How do you stay injury free?

[dmlarue1]

Hi All!
What do you do to stay injury free?

The only thing that really feels good and seems to keep me injury free is Classical stretch! It seems like whenever I try anything else I end up with an injury (and this is with doing beginner/ light weight/less reps). Even my yoga (which I love) lately has been aggrivating my wrists.

I have been under a lot of stress as my husband and I are fostering to adopt a 3 and 8 year old and they started living with us the last week of June. I am thinking that the stress is not helping.

[yogapam]

Your life does sound stressful, kudos to you for fostering!

I know what works and especially what doesn't work for me, knowing my limitations is huge. I also do LOTS of stretching with reclined/seated gentle and yin yoga and a little Essentrics here and there.

[desderata]

I'm trying to figure this out as well. Several ideas I have read/heard include:
cross training - as in, don't do the same type of workout two days in a row and do different types of movements - for cardio, mix in kickbox and step with the drills, etc.; within each week, mix in some lower intensity workouts along with higher intensity workouts, and do lots of stretching. Foam rolling also gets a lot of press for injury prevention, but I haven't tried that.

I hope things go well for you and your husband and your fosterchildren. It's really wonderful of you to give these children a safe and loving home.

[yogapam]

I agree that cross training is good too!

[Leonana]

Good form seems to be key for me. As soon as it's off, I strain something. I also do a variety of workouts, and stop before I get too exhausted.

[Demeris]

Classical Stretch and T-Tapp.

The dynamic duo for prevention of injuries and restorative work in case of an injury (which most often happens in the garden and seldom during or because of a workout--if I ignore the knee injury from running 25 years ago).

[Jeanne Marie]

I agree with two things already mentioned... cross training and perfect form.

I think doing the same thing over and over is setting yourself up for injury. And I see so many people in the gym who think that the heavier the weight the better, even when it's too heavy for them and causes incorrect form. Good form will get you the best results and prevent injury too.

[Sue B]

For me, it's pretty simple: if it hurts, I don't do it.

[desderata]

One more thing - a couple of years ago when I decided to increase my level of fitness and strive for more advanced/intnese workouts, I focused on patience. I lifted a little bit less weight and did a little less high impact than I thought I could. I very gradually increased poundage, impact and length of workouts. It took about 6 months to get to my goal in terms of level of intensity, but I did it without a single injury and without feeling beat up in the process. If I woke up one morning and felt sore all over I chose a lighter workout than planned and sometimes just called it a rest day and only stretched. Keep in mind that I was in my early 50s, so someone in their 30s or even early 40s might not have to approach it so gradually.

[eyefit]

Originally Posted by desderata

One more thing - a couple of years ago when I decided to increase my level of fitness and strive for more advanced/intnese workouts, I focused on patience. I lifted a little bit less weight and did a little less high impact than I thought I could. I very gradually increased poundage, impact and length of workouts. It took about 6 months to get to my goal in terms of level of intensity, but I did it without a single injury and without feeling beat up in the process. If I woke up one morning and felt sore all over I chose a lighter workout than planned and sometimes just called it a rest day and only stretched. Keep in mind that I was in my early 50s, so someone in their 30s or even early 40s might not have to approach it so gradually.

This is exactly how I got to my current level of fitness...SLOWLY. We're talking a couple of years of slowly ramping up my workouts and I'm still working on pushing myself further just to see how strong and fit I can get. I take back off weeks as well to foster recovery and then get back to pushing myself. I was in my late 30's when I decided once and for all to get fit. I really do believe that slow and steady wins the race.

The other SUPER important thing that I'm convinced has helped keep injuries at bay for me: working my posterior chain. Muscle imbalances lead to more injuries than people realize and it is SO easy to overwork the front of the body and forget about the back. Even if you think you are working your back enough, you probably aren't working it as hard as your front. Really, the back should be stronger than the front, not the other way around. I keep my focus all the time on remembering to work the posterior chain hard: glutes, hamstrings, low mid and upper back, posterior delts and I try to include exercises to strengthen the rotator cuff as well. I know that has helped keep my knees pain free and it has helped prevent shoulder pain with my Horizontal Conditioning workouts.