FitnessU

Injury-proof workouts

Avoiding Injury

The shoulders, knees, and lower back are injury-prone areas of the body. They are frequently used for movement and weight-bearing activity. Here are some tips for the gym to avoid aggravating these areas and reduce the likelihood of injury altogether.

Protecting the Shoulders

Tuck the elbows. For most pushing exercises, such as the pushup and dumbbell chest press, tucking the elbows towards your sides rather than flaring them out will make the shoulders less responsible for the movement. The more you tuck the elbows, the more you utilize the triceps instead of the shoulders.

Train the back muscles. Oftentimes people perform pressing motions more than pulling motions. This leads to muscular imbalances and the classic “rounded shoulders” look that comes from either dominant chest muscles, weak back muscles, or both. Make sure to incorporate both horizontal back exercises such as the dumbbell row and vertical back exercises such as the machine lat pull-down.

Protecting the Knees

Keep the heels down. If the knee is bent, don’t let the heel leave the ground. Doing so during exercises like the squat and lunge will alleviate pressure off the knee joint and engage the leg muscles as intended.

Train the entire leg. Work the muscles surrounding the knee joint. Do so by moving in multiple directions by implementing exercises such as the lateral lunge. Incorporate the hamstrings as well with stability ball leg curls.

Protecting the Lower Back

Avoid rounding the lower back. This is also referred to as lumbar flexion, and can cause unwanted strain during weight-bearing exercises. To fix this, practice the hip-hinge. The hip hinge is lumbar extension and involves pushing the hips back to lower the upper body rather than bending forward. This is a fundamental step in safe free-weight training.

Train the gluteal muscles. Also known as the butt, muscles here are often overlooked and essential for core strength. Underdeveloped gluteal muscles can compromise the safety of the lower back. Hip bridge variations are an excellent way to start strengthening this part of the body.

In addition to following these tips, listen to your body. Exercising smart is the key to success in the gym.

— Frankie R., Lipscomb University

Avoiding common workout mistakes

• Plank: Your low back is most at risk in this move. Start in table top position with your hands shoulder width apart and knees hip width apart. Engage your core, squeeze your butt, and slowly begin to lift your knees off the ground and onto your toes. As you do this, make sure you’re pressing your heels back and rotating your elbows inward. Your lower back is at risk with this move, so it is important to tuck your core up and under. The more you squeeze your core, the more protected your lower back will be. To modify this, you can stay on your knees or come down onto your forearms.
• Squat: A simple move that is commonly done incorrectly! Start in a standing position with feet hip width apart. Slowly lower down like you are sitting in a chair and so your knees are right in line with your toes. Here is where mistakes are made; people will stick their butts out, loading the lower back with pressure, rather than their heels. So, remember you want to keep all the weight back in your heels, and core tucked to protect your lower back. To modify, you can shorten your range, but make sure you always have a nice flat back, and weight distributed properly.
• Crunches: Do crunches always hurt your neck? If so this one is for you! Lay onto your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Place your hands behind your head with your elbows open and begin to lift your body up and over towards your knees for a crunch. The biggest mistake people make are crunching their chin down into their chest as they lift up and their elbows begin to squeeze together. A crunch is done with your core, not your neck, so make sure you keep those elbows open and think about reaching with your armpits. Lift your upper body off the ground and then use your core to crunch up. Your neck will thank you!
• Lunges: Your knees are at the most risk with this move. Begin standing with feet hip width apart. Take your right foot and step it behind. Your left knee should be bent so your knee is in line with your toes and your right knee is slightly bent with the weight in the right toes. A common mistake here is with the knees. Many people will invert their knees and put a lot of unnecessary pressure on them. So be sure to evenly distribute your weight in the front heel and back toes. Engage your core and use it to stabilize yourself. As you lung down and up, make sure those knees stay facing forward. A helpful way to think about this is to keep your hips squared. Put your fists on your hips and make sure they are directly forward.

— Eliza S., University of Massachusetts Amherst

Knee & shoulder injury prevention with a wall

• Wall sit: For the wall sit, you will begin standing with both feet shoulder width apart and about 1-2 feet away from a wall that you are leaning against. From here, bend at your knees, making yourself slide down the wall. Stop when you feel a challenge from your bodyweight; most people will be able to get to a 90 degree angle with the thighs parallel to the ground, but you may need to start higher up on the wall if you are just beginning or have had a past knee injury. In order to find out how long you should hold it for, start by timing yourself and seeing how long you last. If you make it to :30s, do 3 sets of :15s holds with 30-60 seconds between each set. If you make it to 1 minute, do 3 sets of :30s holds. Essentially take your maximum time divided by 2, and do 3 sets of holding it for this long. Retest your max time every 2 weeks to adjust to your improvements.
• Wall sit march: When you can hold a wall sit for over 2 minutes, you can add in this advanced variation. From your normal wall sit, shift all of your weight onto 1 leg so that you can lift and kick out the other. Hold this for about 5 seconds, then switch sides. Use the same set and rep scheme as for the wall sit – count how many times you are able to lift and hold a leg up, cut the number of reps in half, and do 3 sets.
• Rotator cuff wall drags: You can do this exercise while in the wall sit, or just standing with your back against the wall (the floor is another option). Keeping the palms against the wall, raise your elbows until your upper arm is parallel with the floor with a 90 degree bend in your elbow. From here, rotate at the shoulder and press the back of both hands against the wall, then press the hands straight overhead. Return to the starting position, always keeping pressure against the wall with your hands and moving slowly.
• Isometric option: Instead of adding the overhead press and initial arm lift, you can stay with your arms at 90 degrees and parallel to the floor and alternate pressing your hands into the wall both ways. Hold each press for 5-10 seconds, then switch. You can do a 3 sets of 3 presses each way, or do them for the duration of your wall sits.

— Chase S., Northern Illinois Uiversity