There are several contributing factors that can lead to injury. But before we get into how to avoid injury when working out we need to understand how those injuries can occur. The most common 5 are listed below.
Not Warming Up
What does warming up have to do with the object to avoid injury? Quite a bit actually. For starters, warming up gets your blood flowing as well as warms up your muscles. Why do you need to warm up your muscles and get your blood flowing before getting into the thick of your workout? Because without warming up your muscles, they won’t necessarily be ready to do what you’re planning. Then when you put strain on them, the injury occurs.
Warm Up & Cool Down
So how do you avoid injury? Easy, focus on times to warm up and cool down. This will get your muscles ready to go and you’ll be less likely to experience a crippling injury. How do you warm up correctly? By starting off slow for the first few minutes of your workout routine. For example, perhaps before running or doing cardio you take 5 to 10 minutes to walk at a brisk pace on a treadmill.
Cool Down & Stretching
Of course, as much as warming up is essential to avoid injury so is cooling down and stretching at the conclusion of your workout. What does it mean to cool down? It means that you’re actively working to reduce your heart rate back to normal. This is typically another area where 5 to 10 minutes of slower paced work is essential.
It could also be the time frame where you stretch your muscles. In theory, stretching twice a week is sufficient enough to keep you limber. However, it is still recommended to stretch as either part of your warmup or cool down phase of your workout. The idea is to stretch but not too long. Each stretch should go between 15 and 30 seconds each for best results. Also, remember that it’s not another “exercise” you don’t need to bounce when stretching.
Too Much Repetition
Believe it or not, when you constantly repeating the same motions over and over again, you’re causing yourself more harm than good. This is because you’re putting quite a bit of stress on the same joints and ligaments. When the ligament or joint can no longer handle the repetition you’re no longer able to avoid injury. In fact, it’s almost imminent.
To Rest or Not to Rest
How can you avoid an injury when it comes to too much repetition? Easy, rest between sets and take longer resting periods when needed. Listen to your body and what it’s telling you. Some pain is okay but if you start to feel your body going through more unnatural pain then resting is your best bet at avoiding injury.
What Happens If I Can’t Avoid Injury?
Having an arsenal of ways to aid you when you can’t avoid injury is also very important. It can help you get back on your feet faster so that you can get back to doing what you enjoy. So what are the most common methods to reduce recovery time when the injury is unavoidable? The R.I.C.E. method and peptides.
The R.I.C.E. Method
The R.I.C.E. method is used quite often when the possibility to avoid injury goes out the window. It’s an acronym for rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Doing these four steps can help to alleviate further aggravation of the injury. It’s typically used as a treatment for soft tissue injuries and was introduced by Gabe Mirkin in the late 1970s. It’s relatively self-explanatory but we’ll go in a bit more depth so that you know exactly what to do.
R – Rest
Obviously the first step is rest. This is the point where you’ve realized you caused yourself an injury and will need to stop doing the activity for some time. Especially if that activity is causing you undo pain or stress that can then agitate the injury more.
I – Ice
The second step to think about is ice. Yes, it will definitely be cold but that’s the point. By applying ice you’ll reduce the swelling and possibly prevent it all together if done quickly. For the first two days after your injury, you’ll want to ice it for 10 to 20 minutes at least three times a day.
The irony is that after that two to three days of ice, and only if the swelling has gone down you can then switch to applying heat to the injury instead.
One thing to keep in mind when icing or heating the injury is that you don’t want to apply the compress directly to the skin. You should have a barrier in between the two. This could be a cloth or towel.
C – Compression
That brings us to our next step in the R.I.C.E. method which is compression. This is done by wrapping the injured area with a bandage such as an Ace wrap. This could potentially help reduce swelling. Things to remember, you don’t want to wrap the area too tightly or too loosely. Wrapping it too tightly will only cause tingling, numbness and even an increase in pain. Whereas, wrapping too loosely will do nothing to help with supporting the injury in recovery.
E – Elevation
The final step is another layer meant to keep swelling down as well. In this case, any time you’re sitting or laying down you’ll want to keep the injury elevated. This will also help with the reduction of swelling. That is because, you’re working to keep the injury above the level of your heart.
Peptides for Fast Recovery
Of course, when the R.I.C.E. method only does so much there are other ways to reduce recovery time and get you back on track faster. That way is through the use of peptides. Peptides are naturally occurring within the body. However, as we age, they start to deplete. So in cases such as an injury, synthetic variations are necessary. More specifically BPC 157. It works as a way to increase your body’s natural way of healing and is commonly used with soft tissue tears and injuries. You can find out more about it here.
Whether you’re looking to understand how injuries happen or are looking to avoid injury. Paradigm Peptides has your back. What is Paradigm Peptides?
Paradigm Peptides for Injury Recovery
Paradigm Peptides is a peptides, SARMs, and research chemical manufacturer based out of the Midwest. We pride ourselves on our pharmaceutical grade products. Each product is stringently tested to ensure efficacy, purity, and potency so there is no guess worked involved. Have questions or want to learn more about us? Click here now.