Injury Prevention – is it possible?

You cannot prevent injuries by pushing your physical limitations.

 

Elite athletes are not healthy people with healthy bodies; they often live with and retire in pain. A good example of this is Andy Murray. He had his hip resurfacing due to living and playing in pain, and is back to playing tennis – there is an injury-performance trade-off.

Athletic prowess comes at a physical cost. From the dark side of my humour, “every day we are getting closer to death, as we are simply machines that are wearing down our parts”, this is inevitable. However, when looking through Eric Idle’s “Bright side of life” lens, factors can increase your likelihood of injury; therefore, your choices in mitigating injuries would be a more appropriate strategy.

1.Nutrition – are you eating enough? Protein (recommended values range between 1.8-2.2 g/kg bodyweight per day. 

Carbohydrates (CHO) – you need these if performance is your priority; insufficient CHO intake will mean that other food sources, fats and protein are utilised for energy rather than the repair of cells which are their primary function for optimal recovery.

2. Sleep / rest / recovery – are you sleeping enough? 

8 hours per night is the recommended intake. Sleep is where your body makes the most of its tissue repair and nervous system recovery. So if you aren’t getting enough sleep and wonder why you aren’t getting stronger, this could be a factor.

3. Poor aerobic fitness.

A more efficient aerobic system increases your recovery capacity both in the moment and between sessions. So if you are trying to get stronger and, therefore, leaching out your conditioning, your ability to recover between sessions decreases. It could be affecting your between-set recovery, leading to a reduction in training intensity and strength.

4. Spikes in training volume. 

The Couch to 5k programme will increase your exposure to step-impacts. People who take up running are more likely to get overuse injuries from doing too much too soon. You will feel aerobically fitter very quickly and think you can do more than the suggested programme. Subsequently, people skip steps and end up running more distance quicker and therefore are injured.

This principle applies to all forms of training and activity – you have to earn your volume! We recommend that people start our Perform programme with the 60 min version to become accustomed to the volume.

5. Movement Mechanics.

Inefficient movement can lead to overuse. If you have one leg stronger than the other and are pushing out of that leg more every time you squat, then this leg is more likely to get issues.

Or simply poor technique – pulling with the arms more than pushing with the legs, can lead to overuse of the elbow flexors during Olympic lifting. You don’t need an upper body programme; you need to use your legs more efficiently during the “pull” or the push phase of the Olympic lifts.

These are the five issues that need to be taken into account if you are someone that regularly gets injured. At JJ Perform, daily inclusive videos allow our members to train with the proper focus at the right intensity for each training day. We have these components covered with the signature movement mechanics work incorporated within the daily training schedule. Self-management is always necessary for your execution and adherence to the standards, combined with adequate rest and recovery (nutrition) strategies.