How To Avoid Injuries as a Fitness Class Fanatic (Part 2)

*This is part 2, of a post on avoiding injuries, as a group fitness fanatic. Part 1 on “How To Avoid Injuries …” is here.

Group fitness class regulars want to avoid injury, who doesn’t? We take classes to increase fitness level, have fun, and move in ways and speeds we wouldn’t do on our own.

Here are a few more suggestions:

6. Myofascial Release is worth your time. Massage, foam roll, and my preference: ART.

Most recently, the industry buzzword has been “myofascia” which literally translates to muscle fibers. A continuous sheath of these fibers run through our anatomy, connecting all the muscles and integrating all the movements of our body. We ideally train ourselves to move and function along these naturally placed lines of movement, but kinks in that system are what cause tightness, pain, and injury. Releasing those tension spots and training to avoid them is key to decreasing injury.

This is a good representation of what A.R.T is all about

Massage is a passive way of releasing these tensions. Foam rolling is a form of self-massage or myofascial release, but it doesn’t offer the benefit of releasing the fascial tension as you actively perform movement according to the fascial lines. That’s why I prefer the Active Release Technique, also known as ART.

ART is a form of manual physical therapy that massages the knots and tension as you are performing a movement that activates and stretches the fascial line. This results in a more comprehensive and targeted way of addressing your knots, and the outcome is an increase in your functional range of motion, and a more notable decrease in pain or dysfunction.

7. Cooldown via #6, or good ol’ fashioned stretching.

Passive stretching is not without its benefits, and don’t let people tell you otherwise. Stretching done correctly is a form of myofascial release, albeit less deep than what you can get from foam rolling, massage, or ART. That said, most people today can still definitely benefit from some form or other of stretching, particularly when done to counteract your typical posture of the day.

There are so many others that we actually use to warm up in class. I know most of you sit at a desk all day

For example, desk workers are usually in hip flexed, and spine rounded positions. They immediately benefit from stretches that extend their hips and spine, along with positions that increase their rotation and challenge their spine’s strength or stability.

8. Take necessary time off.

I admit that this is a hard one to recommend. None of my group fitness fans will take time off until an injury truly debilitates them. It’s unfortunate, but the truth is, if you just took the time off to begin with, to address your injury, the debilitation would not have gotten as severe.

9. Work with a trained eye, someone who can spot your tendencies and weak spots.

I personally draw a clear line, as far as the benefits a group class can offer, compared to that of personal training.

In a one-on-one setting, you can expect a trained specialist to see your weak links. This then gives them an idea of how to get you more functionally balanced, before engaging in activities that could worsen your posture, or cause later injury.

Yeah! See me, because guess what? I’m more than just a pretty face, LOL

Whether you see a fitness coach 1-on-1, or work with a physiotherapist for general recommendations, expect a more enlightened view of what you’re really doing to your body with the workouts you engage in.

10. At least, talk to your instructor.

Your group coach is more than likely to have pearls of wisdom toward your specific area of concern, particularly if you are nursing an injury.

I’ve turned people away from certain classes that are likely to make them worse, instead of better.

Here’s a good example: Someone with arthritic knees who cannot take any sort of impact because they no longer have the cushioning structures in their knees does not need to be in a plyometrics-based conditioning class. The jumping and landing on hard surfaces cannot possibly do them more good than harm. A person with a frozen shoulder is best off doing shoulder-specific mobility, instead of performing kettlebell or ViPR classes, where we require flexible and well-functioning shoulders to perform the movements correctly.

Yup, believe it or not, I can probably help you

And there you have it! Delf’s personal 10 tips on how to avoid injuries. I’d love to hear from you on these. Do you have injuries you work around?

Related articles

• Bored With the Gym? Try Tai Chi or Yoga (everydayhealth.com)
• 24 Awesome Group Workouts That Don’t Feel Like Exercise (news.health.com)
• 11 Ways to Improve Your Workouts (psychologytoday.com)
• 5 Workout Tips for Baby Boomers (elderoptionsoftexas.com)

How To Avoid Injuries as a Fitness Class Fanatic

Group fitness class regulars want to avoid injury, who doesn’t? We take classes to increase fitness level, have fun, and move in ways and speeds we wouldn’t do on our own.

As a group fitness coach, I work hard at teaching great technique and emphasizing form, especially during the warm-up. Unfortunately, a 5-10 minute sequence of corrective exercises and movement preparation patterns can’t possibly replace what you can do on your own for injury prevention. And you can do a lot to reduce poor form, avoid overuse injury, and focus on proper execution of exercise programs. Here are a few suggestions.

1. Know your Body.

In 2010, I had back surgery for a sequestered disc (the 4th and most severe form of herniation) and today, my left low back and hip are weaker than my right side. And I use this knowledge when taking or teaching classes. I pay attention to how exercises feel between the left and right sides, whether in strength, range of motion, or endurance (time to fatigue). I even watch for where I believe I’m placing my left leg or foot, relative to the right. I’m always surprised to see that my sense of left leg placement and range is off the mark. Because of this, I’m careful when performing left leg exercises. I move more carefully, I observe the difference, and I check for any strain that starts on my left low back, because once that kicks in, there’s no doing more for me.

L4-5 microdiscectomy scar … and yep, that’s mine!

I use this example to highlight the importance of knowing your body. I originally herniated this disc at a powerlifting competition in the late 90s. But I wasn’t educated about training then, so I did not get it checked out until many years later. Over the years, the herniation progressed until I had to have surgical intervention. Had I acknowledged the injury sooner, I could have avoided activities that I know made it worse: high-impact aerobics, cycling with heavy resistance, heavy weight lifting, and yoga postures that placed me in spinal twists that were not good for my untreated injury.

You should at least know where you tend to feel pain or at least fatigue most easily. Most people have weak low backs, and majority of Americans have low back pain. And a lot of students are weak in their shoulders, with rounded postures, unable to consciously activate their shoulder-blade muscles. To know these tendencies is a first step in addressing them, when engaging in a group fitness class.

2. Pay Attention.

I speak for all group coaches when I saw that a lot of you group fitness attendees do not pay attention. There, I said it.

Yes, focus, dang it!

Some of you think that our pre-class sentences are perfunctory lines that don’t apply to you. Unfortunately, they usually do:

• When we ask if you are new, it’s so that we can give you a quick tip on what to expect, and how to succeed in your first class.
• When we demonstrate and cue properly during the warm up, or as we start key exercises, it’s so that you can do it correctly, especially once we show the advancing options.
• When we walk beside you and perform them with you, we’re trying to show you the difference between what you’re doing versus what we’re asking.
• When we repeat a cue in various ways and words, we’re grasping for the way that you’ll understand what we’re trying to communicate.

If you want to avoid getting injured, take the time to listen and pay attention. And don’t be shy about asking questions before or after class. You are better off asking than not asking. He/she who asks, is he/she who learns and gets it.

3. Own your level.

We are all at different fitness levels, and depending on the time of day, what you’ve had for food, or even the amount of sleep you’ve had, you might do better to choose a level that’s one below your usual.

See the 3 levels in which you can do this side plank? Which one is yours?

Own that level. Be smart about choosing to do all the exercises in their level 1 or beginner version. No one is judging you for doing this, and you need only worry about knowing you did the smart thing.

We group coaches do our best to show versions of each exercise that goes from Level 1 (beginner) to Level 3 (advanced). Use that preparation we’ve taken to your advantage, and pick what feels best.

Here’s a good example. For students that cannot place weight on their wrists/elbows, I tell them to lie on their back and perform chest presses, instead of forcing them to do push-ups. You can modify any exercise, to make it feel safe for you.

4. Integrate counter-balancing classes, workouts, or exercises.

It’s difficult to suggest this, because die-hard, Type-A fitness fanatics yawn at the idea of a slower class that requires mindfulness and attention to details, like in a core-focused class. Believe me, I’m one of you. However, if we want to keep enjoying our activity level for life, self-care is necessary.

This is one of my 30-minute yoga DVDs

I personally attempt at least one Yoga DVD a week, even a 30-minute one, that focuses either on ab/back strength, or hip flexibility. Or, after a day of training clients and teaching classes, I perform some corrective exercises at home. Some of them don’t need too much concentration, you could do them while watching TV, such as plank exercises.

An easy way to start doing this? Consider a mat pilates class, or even one of those complimentary pilates sessions your gym probably offers. Or try one of the easier yoga classes to get you going. I don’t mean to make pilates or yoga sound as though they’re a cure-all for all your aches and pains, because they’re not. However, in general, most people benefit from what they offer: deep core activation, exercises that stabilize and strengthen your hip/core structure, and postures that increase your active range of motion.

5. Warm up on your own, with attention toward your weak links.

This is related to #1. Once you know your body, use that knowledge to take preventive measures to avoid injury. Here are good personal examples:

• My surgery has left my hips tighter than usual, so I perform my own series of hip openers, usually before I leave home to teach.
• I do a round of shoulder mobility exercises before class, to ensure better technique with the main workout.
• I follow my physical therapist’s recommendations on how to warm up my lumbar region, so I don’t end up with pain.

Sample physical therapy exercises, for weak low backs

Now, before we get to part 2, do you have your own suggestions? How do you avoid injuries?

** stay tuned for part 2 of my recommendations on avoiding injury …

Related articles

• Bored With the Gym? Try Tai Chi or Yoga (everydayhealth.com)
• 24 Awesome Group Workouts That Don’t Feel Like Exercise (news.health.com)
• 11 Ways to Improve Your Workouts (psychologytoday.com)
• 5 Workout Tips for Baby Boomers (elderoptionsoftexas.com)
• How To Injure Yourself at the Gym (sparkpeople.com)