There’s no pleasure without pain, that’s true, but when it comes to fitness, this proverb is the last thing anyone who has just dropped a bar while performing a bench press wants to hear. Both professional and amateur athletes are no strangers to all kinds of injuries, and anyone who has ever trained has had their fair share of joint dislocations, muscle tears, sprains, and strains.
However, all those issues take their toll not only on the body, but also on one’s mental health. Some injuries are inevitable, but others can be easily avoided by taking some measures of precaution. Warming up before every workout is one of the ways to play it safe at the gym.
Oddly enough, the mistake of skipping a warm-up session isn’t something that only fitness rookies do, and this bad practice can increase the risk of getting hurt by half. Let’s examine some common fitness injuries and those that you should beware of.
Bodybuilding is a great way to sculpt and tone muscles, but the strain that it places on the body is sometimes too much to bear. Injuries are not uncommon among bodybuilders, and lower back pain is one of the most common problems experienced by lifters everywhere.
If you’re experiencing lower back pain, you don’t have to stop your workout routine. However, you should remember these tips that will help you manage your back pain and heal quickly. Warming up, stretching properly, and maintaining strict formex will go a long way, but try these too: (more…)
What are the health and safety issues to follow for a guitarist
For a guitarist, music is where his life is. Any discomfort or injuries can severely hider a guitarist’s impact of playing to the best of his capabilities. For maintaining proper health is a tough shot for a guitarist. As an example, in a general health guideline, it’s often narrated that punching things frequently is not a good idea. But as you know, a professional guitarist can’t help that. Therefore, guitarists need to maintain some additional health care practices to ensure their health and professional efficiency. In this article, we have done something on that issue. After thorough research as a guitarist myself, I have listed down top health problems of a guitarist and how to get over them. Hope anyone with a guitar to play, will benefit from this article.(more…)
Suffering from an injury can be extremely frustrating. Whether it is a niggling, constant pain that indefinitely seems to hamper your swing or a debilitating muscle strain, there are a number of steps you can take to, firstly, prevent them from happening in the first place, and, secondly, recover from them as quickly as possible. As back strains and golfer’s elbow are two of the most common golf injuries, we have decided to focus our attention on these two in the hope of being able to alleviate injury concerns for as many of you as possible.(more…)
Being healthy is not a goal; it is a way of living. Health is crucial for any person and to maintain the health, most of us look towards different kinds of physical exercises. Some of us go to the gym every day, and some perform yoga, but the most common exercise that most people opt for is running.
Running is an excellent exercise to maintain your health as it gives you more cardio. Running might seem very simple, and it may look that it has no harm, but it is not that way. If you are a runner and you are running on a regular basis you need to be careful about it and you need to take some precautions as well.
It is not like that running is dangerous and it can destroy your knees because there is no such proof of that running regularly can make your knees weak. But it is still important that a runner must be careful because there are several injuries that can happen in result from running. So a runner must be aware of the injuries that can occur while running.
In this article, we will mention five most common running injuries that a runner needs to know about. Here below are the five most common running injuries:(more…)
Are you experiencing unpleasant pain in the knee while training legs? In this article, we are going to tell you how to protect your knees from any unpleasant injuries as they are very common.
As you may already know, legs are one of the most important parts of the body, and it must be regularly trained, even though that it can be quite unpleasant from time to time. It’s not fun, and it’s painful to train legs, and that’s why many people neglect them.
For maximum effects, legs must be trained heavily until exhaustion. A serious injury in the area of the knees can stop your muscle growth and prevent you from training properly.
Here are some tips shared by experts in the industry: (more…)
Arthur Boorman was a disabled veteran of the Gulf War for 15 years, and was told by his doctors that he would never be able to walk on his own, ever again.
He stumbled upon an article about Diamond Dallas Page doing Yoga and decided to give it a try — he couldn’t do traditional, higher impact exercise, so he tried DDP YOGA and sent an email to Dallas telling him his story.
Dallas was so moved by his story, he began emailing and speaking on the phone with Arthur throughout his journey – he encouraged Arthur to keep going and to believe that anything was possible. Even though doctors told him walking would never happen, Arthur was persistent. He fell many times, but kept going.
Arthur was getting stronger rapidly, and he was losing weight at an incredible rate! Because of DDP’s specialized workout, he gained tremendous balance and flexibility — which gave him hope that maybe someday, he’d be able to walk again.
His story is proof, that we cannot place limits on what we are capable of doing, because we often do not know our own potential. Niether Arthur, nor Dallas knew what he would go on to accomplish, but this video speaks for itself. In less than a year, Arthur completely transformed his life. If only he had known what he was capable of, 15 years earlier.
Do not waste any time thinking you are stuck – you can take control over your life, and change it faster than you might think.
Hopefully this story can inspire you to follow your dreams – whatever they may be.
Athletes know that lifting weights and exercising feels greater than anything (OK, almost anything) on Earth, but did you know that it can also reduce your risk of cancer?
Yes, it’s true – not only have you been working out all this time to get that stunning physique, but you have also been effectively reducing your chances of getting some of the most life threatening cancers.
One Third Reduced Risk of Cancer
Researchers say that regular physical activity and a healthy diet – two things that usually go hand in hand – can reduce the effects of colon and other cancers by up to 30%.
Moreover, diet and exercise can reduce the risk of many gender specific cancers too, like prostate and cervical cancer, largely because physical activity can decrease the amount of certain dangerous cell altering hormones.
When you start working out, whether you’re preparing for a triathlon or pumping iron in order to bulk up for a competition, you may find that early successes give you the motivation you need to push harder, exceed your boundaries, and reach your fitness goals. And anything that helps you to stay on track when all you want to do is veg out on the couch with a bowl of pasta is a good thing.
Of course, there’s always the chance that you’ll get a little over-zealous with your training and end up doing more harm than good. So if you’ve been putting a lot more into your exercise routine than normal and you’re starting to wonder if you’re overtraining, here are a few signs that could help you to determine if you should forge ahead or take a breather.
CrossFit is a great way to increase your level of health and fitness and stay in shape. It can help you to condition your body, build muscle, and improve cardiopulmonary function. Because it combines aerobics, gymnastics, weight training, and dynamic exercises into one comprehensive routine, you’ll get all the benefits of hitting multiple stations at the gym.
The diverse array of exercises can be tailored to your specific wants and needs, offering you the ability to reach your fitness goals more quickly than you might with traditional types of workouts, as well as keep the process fun and interesting thanks to changing routines.
Like any form of physical fitness, the practice of CrossFit isn’t without its risks for accident and injury, which means you need to observe proper safety tips when participating in such exercises. But also, because you perform so many different exercises, there are many movements to master. Performing them awkwardly for the first time, could land you will a sprain or strain.
Here are just a few tips to help you stay safe and ensure that you don’t get set back by injuries.
If you have been living with arthritis for a while then you probably know that exercise is a key part of fighting the pain, stiffness, and swelling that accompany this chronic condition. And yet, hauling yourself to the gym, hitting the track for a jog, or joining your local sports league can be difficult when you are already suffering from the discomfort and fatigue of arthritis.
You might not want to move, let alone stress your already painful joints. And yet, without your daily workout to increase strength and flexibility, your condition only stands to worsen. This could lead to even less activity, accompanied by increasing stiffness, soreness, and weight gain, all of which could further derail your progress in the fight against arthritic symptoms.
Without exercise you could eventually become incapacitated by the ongoing degeneration of arthritis. Luckily, there are ways to manage your pain in the here and now so that you can continue to follow your workout regimen and hopefully improve your overall condition, ultimately reducing pain and other symptoms.
Regardless of the type of exercise regimen you’ve chosen, chances are that sooner or later you’re going to push yourself too hard and suffer some type of injury. Even if you’re careful, accidents can happen, so you want to be prepared when they do.
Luckily, the most common types of injuries that occur during exercise, such as sprains, strains, muscle cramps, and the like, are not too detrimental, although contact sports, for example, can certainly lead to more serious bodily harm. When it comes to addressing these issues so that you can get back on track with your workout routine, there are a few simple steps you can take to ensure a speedy recovery.
Here are some tips that should help you to treat any injuries you may sustain.
Diagnosis.
The first thing you need to do is determine the severity of your injury.
For example, it’s important to know the difference between a muscle cramp, which may be treated fairly immediately through stretching and hydrating, and a sprain or strain, which will certainly require more than a few minutes of rest and light stretching to correct before you can get back to lifting weights or swimming laps.
Although you may not be as qualified as a doctor to diagnose common exercise injuries, and you may therefore want to call your physician for an exam if you’re not sure about the cause of ongoing or chronic pain, most athletes and even amateur exercise aficionados can tell when something is seriously wrong and when they can handle recuperation on their own. (more…)
Shoulder Rehab
Chronic Shoulder Instability and Impingement Syndrome are the most common types of shoulder injury. Chronic Shoulder Instabilityoccurs when the ‘head’ of the upper arm bone moves out of the shoulder socket. This results in a shoulder joint dislocation and causes great pain. On the other hand, impingement syndromeisprompted by friction occurring between the shoulder blade and rotator cuff. The friction from the rotator cuff and the shoulder blade may be caused by inflammation in a tendon or muscle.
Preparations to Rehab an Injured Shoulder
It’s important to remember that any injury needs to be checked and treated by an accredited physician. They may recommend medication and several rehabilitation techniques to encourage the shoulder to heal and function as soon as possible. The Physician will also be able to see the specifics of your injury that may alter they way you would treat it. Here are some tips to consider when preparing an injured shoulder for rehabilitation. (more…)
Heading off to the mountains for some winter sports fun is a great way to give your entire body a workout and get out of the gym and into the great outdoors. Winter sports are a great way to exercise and will strengthen your leg muscles as well as your core muscles, as long as you can avoid injuries skiing and snowboarding.
We know we are already past the holidays, but you can use these tips in-season as well, to try to build up your lower body and core strength and healthy throughout the season.
How to Prevent Injuries that Will Derail Your Progress
Adding weight lifting to your workout routine on a weekly basis can offer the average fitness buff a world of benefits.
For one thing, it can make you stronger, as expected, helping you to overcome obstacles in other types of exercise (running faster, throwing farther, jumping higher, etc.). But it can also help you to create the physique you’ve been trying for (whether it’s bulking you crave or simply a frame that features better muscle tone) and even lose weight if that’s what you want (muscle burns more calories than fat). And that’s just the beginning.
Weight lifting, when done improperly, can also result in a slew of injuries, most of which can be easily avoided by warming up and cooling down, building up to greater weights or more reps over time, using proper form, listening to your body, and asking for help from a spotter.
Here are just a few common weight lifting injuries that are best avoided:
Weight lifting is a great way to exercise, build toned muscle, burn calories, and promote overall health–but it can be dangerous as well. Our bodies aren’t used to the stress of heavy lifting, and our backs are particularly vulnerable to strain and injury.
An injured back can keep you out of the gym for weeks, or even months at a time, depending on the severity of the injury and your ability to recover. If you want to stay healthy, strong, and transform your body into a work of art, always remember to protect your back.
Step 1: Warm Up
Never start a workout without warming up first. Your body just isn’t ready for the stress of heavy lifting when you walk through the gym doors. You need to get primed before you start hitting the weights.
A short cardio warm up on the treadmill or elliptical is a great way to warm up your muscles and get the blood moving in your body. It is not necessary to use high intensity during your warm up. This is just a 5 minute effort to get the muscles moving.
Nearly everyone who trains, whether bodybuilding, powerlifting, strongman, or just a general fitness routine, has at some point suffered from an injury. And whether it’s a minor sprain or a broken bone it can definitely derail your progress towards your fitness goals, leading to weeks or months of recovery in which all of your hard work slowly slips away via loss of both muscle mass, strength, and conditioning.
My Personal Experience
I mean, I once walked into a Gold’s Gym after taking about a month off from training, with the intention to deadlift. I wasn’t planning to hit a 1rm or a PR that day. It was just simple sets of 5 to get back into the rythym. On the second set, at 50% of my previous 1rm, my back spasmed, I dropped the weight, and I was out of the weight room for another solid month.
Every athlete and weightlifter has some version of this sad story.
Rick Kaselj is a personal trainer that focuses on helping clients overcome their injuries. Rick’s specialization is the shoulder and did his Masters’ degree project on designing effective exercises for the rotator cuff. He shares with rotator cuff injury suffers and fitness professionals what he has learned in school and from his clients and has put it all into the Shoulder Pain Solved Program.
If You Don’t Want Shoulder Pain When You Lift, Do This
Thanks for all the feedback and voting in the last post.
Now I got a better idea of how I can help you.
Lets get to what you can do to get rid of shoulder pain during your lifts.
Rick Kaselj is a personal trainer that focuses on helping clients overcome their injuries. Rick’s specialization is the shoulder and did his Masters’ degree project on designing effective exercises for the rotator cuff. He shares with rotator cuff injury suffers and fitness professionals what he has learned in school and from his clients and has put it all into the Effective Rotator Cuff Exercise Program.
Exercises for Injuries Feedback
This is the first of what will hopefully be a series of posts by Rick about injury prevention and rehabilitation. Although you won’t learn about the finer details of effective rotator cuff exercises or knee injury prevention in this post, I do hope it will encourage you to think about your own aches and pains. (more…)
I am not going to get into a long detailed post today. Instead I am going to supplement my top 6 back training mistakes post with another guest post about back training by expert Mike Robertson. I’m not cool enough to get Mike to post on my website though, so I have to link to the post from another blog entirely.
Mike tells you how people go wrong by training without a neutral spine, without a neutral pelvis, and without paying attention to detail. This is just another example of how every aspect of your physiology has to be healthy and aligned, or you risk injury.
About Mike Robertson
Mike Robertson received his Masters Degree in Sports Biomechanics from the world-renowned Human Performance Lab at Ball State University. He is also the president of Robertson Training Systems and the co-owner of Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training, which has been named one of America’s Top 10 Gyms by Men’s Health magazine in 2009 and 2010.
About Rick Kaselj
Since the guest post is actually posted on his site, this is a lead in to another awesome fitness blogger, a guy named Rick Kaselj who is an expert on sports injuries. Hopefully he will write a couple guest posts for Project Swole soon. I’ve requested some serious rehab / prehab articles and I know if he can find the time to write them, you will be amazed.
Are you experiencing unpleasant pain in the knee while training legs? In this article, we are going to tell you how to protect your knees from any unpleasant injuries as they are very common. 
\
