Injury Prevention

                                                                      

            Last Blog (http://tsukinegradprogram.blogspot.com/2016/06/anaerobic-activity-part-2.html), I explained the risks that come along with anaerobic activities. I explained a few scenarios where certain unfortunate events led to severe consequences such as injuries. In this blog, I’m going to explain how an individual can avoid injury while participating in anaerobic sports and/or activities, and how to avoid injuries in aerobic sports and activities as well.

For starters, it’s always a good idea to be hydrated before engaging in any type of physical activity. Hydration not only helps the blood flow through muscles in a smoother transition, but it also helps the muscles contract much more fluently. The way to measure how much you need to drink, follow these steps:

                   Step 1: Find out how much you weigh.
                   Step 2: Divide that by 2.
                   Step 3: Drink an ounce of water per pound.
                                           

Another good way to prevent injury, is doing static stretches on a regular basis and doing dynamic stretches before and after physical activities. The more flexible you are, the longer your muscle contractions will be and the more relaxed your muscles will be during contractions.

Of course I can’t forget warming up. It is very important that we warm up before trying to be active. Picture just waking up in the morning and then someone starts blasting music really loud, or someone turns the lights on right as you’re waking up in the morning. That’s exactly how our muscles feel when we just pile a work load on our bodies before they’re ready.

Our muscles are like rubber bands. If you just grab a rubber band and try to stretch it as far as it can go, it will snap. If you stretch it half-way a few times before stretching it all the way, it won’t snap. If you put a rubber band in the freezer for a while, it will not stretch very far without breaking. Have you ever found a rubber band outside in the hot sun? It snaps with a slight tug from both ends. Try pouring some water on it.

These steps and precautions alone are not guaranteed to stop injury from happening, but they play a huge role in injury prevention. I always find that my workouts are a lot more efficient and easier to get through when I’ve stretched, warmed up properly and hydrated hours before engaging in any physical activities.

References:

1.Fitness.(n.d.).RetrievedJune01,2016,from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/stretching/art-20047931

2.HowtoStretch.(n.d.).RetrievedJune01,2016,from http://web.mit.edu/tkd/stretch/stretching_5.html