Training as injury prevention.
One of the most common concerns that is brought up by people who are starting to train in the gym is “I don’t want to get hurt”. While that is a legitimate fear, and must be addressed, it is a complicated topic because the solution is often the obstacle.
The clients that mention a fear of injury have a realistic concern BECAUSE they are the ones more likely to get injured. Usually they are the ones that are frail, weak, immobile and afraid. Therefore, they must be validated in their fear and have to be push more carefully, especially in the beginning phases of training. For somebody that is prone to injury, actually getting hurt could mean terrible things for their quality of life.
But at the same time, I remind them that this fear comes from that fragility they are now in. The clients that have been working out for years, have developed a strong and robust body and are confident in their physical abilities are not concerned with the possibility of injury. They know that 1. it’s less likely to happen to them and 2. they can recover faster from injuries.
Therefore, training is simultaneously the concern and the solution. This adds to the long list of benefits of strength training. When it comes to bulletproofing your body, strength training through a large range of motion is the best option to create a buffer zone between where they are and disability. What does that mean?
Imagine a spectrum that goes from complete physical independence on the right, to complete disability on the left. People who are fragile are already close to complete disability. They have to be careful when maneuvering through space, have to be cautious when deciding what activities to partake in and maybe need to have assistance when doing mundane tasks. If they do get hurt, they will slide down this spectrum, possibly landing on disability. The strong and physical capable are on the other side of the spectrum, thus if the same happened to them, they still have a buffer zone between that and disability.
Notice that I didn’t mention age. We often think this is something that only happens to older population but more and more often we see younger people, or people who are training for a specific purpose, say the same thing. On a positive note, that shows me that these individuals have finally realized that they need to do something to be able to fully enjoy their life and pursue their purpose.
In stoicism there is a saying, “the obstacle is the way” and it applies to training perfectly. Our bodies are amazing at adapting to stimuli. Physical challenges in life, aka “the obstacle”, are less scary if we go through controlled physical challenges in the gym, aka “the way”.
Book a consultation if you want to learn more about turning the body into a bulletproof machine!
