Inevitably, as a fitness enthusiast or active individual of any kind, you're going to hurt yourself; an avid, veteran windsurfer friend of mine pulled a groin muscle water skiing. Several of my Ultimate Frisbee teammates sustained various leg injuries in a single game. A seasoned weight-lifting buddy pulled his trapezius playing disc golf. As I trained for a half-marathon I pulled my sartorius.
I've often heard of people sustaining injuries that are far more slight who then take a long hiatus. For example, "My wrist was sore, so I didn't work out at all for a month." Then there are those of us who show up at the gym even though the tornado sirens are going off, quarter-sized hail is pelting the gym roof, and there's crazy purple lightning in the apocalyptic sky...
Early on in my fitness development, I was often guilty of overtraining, or stressing my joints and systems too hard with cardio sessions that were too long and too intense (doing the stair stepper for 70 minutes at level 20 regularly, for example). Not knowing the importance of slow, precise repetitions during weightlifting, I powered through some exercises like the Energizer Bunny. Consequently, I developed some 'creptius', the creaking, cracking or grinding noise you occasionally hear in your joints. Since cartilage doesn't have pain sensors, the crackling and popping didn't hurt, but I could tell that something was 'off' in the rotation of my shoulder or the bend of my knee.
Occasionally I did have discomfort beyond that of my usual recovery soreness - I 'pulled' something, and all the muscles around the affected area were feeling displaced. I did apply heat and ice just as I should, but from the very beginning I felt that there might be a way to undo whatever minor damage I'd done. For example, when I pulled a muscle in my back, I used a third to half of my usual weight for a back exercise and slowly, carefully worked the affected area. I *only* did this if it wasn't physically painful - *only* if it was uncomfortable, sore or 'feeling displaced'. In every instance, if I followed the rule of working out the affected area with care, deliberate slowness and much less weight, by the end of my training session the area felt warm, lubricated and more resolved. And I went home with the discomfort feeling markedly reduced - sometimes even eliminated. This may be, in part, a result of the natural chemicals our bodies release as we exert ourselves, but long after the endorphins of the workout assuaged, I still felt better.
In another instance, I have long been a sufferer of migraines. For me the condition is likely genetic, since my mother had the same crippling sort of headaches. Being healthy in almost every other respect, I was frustrated that at times a raging migraine would hit, confine me to a dark room, leaving me nauseous and motionless.
After the holiday season had gone into full swing last year, a former Boston College running-back and dear friend of mine asked me how I'd enjoyed my Thanksgiving.
"Oh, I was home in bed," I shrugged. "Migraine."
"Oh, if I have a migraine, I just come here." We were in the gym, of course.
I must have looked at him like he was from Jupiter, and immediately counted him off as insane. However, the next time I felt the trademark flimmering of lights in my peripheral vision (one of the precursors to a migraine), I was actually on my way to the gym for a workout. I chose an activity that would leave me stationary and stable (the cycle) and proceeded to kick back the migraine with a simple workout. I apologized to my friend later for thinking him crazy, and have since beaten off or diminished at least ten migraines with the simple 'go in anyway' attitude.
I've often heard of people sustaining injuries that are far more slight who then take a long hiatus. For example, "My wrist was sore, so I didn't work out at all for a month." Then there are those of us who show up at the gym even though the tornado sirens are going off, quarter-sized hail is pelting the gym roof, and there's crazy purple lightning in the apocalyptic sky...
Early on in my fitness development, I was often guilty of overtraining, or stressing my joints and systems too hard with cardio sessions that were too long and too intense (doing the stair stepper for 70 minutes at level 20 regularly, for example). Not knowing the importance of slow, precise repetitions during weightlifting, I powered through some exercises like the Energizer Bunny. Consequently, I developed some 'creptius', the creaking, cracking or grinding noise you occasionally hear in your joints. Since cartilage doesn't have pain sensors, the crackling and popping didn't hurt, but I could tell that something was 'off' in the rotation of my shoulder or the bend of my knee.
Occasionally I did have discomfort beyond that of my usual recovery soreness - I 'pulled' something, and all the muscles around the affected area were feeling displaced. I did apply heat and ice just as I should, but from the very beginning I felt that there might be a way to undo whatever minor damage I'd done. For example, when I pulled a muscle in my back, I used a third to half of my usual weight for a back exercise and slowly, carefully worked the affected area. I *only* did this if it wasn't physically painful - *only* if it was uncomfortable, sore or 'feeling displaced'. In every instance, if I followed the rule of working out the affected area with care, deliberate slowness and much less weight, by the end of my training session the area felt warm, lubricated and more resolved. And I went home with the discomfort feeling markedly reduced - sometimes even eliminated. This may be, in part, a result of the natural chemicals our bodies release as we exert ourselves, but long after the endorphins of the workout assuaged, I still felt better.
In another instance, I have long been a sufferer of migraines. For me the condition is likely genetic, since my mother had the same crippling sort of headaches. Being healthy in almost every other respect, I was frustrated that at times a raging migraine would hit, confine me to a dark room, leaving me nauseous and motionless.
After the holiday season had gone into full swing last year, a former Boston College running-back and dear friend of mine asked me how I'd enjoyed my Thanksgiving.
"Oh, I was home in bed," I shrugged. "Migraine."
"Oh, if I have a migraine, I just come here." We were in the gym, of course.
I must have looked at him like he was from Jupiter, and immediately counted him off as insane. However, the next time I felt the trademark flimmering of lights in my peripheral vision (one of the precursors to a migraine), I was actually on my way to the gym for a workout. I chose an activity that would leave me stationary and stable (the cycle) and proceeded to kick back the migraine with a simple workout. I apologized to my friend later for thinking him crazy, and have since beaten off or diminished at least ten migraines with the simple 'go in anyway' attitude.
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