So I’ve been bodybuilding for 22 years now and although I haven’t had any major injuries O have some tweaks here and there (well they are actually injuries but I don’t like winning so I don’t even mention).
But when training the past 2 years in preparation for contest I train much harder with more intensity and with more consistency which is great but it all equals much more stress on The muscles, ligaments,tendons,joints and the central nervous system.
So I found myself getting deep tissue done once a week, going to various physical therapist for active release, shock therapy, stim and stretching on my own…
So where my going with this ?
All this injury prevention and rehab is a part-time job if you’re going to train as hard as a lot of us do! In my younger years I would train my ass off leave the gym and not look back to the next day. But nowadays I simply can’t afford to do that. I don’t believe in lowering the intensity of which I try so intern I have to do all the above mentioned …
I think it’s a combination of the year is a bodybuilding but also the amount of muscle mass i have gained (I’m not huge by any means). I feel like I was a lot less stiff sub 200 pounds (Lean mass). Once I got to round 215 pounds at a very low body fat (I’m as high at 230 at times ) I just be came super tight! Was always an athlete growing up and a martial artist so I’ve always been very flexible. I sometimes wonder how men’s open bodybuilders even live day to day lol …
Think about this, pro athletes recover within weeks from injuries that the average person takes up to a year to recover from or sometimes not ever fully recover… This is simply because they spend hours upon hours every single day doing the things that I mentioned along with cryotherapy, stem cells and many other techniques. Obviously they have the money and the time and access to some of the best doctors . So I’m not saying that you should quit your day job just to do therapy but I am saying don’t turn your back on a very important part of our sport or any other sport for that matter. At the very least spend 15 minutes stretching after your workouts before you leave the gym.
Good for Thought
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I can understand your frustration, extra work, time, and expense, that it takes to compete at the top level today, on top of the regular hard training and diet.
The stretching is definitely good advice, especially as you get older.
I find a leisurely pre workout stretch, either before or after warm up to be very beneficial. These are very light relaxing stretches, for the entire body, just to release tension and feel good. No harsh stretching, long up to 1 min or however long you want as long as it still feels relaxing and pleasurable. They can also be done anytime during the day. Great for posture too.
If you want to go more intensely into a stretch only do it after your workout, even then don’t force it should still be relaxing.
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