shoulder, for example, can most often comfortably do dumbbell press even at high intensity without a problem even when barbell or machine shoulder presses are impossible due to pain. The barbell or machine often forces the trainee to use an unnatural range of motion which can cause injury or aggravate injuries which already exist.


Many of my friends and associates have injured themselves doing heavy barbell bench presses for chest. I myself long ago have just about quit using barbells and machines altogether for upper body work as a strategy to avoid injury. I am forty one years old and am still able to train at a very high level without time off from injury. It is my desire that this article benefits all who read it,in their quest for greater health, vitality, and wellness.

The most important ingredient in the recipe for progress in triathlon is consistency, and the key to consistency (besides discipline) is staying healthy. Every triathlete should make health maintenance the top priority of his or her training. If you do this, fitness will more or less take care of itself. Here are my three golden rules for training injury-free, all learned the hard way.
Stay In Balance

Muscle imbalances are a causal factor in relation to a majority of overuse injuries. No muscle ever works alone. In order to function optimally, each muscle needs to cooperate with other muscles, and optimal cooperation, in turn, requires that cooperating muscles be balanced in terms of their length, elasticity, and strength.

Most triathletes come to the sport with pre-existing imbalances that are due to individual physiology, adaptation to lifestyle (especially sitting), and past injuries. Training itself tends to exacerbate some of these imbalances and to create new ones, and eventually these lead to injury. For example, running often creates tight, strong hamstrings and tight iliotibial bands while leaving the vastus medialis (the muscle on the inner side of the front of the thigh) relatively loose and weak. As a result, the kneecap can begin to track incorrectly during running, leading to cartilage damage.

You can reduce and prevent imbalances by strengthening muscles that are relatively weak and stretching muscles that are relatively tight. In order to do this in a targeted way, you need to know your imbalances. Muscles that tend to become too tight in triathletes are those of the calf, the hamstrings, the hip flexors, the piriformis, the internal shoulder rotators, the neck extensors, and the chest muscles. Two major tendons, the iliotibial band and the Achilles tendon, also tend to become tight. The muscles that are typically underdeveloped in triathletes are the medial and frontal shin muscles, the hip abductors, the gluteal muscles, the abdominals, the scapular stabilizers and rotator cuff muscles, all of which every triathlete should proactively strengthen with resistance exercise.

But each body is unique, so I recommend that you seek out a good sports massage therapist or physical therapist who can help you identify your precise combination of imbalances and suggest exercises to correct them.

this is basic you can practice to reduce injury. Here is a list of some important safety tips that should be followed by all weight trainers. These tips can help prevent injury and help speed your progress.
1. Have a medical check up before you begin working out, especially if you have been living a sedentary lifestyle over the past year or more.
2. Always warm up prior to working out. Most injuries are the result of jumping into a heavy workout too quickly. A good warm up only takes a few minutes, but it can prevent pulled muscles and injured joints.
3. Use collars on all barbells. If you forget to put the collars on the barbell, the plates may fall off. This can cause serious injuries such as muscle tears, pulled tendons, etc. Play it safe, and use the collars.
4. Use a spotter when necessary. When doing exercises such as bench press, squats, shoulder press, lying tricep extensions, etc. have someone stand behind you and provide assistance lifting the weight if necessary.
5. Where applicable, use catch racks such as the squat rack or power rack. The rack will prevent you from getting pined under a heavy barbell. This is a must if you are working out alone and do not have a spotter.
6. Use proper exercise form at all times. Training with poor exercise technique will produce poor results and increase the risk of injury.
7. When unsure how to do an exercise, ask a knowledgeable instructor or experienced gym member.
8. Use a weight lifting belt when doing heavy squats, deadlifts, or heavy rowing exercises. A good belt can help support the lower back muscles and help keep your back in proper alignment. However, do not use a belt for lighter exercises. Your lower back muscles need to be exercised just like any other muscle and if you wear a belt all of the time the lower back muscles will get weak.
9. Dress appropriately for your workouts. If it is a cold winter’s day, make sure to wear a sweatshirt and sweat pants. This will keep the muscles warm and prevent injury. The opposite applies during a warm summer’s day, wear lighter clothing to keep cooler and prevent dehydration.
10. Put your weights back when you are finished with them. It is not safe to have barbells and plates laying around on the floor or left on the exercise equipment. Return all equipment to it correct location when you are finished, this is good gym etiquette.
11. Drink water during your workouts. This will prevent dehydration and help maintain your energy levels. Carry around a water bottle and sip water between sets. It is best to drink water that is at room temperature because cold water can cause stomach cramps while working out.