Joint Friendly Fitness

I have been a personal trainer since 1983--long before it was trendy--and in both my studio and other work my emphasis has become Avoiding Injury From Your Workout. Which, for many years, I felt was unnecessary to point out. What could be more counter-productive, more self-defeating, than injuring yourself during an activity which is supposed to benefit your body?

This, however, was before the most publicized fitness activity on the planet not only dismissed the risks from exercise, but almost glorified the injuries when they did happen. With the activity’s popularity, came more media coverage. In the last year, Outdoor Online, TIME magazine, and ESPN’s Outside the Lines all did very fair reporting, both on the popularity and the catastrophic injuries. In fairness, injuries come out of other forms of exercise too. I wrote a manual in 2012, and started the first chapter with examples of crippling injuries coming out of conventional bodybuilding and weight training.

The problem, aside from people getting hurt, isn’t that exercise causes injuries. The problem is the false impression that the only way to get in shape involves the risk of serious injury. You do not have to risk serious injury to get in shape. Anyone who tells you that injuries are part of the process, smile politely, and back away. Especially if that person wants to become your trainer.

Now, avoiding injuries should be part of the process. You, or the trainer, have to pay attention to 4 areas to do this.

1. Awareness of pre-existing conditions.

2. Accidents.

3. Attitude.

4. Appropriate activity. (I really wanted A’s.)

This is not some kind of pre-programmed, multi-level marketing package for me. As I mentioned, I’ve been a trainer since 1983; along the way, I’ve been certified twice by one organization, currently by another as a Health Coach and Orthopedic Exercise Specialist. I’ve taught certifications. I’ve been trained by trainers and I’ve trained trainers. None of which was as useful as injuring myself a couple of times, researching what went wrong, and correcting things going forward. My injuries weren’t catastrophic: a ruptured biceps and triceps. But they did get my attention, and sent me away from the exercise material, towards anatomy, biomechanics, and rehabilitation, then back to exercise with a different perspective. I rebuilt my own program, then put together manuals, videos, and talks, which other trainers and exercisers of a certain age and attitude found useful.

If you have hesitated to start an exercise program, or if you’ve been a regular exerciser with new aches and pains, I’ll be giving talks on Joint-Friendly Fitness starting in December. I’ll elaborate on exercise injuries in the news and the four aspects of avoiding injury, and then demonstrate how to do common exercises in a way that minimizes your risk. Feel free to contact me optimalexercise@comcast.net for the dates and registration, and visit http://optimalexercisenj.com for more on my approach.

Until then, three things to keep in mind:

Exercise can be effective without being excessive.

Exercise should challenge your fitness, not your safety.

Work out smarter, then harder.