Tag Archives: injuries

Health and Fitness News

Women’s Weight Machine Injuries on Rise

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Women are more and more frequently getting on weight machines, and that’s a great thing.  Women previously seemed to be either intimidated by weight machines or simply were more interested in doing aerobic activity.  Now, with muscles being considered sexy and powerful on women, you find females on these machines all the time.  It’s a great thing!

If you are thinking about using the weight machines at any gym, whether you’re a guy or a girl, make sure you first get the little once-over type of education they give you at any gym. They should always have a person on site that will be able to show you how to use weight machines safely.

They also will be able to show you how to use them effectively, so that you get the most results out of each use and are targeting the proper problem area that you want to when using it. Basically, you need to know how to use these machines correctly so that A.) you don’t get hurt and B.) you don’t waste your time doing an exercise wrong.

Well, since women have been increasingly getting on these machines, there have been more reports of injuries. I’ve gotta be honest, at the gym, I’m seeing more women on these weight machines than men, so it makes sense that more women are reporting injuries.

The increase in weight room related injuries in women has gone up over 50% over the past few years. You think maybe women are loving feeling strong and muscular?  I, as a woman myself, can tell you that it feels amazing to me when I can actually lift heavy things and I feel stronger.

To me, it’s just empowering. Sure, it’s great to look muscular and more “cut”, but the best thing about it is, the older I get, the more invincible building muscle makes me feel.

Workout Regimens

The Importance of Flexibility

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An important objective to keep in mind when starting on a fitness campaign is different ways to achieve and preserve your flexibility.  Flexibility isn’t just a concern for the fitness gurus as it is absolutely necessary to maintain your flexibility for everyday functioning.

It’s especially imperative as adults age to maintain flexibility.  Normal activities of daily living such as bending down to tie your shoes or reaching for items on high shelves involve a reasonable preservation of flexibility.

When flexibility is severely limited, even simple tasks like dressing yourself become either challenging or no longer possible.  Another very good incentive to maintain or improve flexibility is to decrease the possibility of injuries.

Muscles that are too tight are often a source of pain upon movement that will frustrate anyone trying to exercise to win the battle of the bulge.  When planning out your exercise routine, flexibility should be a part of your goal, but not your only focal point.

Achieving flexibility doesn’t mean that you should aim for being able to do contortionist activities.  As with anything, increasing flexibility should not go to that extreme.  If you try to take it to that extreme, you could risk injury by stretching your muscles too far.

What you should be doing is incorporating some stretching exercises into your workout routine.  You can do some stretching before and after your other workout activities.  Another good way to incorporate stretching into your activities is to do pilates or yoga along with your other physical activities of choice.

Working some stretching into your physical activities will help you to avoid injuries.  For runners and joggers, stretching your muscles will help to minimize the effect of pounding on your joints.

Golfers may notice an improvement in their swing when the muscles of their shoulders are not as tight and become looser and more flexible.

Probably the most important part of your body to benefit from improved flexibility is your back.  Your back is more prone to injury, spasms and pain when your muscles are tight.  Patience is required for the improvement of flexibility.

Often, it can take a person months to master a new yoga pose.  Flexibility goals will be different for every individual.  It will depend on your limitations of range of motion and general level of fitness when you start working on your flexibility.

Increasing and maintaining flexibility should be done in conjunction with physical exercise that builds strength.  Ideally, you’ll want to strike a balance of these two fitness goals to remain healthy and functional.

Fitness Accessories

Minimalist Running Shoes

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For decades, running shoes have been cushioned and designed in various ways to cushion and coddle our feet with many layers of rubber and gel.  The theory behind all of these layers was to be a kind of “shock” absorber for our arches, heels, knees and backs.  The traditional running shoe provides needed support for many runners and they should stay with them if it’s working well for them.

For some runners, however, particularly runners who have had frequent pain and injuries, these runners may want to look into a gradual transition into “minimalist” running.  There are some in the field of the science of running that feel that barefoot running, or as close to it as possible, is better. 

From the minimalists perception of running, the very padded and cushioned modern form of running shoe can actually contribute to running injuries.  Instead of shock absorbing for the body, modern running shoes allow the runner to land on their heels, which causes stress continually to their knees, hips and backs.

The trend towards minimalist running seemed to gain momentum with the book “Born to Run” that came out in 2009.  The athletic shoe companies responded to this trend by developing many different “natural” and “minimalist” designs of running shoes.  The best clothes for working out, and the best shoes, as we all know, can make all the difference in our workouts!

Among shoes designed in response to the minimalist trend for running shoes are the Vibram FiveFingers, the Merrell Barefoot True Glove and the Nike Frees.   The Vibram Five Fingers encase your toes individually and consist of just a layer of rubber to protect your feet and have no support built into them. 

The Merrell Barefoot True Glove is very lightweight at about 6 ounces and does have tread for slippery or rough surfaces the runner may encounter.  The Nike Frees are a balance between traditional running shoes and the barefoot shoes by offering just a little support for the runner.

Not all runners should make the change to minimalist running if they’ve been running in traditional shoes well, have good running form and have been pain and injury free.  Other runners, who have had pain or injury, may want to change to the minimalist shoes.

 The switch must be undertaken gradually or you’re very likely to injure a muscle or get a stress fracture.No matter what kind of shoes a runner opts for, they should be aware of maintaining better alignment while running for a better foot strike, landing on the mid or forefoot instead of the heel. This is a healthier running form, lessening the risk of running injuries or pain.

Fitness Advice

Dynamic Stretching and Preventing Injury

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I am constantly on my husband about stretching before and after he works out. He never does it, and always wonders why he easily gets injured. While I can get him to do it occasionally, he stubbornly believes that he doesn’t need to stretch before he exercises, especially if he’s just weight lifting.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. You should always warm your body up before you work out, no matter what kind of workout you’re doing. Think of your muscles as a rubber band. If you warm a rubber band up, it would be less likely to snap and break or tear because you’ve warmed it by stretching it out, making it more pliable and less brittle.

Your muscles are really no different. They need to be warmed up, stretched out, and made more pliable by physically warming them up. Why do you think so many people get injured when they’re moving heavy furniture, or doing things where they would not normally warm their bodies beforehand?

It’s because they haven’t warmed that muscle yet, and go right into using it when it’s still in a sort of dormant, brittle state.  This is how you get muscle tears, pulls and over extensions.  I’ve done it myself, and guess what? It was always when I knew I had not adequately stretched my muscles and gotten them warmed up!

It’s especially easy to do it when you haven’t been as active in a while. Doctors see an influx in patients with injuries in the spring time. People tend to over do it in the spring because they’ve been couped up all winter long, and tend to get outdoors and go overboard, or go overboard with their other exercises in the spring time .

That spring fever hits, and you forget that your body isn’t adequately prepared to be vigorously worked any more.  It’s especially important when your body isn’t used to physical activity, to make sure that you feel those muscles are “warm” before attempting anything like running or jogging, or doing any type of vigorous, high impact working out.

Dynamic stretching, which is light jogging in place, or moving one part of the body like the arms, to warm up the muscles and get the blood pumping to the muscles so they can become warmer, is very good for any type of workout. In fact, dynamic stretching should be done before working out, not static stretching, which should only be reserved for after the workout.

Fitness Equipment Fitness Trends

Trampolines : Cardio and Tons of FUN

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I remember, with great fondness and a big smile, when my mom and dad used to take me and my little sister to the park, where at the time, they had a big trampoline. We were so young at the time, that the trampoline seemed absolutely huge to me, but I’m sure looking back that it was just the same as the big ones people have so often in their backyards.

Back then, you really couldn’t buy them for your backyard easily like you can now. You couldn’t just run to your nearest Dick’s Sporting Goods store and charge it – it was more like a special order thing. 

And believe me, back then, I wasn’t concerned about all the crazy amounts of cardio exercise I was getting while I was jumping and bouncing up and down and laughing my head off – I was having so much unadulterated FUN that I was laughing my head off the whole time.

That’s kind of how it is for me today too. Something about jumping on a trampoline brings back those nostalgic days of childlike bliss, the kind you rarely feel as an adult, where you get almost euphoric with pleasure and silliness.

Trampolines now though, offer me a great deal more than just fun. If I were to put one in my back yard, it would also be a really great workout, that happened to also be a ton of pure fun.  Trampolines offer you the kind of cardio you can’t get anywhere else, because you are using your legs like springs, and it takes a great deal of energy to land and bounce back up, and yet you don’t really notice how hard you are working and how much your heart rate is up because you are also enjoying yourself.

It’s almost like an amusement park ride, and for that reason, you don’t mind that you are also getting a very adult workout.  One thing that you really need to keep in mind on trampolines for the home are the weight capacity if you are an adult. You really shouldn’t have two full grown adults on it, say a man and woman, that are going to exceed the recommended weight.

This could very well dampen your plans to work it out with your hubby on the trampoline.  Also, keep in mind that if you have any knee or back or neck injuries, to really protect these parts of your body. 

You are still doing high impact aerobic activity, and the fact that you are on a springy surface may not help if you are landing with great force and keeping your body too rigid to allow some give.  So just keep your body lose and make sure you’re not too rigid and you should be ok.