When following a consistent training regime it is very important to recognise that you are only as strong as your greatest weakness. Therefore it is crucial that we don’t forget to train the body’s weaknesses and solely focus on its strengths.
Overuse injuries are one of the most common reasons athletes take time off training and sometimes can prevent them returning to peak performance in the future. It’s a frustrating problem as injury often leads to further weaknesses in the body’s structure which in turn increases the chances of re-injury.
To overcome this we need to educate ourselves with the knowledge to identify the body’s weaknesses and develop them before injury occurs. Today we are going to look at the most common overuse injuries in strength training athletes and give you the solution. We are going to nip this problem in the bud once and for all!
Knee pain and injury: is a deal breaker! Some Physio’s build their entire business around the treatment of knee injury and its due to a lack of understanding of joint stability and how to avoid over training the area.
Squats make you grow that is without question, but if we do not use good form and recovery correctly, then your next squat could see you out of the gym and way back in terms of getting to your results. The most prevalent knee injury is Iliotibial Band Syndrome; tightness of the lateral (outside) of the knee joint where the muscle crosses over the joint accompanied by inflammation and pain.
A typical symptom is where a subject chronically experiences pain or discomfort in the knees during squatting or bending. To avoid this common injury allow time in training for stretching the quadriceps, hip flexors and glutes to release tension from around the knee. In addition to this add in single leg exercises such as a leg press, single leg (pistol) squat and lunges to encourage stability in the joint.
The second most common injury prevalent in male strength trainers in particular is overuse of the shoulders. This is the result of favouring another major exercise the bench press. Chances are you don’t know that you are most probably recruiting too much through your shoulders during your bench press, taking valuable tension off the chest and increasing the risk of injury.
Most male strength trainers experience to some degree of rounded (forward) shoulders throughout training. This is compounded by day to day activities involving a lot of shoulder activity such as: being on the phone, typing this blog, driving in the car, and sitting at a desk at work. To combat this problem focus on developing your upper and lower back muscle groups, as this will restore balance to your postural chain and your bench go through the roof!
Seated rows, single arm rows, and reverse flys are all perfect examples of exercises that promote retraction (backwards) motion of the shoulder blades leading to an improved posture. In addition with these exercises implement regular stretching of pectoralis major and minor in the chest as well as attention to the front deltoids in the shoulders.
So these are the two most common overuse injuries experienced by strength athletes which will not only hold you back but it will also limit the potential to reach your goals. Now not only do you know about these injuries but you also know how to prevent them from occurring!
Take Away points.. Make sure you are smart when you are in the gym, develop your body’s weaknesses, turn them into strengths, you will avoid injury and kick arse!
Harley.
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