Hey guys,
One thing I hear alot of older trainees say is that they wish they would have started taking care of their joints and stuff earlier when they started lifting. So, I’m interested in doing daily exercises in order to keep all my joints and problem areas in order to prevent serious issues that come with lifting
after many years.
Does this make any sense or am I just gonna get hurt no matter what I do to prevent it and shouldn’t be so worried about it now?
I am 20 years old, lifted for almost 2.5 years so far, and never had any training-related injuries yet (except for some very minor elbow pain yesterday which made me want to start a thread like this).
I’m trying to get a list going on things I can do to keep myself in shape so I won’t have to regret not doing smart stretches later on. If anyone can add to the list, especially older people who wish or are glad they did preventative stuff early in their lifting career, please do so.
Elbows/Wrists
-
Light band curls and extensions 2x a day (2 sets of 20 reps for each)
-
Type on a computer with proper wrist posture
-
Never lean on my elbows for long periods of time
-
Do 4 wrist stretching exercises each day (Cressey’s Elbow and Wrist Article)
Shoulders
-
Rotator cuff work 2x a week
-
Do wall slides 2x a week
Knees
- None so far
Lower Back
-
Never sleep on my stomach
-
Sit in chairs with proper posture
-
Don’t sit in chairs for long periods of times without tiny breaks
-
Do a stretch for thoracic spine while sitting in a chair (if it’s for hours at a time)
You have a good list going so far. I’m old and have found the core work has helped reverse some back problems I’ve had for 10-15 years. Here are some of the things I do
Hamstring curls on a ball
Planks
Ab wheel
Push ups on hanging rings.
I’ve got 2 words for ya…
Hip Mobility
I’ve got an f’d up back and I’ve been to doctor’s (take these pain killers and muscle relaxers) and chiros (here let me electrically stimulate your back muscles and realign your spine). These methods just alleviate the pain, but did not solve my problem. Tight hips. Stretching is invaluable as is mobility work. There are several articles here on T-Nation that are solving my problem.
This may seem like one of those “duh, yeah, thanks” statements, but sound and sensible training practices are the best prevention against injury there is.
Make sure you know how a joint is supposed to move and never let it move any other way while having it sustain any significant amount of weight, especially your shoulders. Poo poo if you must, but behind me will be guys who know exactly what I’m saying.
Along those lines, train heavy, but not so heavy that you force your joints into a movement they weren’t intended to perform. Again the hands will go up, including mine. In other words what you can’t thoroughly control WILL hurt you.
If you do hurt yourself and want to ensure a lifelong struggle with whatever you hurt be sure to rush it back into full service before it’s ready and for God’s sake be a man and work through that pain.
Stretching and other maintenance type stuff is one area I haven’t paid enough attention to and I feel it. I am about as flexible as a lead pipe and I’m just now beginning to address that. Good call on that and the hip mobility guy is right on too. Another thing I’m sorry I’ll have to catch up on.
Learn to use your body right before using it to lift. Before I do any new exercise I integrate it into my warm-up routine with as little weight as possible and make sure that Iâ¿¿m getting the form right.
[quote]john2009 wrote:
You have a good list going so far. I’m old and have found the core work has helped reverse some back problems I’ve had for 10-15 years. Here are some of the things I do
Hamstring curls on a ball
Planks
Ab wheel
Push ups on hanging rings.
[/quote]
Thanks for the idea. Out of curiosity, what did the weak back stem from? That may help for further prevention ideas. I do like to do planks and ab wheels but haven’t recently done them but will add some of that work in every week.
[quote]half-life wrote:
I’ve got 2 words for ya…
Hip Mobility
I’ve got an f’d up back and I’ve been to doctor’s (take these pain killers and muscle relaxers) and chiros (here let me electrically stimulate your back muscles and realign your spine). These methods just alleviate the pain, but did not solve my problem. Tight hips. Stretching is invaluable as is mobility work. There are several articles here on T-Nation that are solving my problem.
[/quote]
Good call on that hip which I forgot about. I guess this would be helpful to put into my stretches before leg days. Also, that very recent article from Boyle touched on the importance of that. But, I’m not sure how to incorporate hip mobility work just because I’m not familiar with stretches for it.
Could you tell me what articles in particular or stretches you found helpful for hip stuff? Also, do you think that doing said stretches and mobility work would have prevented you from having to deal with the problems as much as you have?
As a side note, I’m interested in buying some bands for light arm work for the elbow but am not sure which ones to buy. I don’t need real ones probably because I’m not a powerlifter and don’t care to use bands in weight training. What is best to use for rehab and elbow and wrist maintenance purposes?
I dont know too much about lifting to prevent injury. I know that form is important when squatting and deadlifting, that you should balance your movements (ie push vs. pull) and that posture is vital.
The other stuff falls into my category of “prehab shit”, which I usually do while I am waiting for douchebags to finish curling in the squat rack. I dont know what the move is called but where you stand with your back against the wall and move your arms as if you are making a snow angel.
I usually do that and overhead resistance band pull aparts. As for tendon strength in the arms, I know my brother’s trainer has him do 2 minute sets of curls with the baby dumbells.
[quote]supabeast wrote:
Learn to use your body right before using it to lift. Before I do any new exercise I integrate it into my warm-up routine with as little weight as possible and make sure that Iâ¿¿m getting the form right.[/quote]
That’s a good common sense one. Yea when I start a new exercise, I do it with like 10 lbs before the work sets just to get a feel for it and make sure I know that the muscle groups targeted are actually the ones working.
[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
This may seem like one of those “duh, yeah, thanks” statements, but sound and sensible training practices are the best prevention against injury there is.
Make sure you know how a joint is supposed to move and never let it move any other way while having it sustain any significant amount of weight, especially your shoulders. Poo poo if you must, but behind me will be guys who know exactly what I’m saying.
Along those lines, train heavy, but not so heavy that you force your joints into a movement they weren’t intended to perform. Again the hands will go up, including mine. In other words what you can’t thoroughly control WILL hurt you.
If you do hurt yourself and want to ensure a lifelong struggle with whatever you hurt be sure to rush it back into full service before it’s ready and for God’s sake be a man and work through that pain.
Stretching and other maintenance type stuff is one area I haven’t paid enough attention to and I feel it. I am about as flexible as a lead pipe and I’m just now beginning to address that. Good call on that and the hip mobility guy is right on too. Another thing I’m sorry I’ll have to catch up on. [/quote]
I get what you’re saying about making sure I use weight that doesn’t cause a concern for injury. Usually when I get high enough in weight for an exercise that I don’t feel comfortable progressing in because of the weight or if I’m plateau-ing, I’ll switch exercises. Let me know if you can think of anything else.
[quote]IronDude17 wrote:
Could you tell me what articles in particular or stretches you found helpful for hip stuff? Also, do you think that doing said stretches and mobility work would have prevented you from having to deal with the problems as much as you have?[/quote]
First I would check out Cressey and Robertson’s Neanderthal series (I think there’s 5 of them).
Also check out here on T-Nation the following:
“Hips Don’t Lie: Fixing Your Force Couples” by Mike Robertson
“Conquering Enemies of the Spine” by Stare and Forsythe
“(De)-Constructing Computer Guy” by Gentilcore and Smith
“Hardcore Stretching” by Robertson
As far as if these articles could have helped prevent my injury…yes.
[quote]half-life wrote:
First I would check out Cressey and Robertson’s Neanderthal series (I think there’s 5 of them).
Also check out here on T-Nation the following:
“Hips Don’t Lie: Fixing Your Force Couples” by Mike Robertson
“Conquering Enemies of the Spine” by Stare and Forsythe
“(De)-Constructing Computer Guy” by Gentilcore and Smith
“Hardcore Stretching” by Robertson
As far as if these articles could have helped prevent my injury…yes.
[/quote]
Awesome! Thanks for the links. I’ll definitely check them out later tonight.
[quote]half-life wrote:
IronDude17 wrote:
Could you tell me what articles in particular or stretches you found helpful for hip stuff? Also, do you think that doing said stretches and mobility work would have prevented you from having to deal with the problems as much as you have?
First I would check out Cressey and Robertson’s Neanderthal series (I think there’s 5 of them).
Also check out here on T-Nation the following:
“Hips Don’t Lie: Fixing Your Force Couples” by Mike Robertson
“Conquering Enemies of the Spine” by Stare and Forsythe
“(De)-Constructing Computer Guy” by Gentilcore and Smith
“Hardcore Stretching” by Robertson
As far as if these articles could have helped prevent my injury…yes.
[/quote]
AND everything by Michael Boyle. On this site and his www.michaelboyle.biz
Thanks for the info so far, guys! I’m thinking of buying a foam roller and doing stretches on that 2x a week on off days. But, I’m intimidated from buying one just because I don’t know what to do with it (there are so many exercises).
First off, is doing foam roller work worth it right now to keep up over time or is it kind of unnecessary right now (I’m thinking it’s good no matter what but wanted others opinions)?
Also, anyone know of how many exercises should be performed if used? I found sweet articles with stretches but not sure how many separate exercises is too much (if too much stretching is possible).
Keep it comin!
My manual therapy practice is filled with people who “have never had any problems until just recently”. This is just not the case. Most pain problems are a result of gradual wear and tear, like banging away at weights will do over time.
Start now brother. Foam roller, yoga, massage, stretching etc… I can tell you, you will not be sorry you took 20 minutes out of your day 3-5 times per week to give back to your body when all your friends are whinning about their knees and low back in 10 years.
[quote]chriscarani wrote:
My manual therapy practice is filled with people who “have never had any problems until just recently”. This is just not the case. Most pain problems are a result of gradual wear and tear, like banging away at weights will do over time.
Start now brother. Foam roller, yoga, massage, stretching etc… I can tell you, you will not be sorry you took 20 minutes out of your day 3-5 times per week to give back to your body when all your friends are whinning about their knees and low back in 10 years. [/quote]
That’s the motivation for thinking of this stuff now. Even really experienced lifters will have some issues at some point and I know I will be no exception later on. If you have anything else to share, feel free.
[quote]IronDude17 wrote:
Thanks for the info so far, guys! I’m thinking of buying a foam roller and doing stretches on that 2x a week on off days. But, I’m intimidated from buying one just because I don’t know what to do with it (there are so many exercises).
First off, is doing foam roller work worth it right now to keep up over time or is it kind of unnecessary right now (I’m thinking it’s good no matter what but wanted others opinions)?
Also, anyone know of how many exercises should be performed if used? I found sweet articles with stretches but not sure how many separate exercises is too much (if too much stretching is possible).
Keep it comin![/quote]
I’m glad you’re so excited about this stuff…most people aren’t. I would also recommend buying M/M and/or I/O DVDS, and just keep reading and learning. As you move along you’ll find out what works. For now start out with what you know. Don’t overdo it and make your whole workout “prehab” based, but you can utilize warmups, rest periods, and the end of your workouts for this stuff. good luck.
[quote]IronDude17 wrote:
john2009 wrote:
You have a good list going so far. I’m old and have found the core work has helped reverse some back problems I’ve had for 10-15 years. Here are some of the things I do
Hamstring curls on a ball
Planks
Ab wheel
Push ups on hanging rings.
Thanks for the idea. Out of curiosity, what did the weak back stem from? That may help for further prevention ideas. I do like to do planks and ab wheels but haven’t recently done them but will add some of that work in every week.[/quote
Doing something stupid. I ran about 3 blocks after an airport shuttle in dress shoes across a parking lot covered with snow after sitting on a plane for 2 hours carrying a suitcase and an old “portable computer” (sizes have come down in the last 10-15 years) in 10 degree weather.
I caught the shuttle at the next stop, Felt a slight pain like I pulled something in my quad. A couple of days later I was awaken by a sever cramping feeling in my quad. Originally the doctor thought I tore it.
Next day I had numbness in my foot and lower leg, disk issue. Main moral of the story as far as your question on prevention is to make sure you don’t do stupid stuff outside of the gym.
Take a look at Mike Boyle’s book Functional Training for Sports. He have many movements that build strength while working your core which will help prevent injury.