5 Ways You're Fast-Tracking Injury

WE ALL WANT TO PUSH OUR BOUNDARIES AND  ACHIEVE OUR PHYSIQUE OR PERFORMANCE ORIENTED GOALS, BUT AT WHAT COST?

When it comes to training, there are established guidelines we need to adhere to to reduce our risk of injury, without limiting our gains. Ignore them and you’ll likely find yourself on the fast-track to injury.

- Pedro van Gaalen

1. HAPHAZARDLY RAMPING UP TRAINING LOAD

Rapid, abrupt increases in acute training load exposes an athlete to an increased risk of injury because the heightened stimulus may exceeded the body’s ability to adapt or even cope.

Properly periodised training programmes incrementally increase training load (volume or intensity) in a manner that promotes adequate adaptation to the imposed physical and physiological demands.

However, when you suddenly ramp up your training intensity or volume, you overload the primary mover muscles and their associated structures, which means the load on other muscles such as stabilisers also increases.

In addition, other previously unused muscles may be incorporated to compensate for a lack of capacity in the main muscles involved in the movement. It is often these muscles and their supporting structures that get injured as they’re not conditioned to cope with the load or even support that movement pattern.

The effects can range from a muscle cramp, to more severe injuries such as muscle strains or tears, or torn ligaments and tendons.

2. GOING FROM 0 TO 100

Who has the time to warm up, really? Well, it’s best to make the time as this is one of the leading causes of injury.

Failure to perform a proper warm-up can put you at risk for injury as muscles and joints are not adequately prepared for the pending exercise. The fact that many of us sit for eight or more hours a day, which leads to poor mobility and tight muscles, particularly in our hips, greatly increases the risk of injury, especially during highly intense, dynamic or multi-directional movements.