Fun with Ad Libs

Today, we’re going to do a little bit different blog.  Today, we’re going to do an ad lib.

Do you remember those things were you inserted a verb, adjective, noun, etc. to see what kind of crazy sentence it would make?  Let’s give it a shot.  Here’s a typical conversation that I have with new clients, trainees, or people wanting advice via the Internet.

Client:  Okay, so the other day I was doing INSERT EXERCISE HERE and I started getting a weird pain in my  INSERT JOINT HERE.  The strange thing is, I’ve never had pain there before!

Me:  Okay, let’s watch you perform INSERT EXERCISE HERE

I watch them do the exercise, their technique is atrocious, they use too much weight, and/or they don’t have the mobility/stability necessary to correctly execute the exercise.

Me:  Well, you need to work on INSERT COACHING/TECHNICAL CUE HERE and that will take stress off of INSERT JOINT HERE

Client:  But I’ve always done it like that and I’ve never had pain there before!!!

Here’s the point I’m trying to make – far too often, we think of big-bang, acute injuries.  We see someone blow an ACL and figure that’s how all injuries occur!

Instead, what we need to be thinking about are the little things that creep up over time.  This could be due to poor mobility, poor stability, poor motor control, sloppy technique, or a host of other factors.

What it boils down to is doing the same thing incorrectly, time and again, is a sure-fire way to get injured at some point.  The terms “repetitive stress” or “wear-n-tear” come to mind.

I remember giving a seminar a few years ago, and I’d just finished discussing the role of lumbar stability in training.  Immediately following this presentation, I had an attendee come up and tell me they thought I was completely wrong; they performed all kinds of rounded back variations, along with using lateral flexion and rotation through their lower back to perform their lifts. They knew I was wrong because they “had a strong back and had never been injured.”

Fair enough.  In fact, despite what some people may think, I would love it if everyone was perfectly healthy and able to train the way that I want!  I sincerely hope this guy never hurts his back.  Seriously.

But what ends up happening when that guy is 30, 40 or 50 years old, and finally his spine has had enough?  He blows a disc, or has arthritis so bad he can’t bend over and pick up his kid.  These are things we see all the time.

I’m not into scare tactics, or telling people what they can/can’t do. All I can do is offer an opinion of what I feel are the best way to do things.  As a client, trainee, blog reader, or anyone else who comes across my work, you’re more than willing to either accept or reject my information.  That is your choice.

Just keep in mind, the next time you say:

“But my INSERT JOINT(S) HERE has never hurt before!”,

That little injury may have been a long time coming.

Stay strong
MR