How would a strength training routine designed with the goal of improving a person’s resistance to injury (joint pain, back pain, disability), lowering their level of muscle soreness after a day of engaging in physical activity and increasing their physical stamina differ from the more common goals of strength training, which are to build size and strength?
I would assume circuit training with high reps and low weights would be better for what I am looking for. And I assume exercises that exercise large numbers of muscles at once (pilates, free weights) may be better to build stabilizing muscle strength vs. using machines which isolate muscles.
Does anyone have a more knowledgable opinion? Or does it really not matter ‘what’ you do as long as you do something?
High reps of low weights - avoid machines, use free weights and improvised weights
Running/jogging with a partner and passing anything from a ball to car keys back and forth. Run sideways, backwards and anything else you can think of. Get your feet used to moving around things and around other feet.
stretching and warming up - not just before exercise but before everything. I still do stretches before getting in a car and after getting out.
I recently switched from “muscle building” to “strength training” as part of Ironman training, and the two couldn’t be more different.
It goes way beyond high reps/low weight, which is good an something you should still do. But when it comes to injury prevention, the idea is to work all of the weird little extra muscles, instead of the “pretty muscles.”
As an example, a typical body builder will do lots of squats using either a leg press machine, smith press, or bar. To avoid knee pain while cycling, I needed to develop my glutes and the muscles around my hips. This involved doing cycle leg squats, without any weight. It’s a pretty typical problem for triathletes. I also do a handful of similar exercises for my ankles, beyond just calf raises and tibia lifts.
It’s all the weird little stuff in your foot and around your ankle that needs to be strengthened to prevent injury. And as a general rule, machines focus on the big muscles and ignore the small.
The exercises are usually sport specific, so either physio or good trainer can tell you more. But the general concept is to think about free weights, and keep each limb isolated. If you were to do bench press, uses two dumb-bells, and alternate hands instead of having both go up and down at the same time.
Tell me more about these cycle leg squats - I have a glute muscle that has been giving me issues for a while, and anything else I can do that helps would be good. I’m using a cable jungle (low pulley, ankle strap, leg straight and push back) to work them, and light weight squats on a Bosu.
Personally, I mix things up. Along with the tri disciplines to build stamina and technique, I do weight sessions, boxercise, circuits, pump classes (weights in a class context). I use Tabata (on a rowing machine, mostly) in my sessions, too.
I do a variation of this exercise here, except I start on a platform about 6in off the ground, I keep my hands together (to make balance harder), and then drop until my heal touches. There are dozens of variations, I also like the one where you squat on one leg and have your opposite elbow touch your knee. Overall these are probably the single best exercise you can do. They key feature being that it re-trains your body to use your glutes instead of your quads.
In terms of the OP, this is the type of exercise for injury prevention. You don’t need weights, and because of the balance component it also stabilizes your ankles. There is also a wabble thing (like half a ball) that makes it even harder.
I also do a lot of one legged bridge pose here and here. what you’ll notice is that if you start in bridge pose, then extend one leg, your hips will drop. This is because you lack the muscles that support the hips. When that happens during cycling it transfers extra pressure into your lower back and onto your knees.
I forgot to mention that before any of this core strength is essential. And that doesn’t mean “ab work.” It’s a lot of plank pose, side plank, and back extensions. The problem is all of this stuff is kind of girlie, and you’ll feel like a bit of a goof for the first few weeks.
I went to a trainer and asked for a workout to improve my weak back (and generally get a good workout). Other than the leg curl/extension, lat and row machines, I am pretty much just doing free weights and mat exercises.
He has me do weightless squats (which are plenty hard if you are not in shape!), weightless lunges (also hard!!), steps on the step board thingy, crunches, crunches with a medicine ball, flutter kicks, planks, seated side twists with the medicine ball, inclined dumbbell flies, arnold presses and bicep curls. Oh and a couple chest and shoulder things on the smith machine.
I do notice that it’s mostly women using the mats and balls and stepper at my gym but all of the guys who don’t look like gorillas are using that area too.
Anyway, I’m an overweight woman in my 30s and I’ve never felt better. I used to wake up every morning with a backache. In the first few weeks of my workout, I would wake up with a backache if I missed 2 days of workout. Now I can miss maybe 7 days of workout (when I was on vacation) without a backache.
I also started having a slight issue with my sciatic nerve in one leg, but it happened to be right before I started working out. Two workouts later and the problem was gone.
If you have the opportunity to get a customized workout done by a professional PT, I highly recommend it. Mine cost $90 for two sessions but I’ve got a very solid and beneficial workout that will last me at least 3 months before I have to switch. I was “rolling my own” workout before I met up with the PT and it was barely beneficial. Getting something customized and “real” made all of the difference.
How do you find a good PT who will give you a personalized workout?
I have looked into that before, because I know certain muscles are supposed to have certain ratios of strength and flexibility to each other, and imbalances (one muscle too weak or tight compared to an opposing muscle, etc) can cause pain or injury. I’ve emailed a few PTs I found online who are nearby but didn’t get anywhere.
Finding a program where I can find out how flexible and strong my muscles are individually, which ones need work, then get a workout routine tailored to that would be worth paying for.
I think it will ultimately depend on your health insurance. Your best bet might be to start with a sports medicine physician that deals with the types of sports you’re interested in. He/she should then be able to point you towards a PT that’s knowledgeable in that area.
The problem is that the vast majority of PTs are NOT knowledgeable. That isn’t meant to be a slight against PTs, it’s just the nature of their training. I managed to find one that has competed in several Ironman Triathlons, and focuses her practice on endurance athletes. If I had gone to her for tennis issues she’d be a bit useless.
If you are having a particular set of muscles, you identify that set.
Then you work on them. I found when I hurt my back I did execrises for lower back pain. It made a huge difference. Back pain is tricky as it can be caused by simple wrong motion rather than muscle abuse.
As a very general rule you use low reps / high weight to build muscle and you use low weight / high reps to shape and tone.
But like with lower back pain, for example, that may not matter. I hurt my back once by accidently twisting too fast.
Yoga too can help you with stretching and flexing. Not only is it important to build the muscle but it’s important to thicken tendons and to stretch them to improve flexibility
