Injury Free

It’s not much fun being injured is it? Luckily, with a little bit of knowhow, you can avoid all sorts of unwanted aches and pains simply by following a balanced exercise programme. I have trained in many health clubs all across the country and have seen some truly harrowing scenes on the gym floors in my time. As an exerciser, you are well within your power to prevent most shoulder, back and knee pain simply by choosing the right exercises to fill your programmes.

Remember, your muscles work in pairs. If you work the front, you must work the back. This little rule of thumb falls to pieces when men walk into the gym and follow a chest and biceps programme 3 x per week whilst casually ignoring the other major muscle groups. This causes muscular imbalance which ultimately will lead onto long term injuries.

Over development of the chest and shoulders will cause unnecessary pressure and pain in your back. This sentence summarises a large percentage of male health club members. The solution is to cut back on the beach muscles and inject some symmetry in your training.

Whether you are an exercise beginner or an athlete, it is incredibly important that your body is symmetrically balanced. If you are out of balance and follow a challenging exercise schedule, eventually you will run (excuse the pun) into injuries. Running is a classic, runners who spend no time mobilising their ankle joints and strengthening their hips are prime candidates for injuries!

Another common example is men and women who do lots of squatting type leg work but do no hamstring training. Short and weak hamstring is an injury waiting to happen if left unaddressed.

Remember the golden rule if you work the front, you must work the back! Every chest exercise you do must be equally by a back exercise. Every squatting exercise must be equalled by a hamstring dominant leg exercise. Every bicep exercise must be followed by a triceps exercise and arguably the most important one…Every stomach exercise must be equalled by a lower back exercise!

At Dave Fletcher Personal Training, all of our clients are screened for muscular imbalances which we believe may result in injury if left unaddressed. Your programme will always include exercises which will not only get you leaner and stronger, but will keep you injury free!

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