Wristy Business

I know a lot of trainers and fitness gurus come along and try to flip the script, tell you their super-secret unconventional/controversial training methods or regime that will make you 1,000,000 times more attractive and ripped in a matter of weeks; I'm not here to do that. I'm actually not gonna disagree with anybody outright or try to over haul anything. The plan here is to add to everyone else's work; I'm not the protein shake trying to replace the workout, I'm the supplements ready to give you a fully balanced diet with complete nutrition.

So, a little about me (skipping the fun holiday memory about my grandmother's cookie recipe): I'm an NASM certified personal trainer currently living outside the DC area, and I've been actively involved in the fitness world for 4+ years now. I've tried out just about every kind of training there is, from body building to calisthenics to yoga to dance. I've given them all a go and they've all had their benefits and they've all had their shortcomings. I've followed the work of numerous fitness personalities on YouTube and Instagram like Greg O'Gallagher, Demi Bagby, Athlean X, and many many more and the one most common thing they share (other than emphasizing the ever present importance of 'gainz') is a phrase along these lines: "make sure you do this so as to prevent injury."

I've been fortunate in my fitness career to avoid any serious injuries but many people aren't as lucky. Whether it's a life-altering accident like a broken spine or it's an unrelenting pain like tendonitis, no one wants to get injured. In a long term fitness journey preventing injury is the most important thing you can do. Whether you're just starting out or you've been training for decades you are in the perfect place right now to take better care of your body; remember, only you can prevent serious physical injury.

What does that mean, practically speaking? Does it mean you need to go out and hire a personal trainer to tell you how you compensate in your work outs? Do you need to go see a physical therapist and find out what's wrong with the way you walk or twist or go for a run? I mean, those aren't bad ideas. But it could start as simple as thinking through these questions: Where does it hurt? What movements do you have trouble doing? Where is your flexibility limited? Where there is inflexibility there will be injury, if there isn't already. Injury always eventually leads to pain, but just because it doesn't hurt doesn't mean nothings wrong; lack of flexibility in a given area can be a good marker for future or current injury. Do some research on your own; all of the people I mentioned above are good places to start as all of them have put in the work to create good, rounded fitness programs that take into account injury prevention by training all parts of a given joint.

Now, my two sense. As I said above, I'm an NASM certified personal trainer and I spent two years working as a Chiropractic assistant; neuromuscular rehab is no stranger to me. In my journey the most common injuries I encountered are low back/hip trouble, and wrist trouble. Low back/hip (also referred to as lumbo-sacral) is a complicated can of worms, so we'll start with the wrist. Most often people with wrist trouble (especially body builders and other heavy lifters) have overly tight wrist flexors, that is the muscles on the inside of your forearm. This tends to be from things such as rock climbing or weight lifting, but also from everyday tasks such as driving, typing, or physical jobs that require a lot of grip strength. These activities only work the inside of your arm leaving the outside muscles underused and underdeveloped. This can be the cause of tendonitis and an entire host of other joint and muscular pain.

The simplest start to a fix is to simply spend time opening up your hand. There are also special fitness bands you can find online or in certain stores designed to add resistance to that motion of opening your fingers; they're shaped like a circular band with five rings for your fingers. In addition to that something I've begun doing is getting a kettle bell (with very low weight-- we're talking 5 lbs) and just holding it on the backs of my fingers with my arms at my side and stretching my hand upward. I hold it for 10-15 seconds and let it back down. I do the same with my thumbs and then repeat. It doesn't need to be a perfect 90 degree angle, but it just needs to engage the muscles. My current job coupled with various training programs through the years has left me as the poster child for bad wrists, but since I've begun training my extensors wrist pain and immobility is a thing of the past. I feel better, my hands have gotten stronger, and it barely cost me anything. Oh yeah, that's right: training your extensors (that is the muscles that open your hand) will actually improve your grip strength.

I know I mentioned lumbo-sacral pain and immobility, and I had every intention of getting to it, but this post has run long as it is. With that in mind I'll be writing a follow up all about the hips and low back and how modern life has paved the way for an epidemic of movement compensation and chronic hip and back pain. If you're ready to learn the real reason you can't seem to beat that gut be sure to check that out. Aces!