Some basics to keep you healthy, because no one likes being injured!
1. Ensure adequate rest and recovery
Rest and recovery can have multiple factors including actual rest time, sleep, hydration, and nutrition. ACSM guidelines suggest we should have 48 hours between working the same muscle group, so make sure you have a day in between working the same exercise/muscle group at the gym. You can still go to the gym every day if you want, but just vary the muscle group you’re working to help prevent injury!
Recover properly by getting the full 8 hours of sleep…trust me, I learned the hard way, but this makes a huge difference not only with how your body feels, but with how your brain functions.
Get enough water. Very general guidelines are a 0.5-1 ounce of water for every pound of bodyweight, so if you’re 150 lbs, you should have 75-150 ounces. This is a huge range due to many factors such as physical activity, environment, etc. so you can play around with how you feel, but this range can give you a goal to start with.
Fuel your body appropriately. Get adequate protein and fiber, have your veggies, listen to how your body responds to your diet and adjust accordingly!
2. Don’t do things you’re not ready for
When you’re progressing to a skill, break that skill down. Look at the motion and strength it requires then assess if you have that motion or strength. If you don’t have it, work on where you’re lacking before attempting it. For example, a handstand requires 180 degrees shoulder flexion (aka getting your arms overhead). If you can’t stand against a wall with your mid back on the wall and bring your hands overhead, work on that prior to working on handstands. When looking at a muscle up, can you do dips and high pull ups easily? If not, work on those things before working on combining them!
3. Ensure muscle balance
Have you ever looked at your pushing vs. pulling strength, strength on your right vs. left side, or strength moving side to side vs. forward or back? Trying to maintain balance in different planes and between different muscle groups can help reduce injury by ensuring one group doesn’t get neglected.
If you’re looking for a program to help keep a specific joint/area healthy, check out my programs on the Paradigm of Perfection + Train App!
4. Have a movement diet
Just like you want to have variety in your nutrition, you want to have variety in your movements. No movement is inherently bad. But, not being able to get into or out of positions can potentially cause issues down the line. Think about sitting at a desk all day versus being able to work sitting, standing, laying, and cycling. You may be sitting with “poor posture” but since it isn’t a prolonged posture and we are allowing our bodies to get into and out of the position, our bodies can tolerate it.
5. Listen to your body
Our body is always trying to tell us something. For example, if we are stiff and needing a bit of movement or what we just ate didn’t make us feel good. Start listening to these cues and consider making changes based on what it is telling you. It may take some practice. You may need to write things down about how you are feeling with what you ate or what workout you did. But, then you can start to notice the cues and the patterns with practice. It’s just like going into the gym after a really hard workout the day before, plus a stressful day at work, and not sleeping well. You may not feel like crushing another workout, so maybe go a bit lighter on weights, cut out a few exercises, or work on lighter movements like going on a walk, stretching, or light strengthening targeted toward smaller muscle groups.
Hope you took something helpful away from this message. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions, comments, or thoughts about it!
If you need assistance creating a program that helps improve your muscle balance, provides a diverse movement diet, and progresses you appropriately toward your goals, you can find more info on my individualized training programs here!
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Remember: this post is for informational purposes only and may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
Paying attention to your body and using intuition pays off in the long run. They’ve been time when I’ve hit new PR’s without even trying, just because I felt great that day. They’ve been others when I don’t even want to look at the weights, days that I just can’t or want to stop working out and days that I’m done after 1 set of finger curls. My conclusion is that you’re better off NOT pushing it if you’re not really mentally and physically primed for a satisfactory session… otherwise you’re submitting an official request for an injury.
Yes, learning to listen to your body is very important! It’s also good to learn when to push it and when to not based on how you feel. There are also days where you may not feel it initially, but something can still be beneficial, whether thats a lighter strength workout or more recovery work!