Working Around Injuries

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Sometimes things hurt. Sometimes after going to the doctor to get checked out, things still hurt, often when we’re told nothing is wrong. Sometimes something is actually wrong, we get sent to someone else to fix it and it still hurts after completing treatment. Now what. From my own experiences and the countless stories of others, the next step may require some careful experimentation with only pain and comfort gauges as our guides. This we must do cautiously and intelligently. Learning to listen to the body is essential for optimizing progress. Sometimes things we think won’t hurt, do. Sometimes things we think will, don’t. The key is find any and all movement that can be done without doing any unnecessary harm and/or causing pain. Pain killer medication should only when used if/when absolutely necessary and should be prescribed by a responsible medical professional. #exercisingwhileinjured #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #austinpersonaltrainers #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on May 11, 2020 at 6:28am PDT

Part 2: Injuries, Pain, Soreness

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PART 2 : INJURIES-PAIN-SORENESS. Just because a medical professional “cleared” you does not mean all problems are over. At some point, all medical/therapy roads come to an end. When they do, then what? Ask a lot of questions. Anything you can think of. Most importantly, find out what things you should probably limit, avoid or NOT DO in the future. But after that, most likely, you’ll be on your own. Discomfort, pain and things-in-general “not feeling the same” might be a reality. Do everything you can not to take pain killers unless you really need them or your doctor has had a long conversation with you about the option. The most important thing now is to get back to as normal of a life as possible. With regards to movement and exercise, you will need to start VERY slow and experiment with everything. You may be surprised at what you CAN do but also what you CAN’T do, at least not yet. Remember, first make sure there aren’t things you shouldn’t be doing. Besides that, always listen to your body. Start LIGHT, SIMPLE AND SLOW. Learn to move well using only your bodyweight. If using some form of external/manual resistance, start with very light weights, simple movements (that you understand), and can perform near-perfect form. Lastly, make sure to start by moving SLOW. If something hurts, see if you can safely modify or maybe try doing something different. There might very well be some things that you won’t be able to do. It’s ok. Learn to work around them. There are many options. Research. Explore. Don’t be too cautious but also don’t be reckless. Use that beautiful brain! #blueskystrongbox #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Sep 2, 2019 at 8:46am PDT

Part 1: Injuries, Pain, Soreness

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PART 1 : INJURIES-PAIN-SORENESS. I’ve recently had some questions about these. It should go without saying that that I can only say so much in a 1 minute video. I plan to do more videos on this topic in the weeks to come. First & Foremost, always use your brain and learn to listen to your body. There is a difference between Pain & Uncomfortableness. Uncomfortableness with exercise is normal and should be expected, within reason. Pain is typically something to be avoided. NOTHING SHOULD EVER HURT. If you suspect something serious, go get it checked out by a medical professional. It may be nothing but it’s best to find out exactly what you’re dealing with. It may be an easy fix. It may be something that requires learning how to work around. Not knowing is a bad option. With that said, some pain and suffering is unavoidable. This is life. Expect delays. Expect hurdles. Expect random injuries at some point. Think about this: If you don’t move much, you’re more likely to get hurt. If you move often, you’re also more likely to get hurt. Just do something about it if or when it happens. Use the opportunity to learn more about your body and the healing process. Appreciate the process. PREVENTION: Always warm-up before activity by moving your entire body carefully through various ranges of motion. Go as slow as needed to wake up the body and get the blood moving. Make sure to breathe deeply throughout all activities. Be especially careful if exercising first thing after waking and in cold environments. Avoid going too heavy or too hard on any exercise until you really know what you’re doing. Then, even then, exercise caution. Rest and recover sufficiently before exercising again. Use caution when exercising in hot environments. Make sure you are adequately hydrated. If you do have an old injury, pay close attention to how it feels and how it responds to whatever it is you’re doing. #sportsinjuries #musclesoreness #recoveryworkouts #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Aug 26, 2019 at 9:24am PDT

New Weekly Health & Fitness Tips! “No pain, no gain” has always had limitations. You don’t have to be in constant pain to make progress. This week i talk briefly about soreness due to exercise. Some soreness is normal, unavoidable and typical ok. Some is not. Normal soreness should be infrequent and bi-lateral. In other words, if one arm or leg is sore, the other side should be equally sore. This kind of soreness is mostly due to microscopic tears in the muscles, which sounds bad but is actual very normal, due to them having to work against incoming resistance. But there are other kinds of soreness, which affects areas in a way that is not productive and may even be harmful. They may even seem similar to the good kind but are more intense and shouldn’t be frequent, or chronic. Don’t seek out soreness. Instead, gradually disrupt your homeostasis. Too much damage done too often is to be avoided. “Stimulate, don’t annihilate”. Progress can be made without killing yourself in the gym. So my questions is always this, When is it really ok to be really sore on a regular basis? The answer is, it’s not ok. Say what you want, do what you will but trust me, being sore on a regular basis, to the point of altering the way you were meant to move, is almost always gonna be wrong, especially if done intentially.

New Health & Fitness Tipz! This week I talk about avoiding injuries when trying to do things we may not yet be ready for. Sounds obvious I know, but trust me it’s not. We all have things we are good at as well as things we need to work on. Unfortunately, especially in group settings, it’s very popular now to throw body awareness and form out the window in the name of competition or a challenge. This is one sure way to get hurt. We must be smarter than that. As a bonus, near the end I demonstrate some “finesse” progressions/alternatives to burpees.

Dumbbell Upgrade

New Weekly Tipz! This week the message is clear: don’t be afraid to use heavier weight. In broader terms: don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. I see it all too often, people using dumbbells (for example) that are far too easy and light. Of course, there are quite a few others ways to make any exercise more challenging but let’s keep it simple for now. If you can and know how to correctly perform an exercise, with near-perfect form, through a complete pain-free range of motion, then you are ready. How heavy? There is no real wrong answer here. But truth be told, 15+ reps are entirely over-rated for most. Personally, in general, I recommend a weight heavy enough to allow no more than 10 reps, no less than 5 reps. Don’t go too fast, don’t go too slow. In other words, smooth controlled reps. Carry on…

Ideas for a better warmup:
THE “Old” WARMUP (5-15min): Most people just hop on a treadmill or stationary bike for anywhere from 5-20 minutes to “warmup”. This works but it’s most likely not as effective as other options. Guys who plan on lifting “heavy” weights often ONLY warmup by doing light warmup-sets of their chosen exercise(s) for the day. Again, this also works but considering the fact that most of us know we need more stretching in our lives, including at least a few simple stretches in the warmup might be more optimal. Often guys are also scared to stretch before they lift because, “rumor has it”, you won’t get as big and strong. While it may be true that doing a marathon stretching session before lifting might be counterproductive for some, including other “types” of stretching has proven to actually increase strength & performance when done correctly. Lastly, some folks do their “cardio” first before lifting “weights”, i would assume in hopes of losing some unwanted body fat. Again, this is probably not the best idea UNLESS you are primarily seeking to increase your endurance for a specific event, competition or occupation. But for everyone else, i don’t recommend it. Ever, really. Normally, too much “cardio” before “lifting weights” interferes with… you guessed it, the weights. (And just to clarify, “weights”, “lifting”, “lifting weights” “strength machines”, “strength training”, “resistance training”, “body weight training”, “calisthenics”, “hard yoga”, “hard pilates”, etc are ALL basically the same thing!) “The primary purpose of resistance training is to get stronger, and for some, also build muscle. Both these things can also indirectly aid with fat loss. But keep in mind, getting stronger and building muscle both require INTENSITY to get the desired results. So don’t empty your fuel tank too early by doing too much in the warmup. If your goal is fat-loss, getting stronger or packing on more muscle, try including a short, intense 10-minute “interval session” after “weights” (aka “a finisher”). I’d also recommend doing your longer “cardio” workouts or group classes on another day, all by themselves, if you have the time available.

THE “New” WARMUP (5-10) So here we go. Here are some new things to try as your “warmup”. First and foremost, correct breathing is essential and often overlooked. This means breathing deeply from your diaphragm, through your nose. Keep this in mind as you warmup and proceed to the rest of your workout. I often tell people to do all movements at a pace that allows you sync your breathing with each repeat of that movement. Start your warmup by massaging some of the major muscles regions (back, legs, hips, calves) with a Foam Roller. (This is what most professional athletes do.)Most gyms have them. Walmart, Target, Amazon, etc all sell them for $30 or less). Then do a few safe Dynamic Stretches (aka “moving stretches”). Google this. Then perform a few easy body-weight warmup movements, focusing on stabilizing your spine and moving your many joints about (especially the hip & arm sockets). To summarize, you could very quickly Foam Roll 2-3 major areas of your body, do 2-3 full body stretches and 2-3 major body-weight movements (easy pushups, easy pulling & easy squatting), and be done in less than 10 minutes. You could even include 1-2 “core” exercises near the end or even devote some of the time to practice a new exercise (with no weight or a light weight) that maybe needs some practice. If you really want to hit everything, perform all the primitive movement patterns every time you warmup. (Check out any of Mark Verstegen’s Books). Research all this stuff! Educate yourself. It’s free. Keep things simple. Many things could work. Just keep this in mind, the purpose of a “warmup” is to get you prepared/ramped-up for the harder work ahead, not beat you done prematurely. The key is always to maximize your time, this should include not wasting any precious time doing useless sh*t during a warmup. You may want extend your warmup longer if you are sore or dealing with an injury, have specific “corrective exercises” you know you need to include, it’s really cold outside or you just woke up. We all know we need to stretch more, etc. Include these type things in your warmup and you can always get a lot done in each session, regardless of time. Density is the key.
– Carlton

p.s. Keep things simple. Always. I know i mentioned a lot of things, and that was just the silly warmup. lol. The reality is that the details of exercise and programming can easily start to bog any mind down. So don’t let it. Start by including just one new thing next time your workout. Build on that over time. The point is to move more, move better. There will probably never be a “perfect” way. And while some will waste time searching tirelessly for that, you should be out there getting work done. Time is of the essence. Ask for help if you need it. Work hard. Play hard. Enjoy.

New Weekly Tipz! This week i go over 10 or so “common” mistakes that most people make when it comes to attempting to improve fitness and health. They are common because so many people do them so often. Don’t let it be you. Feel free to ask any questions. And please share. I wish you all the best :)

New Weekly Tipz! Ever wonder what stretches you should do before you start moving around too much? Do you find it hard to do all the stretches you think you should be doing before exercise? Well, I have an answer. I call it the “Carlton Stretch”. But you can call it whatever you want. Like Nike said, Just do it.

I’m back finally… New Free Weekly Health&Fitness Tipz! This week i get back to my little series “Things You Should Probably Know”. I run down a list of about 10 quick things that you might not be aware of. Things like how to not damage your spine during early morning workouts, “muscle confusion”, fad diets, muscles pain, supplements etc. Many of you might already be aware of some of this stuff. But if not, please spread the word. I encourage everyone to educate yourselves as much as you can.Te health & fitness industries thrive on keeping us stupid. It’s time we did something about that.