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Tip #10: If an injury does happen

knee-painWith all preventative measures taken, injuries can still happen.

Tip #10:

Avoid icing (for most injuries!)

There are different kinds of injuries, a simple strain, a pulled muscle, inflammation,  a cramp or overuse injury warrants no need for ice.  On the contrary, ice slows down the circulation and at the same time slows down healing.  Ice should only be applied if there is a clear muscle tear or visible bleeding.  Then you definitely want to apply ice to slow down your circulation and halt the bleeding.

Instead of ice, the best course of action is heat.

Heat will:

  • Speed up circulation
  • Speed up the delivery of nutrients to the area
  • Speed up the removal of waste products
  • Signal the immune system to “bring in more troops”
  • Speed up healing

This is why the body’s first response to anything out of the ordinary is a fever.  It heats itself up to speed up healing.  Even Hippocrates said: ”Give me a fever, and I can cure any illness.”

There are many ways you can add heat to the area.

i) By filling up a rubber hot water bottle with hot water and holding it on the affected area (filling up a glass or even plastic bottle with hot water will work just as well)
ii) Hot baths will also help especially if you add epsom salts to the bath (they relax muscles)
iii) Hot showers will be very beneficial especially if you can run the hot water on the affected area (neck, shoulder, lower back are easy spots to get)
iv) My least favourite is using an electric blanket because of the EMF it produces
v) Going for an infrared sauna will do your body good
vi) My favourite and most effective way is to use an infrared heat lamp (for about 5 minutes at a time, held about 10 – 12 inches away from the area)

The near infrared light penetrates up to 3 inches below the skin immediately healing cells.  The heat helps speed the healing up.  Your investment is roughly $10 – $15 depending on where you buy the bulb.  It fits into any standard lamp.

If you have any tender or chronically painful areas, using heat will help you heal faster.

Give it a try and let me know which of the above worked best for you.

Previous: Tip #9: Dealing With Injuries

Tip #9: Dealing With Injuries

injury-preventionWhether it’s a minor or major injury here’s what you can do.

Tip #9:

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

As that old adage goes, it’s much easier to avoid injuries than to fix them.  Unfortunately, it’s alos a lot more boring.  No injuries are created equal and obviously there are different types of injuries, some are minor and some are serious.  The common things you can do that are well within your control and to which you can pay attention are:

  • Warm up thoroughly so your joints are well lubricated with synovial fluid and muscles with blood
  • Work the muscles rather than your ego.  Hoisting weights around just to show off usually ends with injuries
  • Go through the full range of motion.  Short ranges will cause muscular imbalances with a greater risk of injury
  • Use a spotter whenever you can, for those unexpected moments

Besides the above preventative measures in the gym, here are a few things you can do nutritionally to be prepared for your workouts and avoiding injuries

  • Drink a mixture of high quality honey, lemon/lime juice, water and a pinch of sea salt to make sure you’re electrolyte levels are high (avoid gatorade like the plague!)
  • Make sure you had some carbs an hour or two before your workout so your brain is fed and you can focus on full range of motion
  • Have your post workout meal or shake before the sweat dries up from the workout for best results, to refuel your starving muscles

With all of these in place, the unexpected might still happen.  Stay tuned to tomorrow’s tip on what you can do if something does go wrong.

If you have any tips to add, please do in the comments below.

Previous: Digestion: Tip #8

Digestion: Tip #8

eat-at-regular-times-clocksThis maybe the hardest for you, yet it’s extremely beneficial to reaching your goals.

Tip #8:

Eat at consistent and regular times every day.

As you no doubt know, we’re creatures of habit.  There are rhythms and cycles all around us.  365 days in a year, 7 days in a week, 24 hours in a day and so on, whether we like it or hate it, things repeat.  The sun comes up in the morning and it goes down at night.  You’re built to take advantage of that rhythm.  Same goes for eating and digesting.

When you consistently have a meal at the same time, your digestive system will learn that’s when food is coming and it prepares itself to be ready for it.  If you have a regular schedule, you wake up at the same time every day, eat your breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, train around the same time, you’ve already conditioned your system to build muscle.  This is what the champions of the past have done.  People like Don Howorth, Bill Pearl, Larry Scott, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane and Sergio Oliva all had their routines.  If your gains are lacklustre and you have no regular routine and eating habits that are tied to specific times of the day, that’s likely why.

It will take willpower and discipline to get this going and it will likely be tough at first (for about 3 – 4 weeks until the habit is built.)  On the other hand, the great thing about it after the “growing pains” is it will become automatic to eat your meals at specific times, no matter what because you will get the signals from your stomach.  You’ll get hungry around the same time and  your digestive juices will be ready to take on whatever you chew at them.

Sit down for a few minutes and plan out the most convenient times to eat your meals, commit and follow through.  Your physique, health and digestion will thank you for it.

I’ll gladly give you suggestions and am here to support you so feel free to ask below, if you need ideas on how to go about it.

Previous: Digestion: Tip #7