Injuries

Injury is never considered when we are healthy and in top shape, however with any fitness activity, be it a set of squats, an extra mile or lap in the pool, there carries a risk that scales with level of activity. Two of the most common causes of injury in the gym are poor posture during the day and trying to do too much too fast.

In today’s society we sit in chairs for most of our waking hours, be it at school, in the office and even in the toilet. As a result of sitting down so much and leaning forwards in front of books or a computer, many people have developed poor posture. Common problems associated with poor posture from sitting down include hyper lordosis (when the lower back is arched excessively and the buttocks stick out) tightened hip flexors and forward head lean.  To reduce the possibility of poor posture, you can simply take small breaks at regular intervals from sitting and walk around for a little bit. A small break every half an hour would be ideal to maintain posture and lower back integrity.

Trying to do too much too fast ties in with my previous post on Training Hard vs Training Smart. To summarise, know your body’s limits and make sure you don’t push yourself too much. The saying is thrown around a lot in the world of fitness, but remember fitness is a marathon, not a sprint!

Some other general tips to stay safe include:

1.       Stretching before doing exercise.

2.       Foam rolling

3.       Training lower body and upper body equally

Don't be that guy who doesn't do legs!

Injuries are unpleasant and can set us back from our goals. Not being able to train when one wants to is depressing and a situation nobody wants to be in, so stay safe everyone! If your body feels off think twice before doing that extra set, running that extra lap or going to that next zumba class!

Stay safe, be fit and be happy!