I’m another long time reader/new poster so I’d like to thank everyone for the great info (and, of course, the banter which cracks me up!).
I’ve been working out for years and until this year I’ve never had an injury. I’ve always been careful about form although I never studied it in great detail. Now this year I’ve had tendonitis in my left bicep tendon up in the shoulder (which I had treated by an osteopath although it still aches frequently) and now I’ve got knee and hip pain; not serious but I’m not going to aggravate it.
Anyway, since I’m starting to take injury prevention far more seriously (stretching, flexibility, rotator cuff work, overall balance) I was thinking of buying one of Ian King’s “packs” which has videos, books etc on stretching, flexibility, “control drills” and a guides (presumably detailed) on the squat, bench and deadlift.
My question is, (and I know they are quite pricey) have any of you bought these and what did you think? Is Ian the person to listen to on this subject or do you have other preferences? could you recommend alternative books?
Hmm, I can’t comment on Ian King’s videos, but in the spirit of injury prevention I would highly recommend the book Low Back Disorders by Stuart McGill in addition to his interview on T-Mag (“Mister Spine”). I am impressed by his research and the quality of information he presents. I am currently rehabbing my back based on his recommendations, with good success. I wish I had known some of these recommendations earlier (but I might not have been smart enough to follow them, since I had never yet had a problem and thought my back was invincible). The nutshell version is that it can be harmful to work the spine through a full ROM, especially first thing in the morning. I had previously believed that everything should be worked through a full ROM, but McGill has pretty convincing evidence that the spine is different from the extremities in this regard.
Another good source for addressing imbalances is Pete Egoscue. His books are poorly written, and he may not be the last word he thinks he is, but I have found some of the movement prescriptions helpful.
If you do go ahead and try King’s stuff, please let us know how it works for you!
I was thinking about kings books too. they are rather pricey however every dealing I have ever had with him or his company has been positive. He is very professional and covers all his bases whenever I have interatcted with him. So I say go for it.
What I am really hoping is that you get the control drills video and then review it for us. kinda use you as the test subject. I went to a two hour clinic of his a couple of years ago and didn’t psss one of his control or posture drills. So I am interested in whether or not it helps you out.
The “control drills” (as Ian King calls them) seem to be exercises which aim to help you activate/strengthen the target muscles at a particular joint angle.
Will-of-iron, as part of your decision making process you might want to drop Ian an email with your questions. Check out his web site at www.kingsports.net, which will also have contact info.
i would suggest taking a look into ART (active release) as a means of therapy to correct any soft tissue injuries that you’ve gotten from lifting. there’s an interview with dr. Leahy who developed these techniques, and from what the interview and the editors have indicated, ART may very well be the next step in non-invasive physiotherapy. just search for active release in the t-mag search engine, or go to www.activerelease.com to get more information and find a provider.
good luck
I have King’s “flexibility” video series, Get Buffed book and have viewed his “injury prevention and rehab video series”. These are worth every penny. Since learning from these videos I have reduce my chiropractor visits from once every three weeks to maybe 5 times per year. I have also attended Ian’s 3 day boot camp. To make a long story short - my training was coming to an end at 36 years of age. After completing my “schooling” from Ian King based on the above learning material I am now 45 years of age and train injury free utilizing squats, deadlifts, bench press, snatch clean and other compound movements.