If only I had known these essential ingredients for getting stronger, leaner, and more energetic when I was competing in bodybuilding, it would have made things a whole lot easier.
Jumping into a bath full of ice or having a cold shower is a great way to recover from exercise, right?
The focus of this article is to discuss what you do after you’ve sustained an injury.
Don’t forget about impacting the ENTIRE upper extremity as well.
I sincerely hope this piece not only helps you set some PR’s, but keeps you hoisting the heavy iron for years to come!
Trying to convince a combat athlete that thoracic spine mobility drills will help him in the octagon is like trying to convince my girlfriend that size doesn’t matter.
The brain sends electrical impulses through the nerves to obtain voluntary muscle contractions.
Assuming we have someone who is fully motivated and has an adequate strength and conditioning program at his disposal, it’s time we address the educational component of action persuasion.
Whether you’re pressed for time or want to get straight to the weight, the thought of skipping over those warm-up exercises and routines seems to always cross our mind.
It usually starts like this—an elbow to the ribs in the middle of the night from your spouse.
Lower back pain can be a common pain source for powerlifters and other strength athletes.
The real purpose of this article is for me to explain the stretching regimen that I do daily to ward off the sciatic pain.
Over the course of a few months, I frequently witnessed a person leave the physical therapy clinic restored to “functional capacity” only to return later with the same injury on a different limb, a different injury surrounding the original site of surgery/rehabilitation, or even worse, the same injury on the same limb.
As a Powerlifting Coach and as a professional Clinical Social Worker, when I think about the concept “recovery,” I used to define it two different ways depending what hat I was wearing at the time.
Overtraining is a result of training stress in addition to the rest of life’s stresses exceeding an athlete’s ability to recover.
I’ve had so much pain in my lower back that it’s hard to get up or sit down in a chair, let alone try to squat or deadlift a couple hundred pounds.
You wake up after a restful night’s sleep to hit up the gym before the sun comes up, but why do you feel so weak and unmotivated to lift heavy and strong?
In the second part of his two-part series, Charlie discusses some great things to do post-workout for quicker recovery.
When training athletes, an all-inclusive approach works best.
In the first part of “Alleviating Ailing Ankles,” I discussed the function of the ankle joint and demonstrated a few exercises to help achieve additional range of motion in dorsiflexion.
You didn’t get injured today, but you exponentially increased your potential for injury because your next workout and warm up will be pretty much the same.
I became acquainted with Bob Youngs well over a decade ago when the internet and lifting forums were still in their infancy. Like many aspiring lifters, Bob served as my guide when I was somewhat lost in the dark, weightlifting wilderness.
I’ve dealt with several injuries over the last few years and it has caused me to do more research on how to get jacked (more research than I ever wanted to do in my life). However, it’s allowing me to get bigger and stronger, while still rehabbing injuries. The secret to this success has been speed.
Squat injuries happen more frequently without a proper warm-up. Dr. Ryan Smith discusses a few simple movements he uses that can save you from painful complications.
Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 program and Joe DeFranco’s Westside for Skinny Bastards (WSFSB) have become wildly successful, and I couldn’t be happier to see this.
Many articles extol the need for balancing the muscles. Much of this is warranted. The problem lies in how to do this and when it should be done. In some cases, it’s necessary to look at what actually constitutes an imbalance.
The sacroiliac joints (SI) are a common source of lower back problems for a wide range of people including housewives, professional athletes, and elite lifters. The SI joints don’t discriminate.
Due to a recent influx of hip flexor questions, I decided to put together a few thoughts on the issue.
Anyone who has worked with field and court sport athletes has undoubtedly dealt with his fair share of athletes with ankle injuries.
Injuries are a major setback for any competitive athlete. It can be physically taxing to recover and mentally stressful and draining to be sitting on the bench and going through rehabilitation.
Monitoring training status is something very vital when training athletes.
Recently, I received an email from an average, middle-aged man who, after years of training, was unable to pick up his three-year-old son over his head due to shoulder pain. His goal was very simple.
Whenever I’m approached by an avid exerciser or athlete who complains of knee or lower back pain, the first thing I do is check out his or her backside…literally. Not to sound like a sexual implication, but observing the glutes actually helps me understand a client’s description of knee and lower back pain.
I’ll start off by putting it simply—you must train hard and recover hard! Here are some healthy ways to recover your body and restore your muscles!
At some point or another, just about every bodybuilder and athlete on the planet is bound to get injured. Luckily, for most of us, these injuries are usually minor and don’t result in anything more than a slight inconvenience for a few days.
In part 1 of this series, I introduced some ways in which a strength and conditioning coach can deal with an athlete’s shoulder pain.
In Part 1 of this series, I went into some detail on why I really didn’t like the catch all term “impingement.” In Part 2, I’m going to talk about the different kinds of impingement—external and internal.
Roughly 10–15 times per week, I get emails from folks who claim that they have shoulder “impingement.” Honestly, I roll my eyes the second that I read these emails.
The serratus (anterior and posterior) is one of the most overlooked and undertrained areas of an athlete’s body, especially in powerlifters. These muscles aid in the lockout of the bench press and stabilize the shoulder blade and shoulder girdle. By neglecting this area, you can suffer during the last half to one inch of your bench lockout.
The following is a recollection of an incident that I suffered close to 12 years ago. It changed my approach to personal exercise and ultimately helped me carve my career in the fitness field.
As a strength coach, I work with many athletes who suffer from chronic joint pain. When I hear them complain about shoulder and knee pain, my first reaction is to blow them off and tell them to go stretch. However, after suffering from the same types of nagging pains myself, I know that their pain is very real.
Earlier this season, Josh Hamilton put on an amazing show with 28 homeruns in the first round of the major league baseball (MLB) Homerun Derby.
The ability to reduce tension and relax muscles affects strength, speed, coordination, and in turn, sports performance.
The rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder play a very important role in the prevention of shoulder injury and in the execution of overhead throwing and hitting actions.
Last summer, I worked with a college running back who was contemplating quitting football because of chronic hamstring injuries.
Pain in the front of the knee is becoming an epidemic among serious lifters and fitness enthusiasts alike.
Popular sporting literature such as health and fitness magazines, internet training, and sport sites as well as articles written by athletes, coaches, and physical therapists have endorsed the use of techniques such as massage, hydrotherapy, and hyperbaric oxygenation as ways of speeding up the recovery process and thus improving athletic performance.
Lifting weights is easy, but preventing injuries when lifting weights is not always as simple. Because of this, it is not uncommon to find many injuries in weight training. To help prevent injuries and make your workouts more productive, here are seven key factors that you should take into account when weight training.
Chronic shoulder pain is nothing new to lifters or overhead athletes. It can range from something you just live with and work around to debilitating and career ending.
I was introduced to the chiropractic and active release technique (A.R.T.) in 1997 when I first arrived in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Michael Leahy, DC, who is the founder of A.R.T., was my first provider. Yeah, I know, that’s pretty lucky!
Here’s a question for worshippers of Pilates: don’t you think that Pilates is a form of weight training (added resistance training)?
Do you hope to maintain your quality of life as you age? Is it important for you to be able to perform daily tasks, enjoy recreational activities, and care for yourself? You probably want to stay fit, trim, strong, and mobile for as long as possible. You don’t have to accept frailty as you age!
