Hi !
Long time no speak. Well, not exactly. Ive been posting content weekly on my socials (tonnes more content there, so make sure to be follow me there @laurenjay_pt_ ) as well as sending lots of juicing news and gossip on my email list, so again, if you aren't subscribed to that, then head back to my website www.laurenjay.co.uk
So, injury, as the titles says and how to minimise the risk of it. Its funny because the circumstances we think will cause us great harm, is very rarely when it happens and those moments of complete normality, thats when it strikes. Why is that ?
Potential for injury isn't through a type of exercise, activity, movement, lifting or even bad posture. It used to be that lifting was bad for your back, that running is bad for your knees or that sitting destroys your posture. It's important to note that this isnt the case. If anything, thinking so rigidly can be more detrimental for you in the long run because you AVOID all of the above in fear of hurting yourself. The crux of the matter is its solely based on your body's state of readiness ... even if its that sitting at your desk for 7+ hours a day or reaching for the crockery in the top cupboard. Its no one "thing" that causes injury other than your body's lack of preparation.
If you want or need to do something, your body can do it most of the time. Its pretty resilient and robust, even without training, BUT regardless, even for the mundane day to day, your body can ONLY tolerate as much as you TRAIN it too
Have you ever seen that news paper article of the 100yr old man who ran a marathon or as a personal example, my Grandad. He's 85 yrs young this year and without fail, walks around an hour and a half a day. Again, it's not age that plays the biggest part in our status of health, but more so its condition and that is dependant on the following :
Protein intake
Sleep quality
Daily movement
Training type and frequency
Stress mangement
Outlook on life
All of these will impact your risk of injury, as well as your ability to recover, which is why it isnt a case of "a thing" that causes it. Just last week, one of my female clients hurt her back during training. In a single moment, she pulled her back. Was it the deadlifts that hurt it ? Was it that the movement was bad for her ? Was it that the weight was too heavy ?
No. None of these
What I found out immediately after was that she hadn't slept properly in days, her stress levels were through the roof and her exercise volume had quadrupled just that week. All of these combined put her body at a higher risk than previous and her body wasn't "equipped" to tolerate that much stress (physically and mentally). Which brings me back to my original point: injury comes about when the external forces placed on it are greater than its able to tolerate
The best advice I can give you to prevent injury, AS WELL as recover, is this:
Start as early as you can. Lift, move, do to "future -proof your body". The more you condition your body now, the more resilient you'll be for the future. Don't be afraid because you fear somethings bad for you. Be afraid of not doing. This will be your greatest downfall
Lauren
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