Posts Tagged ‘Sports-Injuries’

Review of PhysioRoom.com – Sports Injuries Info and Online Shop

Sponsored Review

I’m glad that I’ve been given the opportunity to review PhysioRoom.com because I really like the site. To give you a brief background of the company, they first started in 2000 to provide information about sports injuries in a format that we can all understand. It wasn’t until 2003 that they opened an online shop selling a variety of products relating to fitness. One of them being Swiss Balls…

Swiss Balls

Just for Girls? When I used to go to a gym one of the most popular products was the Swiss Ball. If you’re a “macho” kind of a guy you might think that they’re just for girls; believe me, they’re not! My Mum’s personal trainer used to be a trainer in the Army said that they make you’re body work harder and really strengthen your core muscles (that’s the muscles in your stomach and back).

Prevent Back Pain – One of the main reasons you want strong core muscles is that it prevents injuries to your back. So many people suffer from back pain, whether it’s caused by lifting heavy objects or sitting in an office chair all day. My dad had to take a lot of time off work years ago through lifting heavy shopping bags out of the trolley and into the car. Remember, prevention is better than cure.

Flat Stomach – And for anyone who wants a flat stomach you really want to get one of these. I went to a 1-hour Swiss Ball class last year and it was probably the most gruelling exercise regime I’ve ever encountered. The following day carrying out simple tasks like opening the fridge door made my stomach muscles ache. Ouch!

If you’re looking for advice about sports injuries and want to buy products to help PhysioRoom.com is a website well worth checking out. They are based in the UK but they can ship worldwide. Here are some articles you may find interesting (all their articles are written by professionals):-

Easy Exercise Program

In an ideal world we would all be setting our alarm clocks for 6:30am, drinking a smoothie made of 7 vegetables for breakfast before heading to the gym for a gruelling 3 hour workout.

Life just isn’t like that is it? No matter how good our intentions, life has a knack of throwing things at us. How is it possible to keep fit whilst dealing with all the hassles of every day life?

The Answer: Work Smart Not Hard

I was going to join my local gym the other week but decided against it as I wasn’t impressed with it. So instead I’ve been using a “little and often” technique which can be done from your own home without the need for any expensive equipment.

Basically you do a few exercises at regular intervals spread throughout the day. You might only have time to do 30 seconds at a time or you might be able to manage 5 minutes. It’s better to do a little bit often than nothing at all.

(I’ve included a number of quality links in this post, I suggest you bookmark this page so you can refer to it later.)

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Warm Up

It’s important to get the blood warmed up and pumping round your body so that your muscles can stretch easier. Swing your arms around your head, do star jumps or have a dance to your favourite tune.

2. Stretch

To prevent possible injuries you need to make sure your muscles are nicely stretched and supple. A lot of people don’t spend enough time stretching or even miss it out altogether. If you have been leading a sedentary lifestyle you’ll probably want to concentrate on stretching for a couple of weeks before doing any strength exercises to prevent injury.

If you are looking for a comprehensive book on stretching I personally recommend Sport Stretch as this is what was recommended by my mum’s personal trainer. He used to be a trainer in the Army, so he should know what he’s talking about!

3. Strength

When it comes to increasing strength there’s two main types of exercise you can do. You can either work each muscle individually (isolated) or you can exercise a number of muscles all at the same time (compound).

Ideally you should do a mixture of both isolated and compound exercises but because you have a life you should concentrate on compound exercises. You don’t need expensive gym equipment to do these exercises however you might later on want to buy a Dumbell Set and an Exercise Ball.

Here are some links on how to do the main compound exercises:

  • Lunges – Workout all the muscles in you legs and bum (great for us girls!). If you’re new to exercising then you can start of doing lunges without dumbbells.
  • Press-ups – This is an excellent video on how to do a press-up correctly. I learnt a lot from it.
  • Tricep Dips – If you find your wrists get sore, try doing Dumbbell Kickbacks instead.

Some more exercises to try out here: Total Body Strength for Beginners

4. Cardio

Doing cardio is important for increasing lung capacity, reducing your chance of coronary artery disease plus generally gives you more energy. It might be a bit more difficult to do a cardio workout in your own home without a treadmill or exercise bike but here are some tips for you:

  • Walk instead of taking the car
  • Use the stairs instead of the elevator/escalator
  • Run up the stairs instead of walking
  • Play with your kids in the garden

It might seem a lot to do everyday but you only need to do a few exercises at a time. Remember: little and often. I’ve been on this regime for about 2 weeks now and am amazed at how much strength and flexibility I’ve gained.

Why not challenge yourself to do this for the next 21 days?
Why 21? Well, it seems that’s how long it takes to form a habit.

Disclaimer: I’m not a trained fitness expert; the above tips are what I follow personally and may not be suitable for every one. Please check with a doctor before starting any exercise regime.

How to Avoid Sports and Exercising Injuries

Many people working out at the gym will tell you “no pain, no gain”. But what does that actually mean? First of all it’s important to push yourself beyond your “comfort zone” otherwise you won’t increase muscle or stamina. In doing this you may feel out of breath or tired, however if you start to feel sharp pains then take these as a warning that something is wrong.

When you use your muscles more than you would normally on a day-to-day basis you’ll experience lactic acid and micro-tears which happens when your muscles are being built up.

If you’re having pain in you back, neck, knee joints amongst other symptoms you should always consult an expert. There could be a variety of reasons why you’re experiencing pain. Perhaps your technique is wrong or you are overdoing it. Alternatively you might have a medical problem that needs attention.

Warm Up and Stretching is Often Ignored

You need to ease yourself into any workout. First of all you need to warm up your blood and get your heart pumping by either running, rowing or cycling for 10 -15 minutes. After that you should spend about 10 – 15 minutes stretching.

Stretching is one of the areas most people ignore or don’t pay enough attention too. If you have tight muscles you can do yourself some serious injuries. Last year my mum had a personal trainer at the gym who tested all her muscles for flexibility and wouldn’t let her go onto any other exercises until she was suitably flexible.

Her trainer lent us a book called Sport Stretch: 311 Stretches for 41 Sportswhich as the title suggest has lots of stretching routines you can do for the various sports/exercises you do. If you follow the “all star” stretches then you will have stretched all the main muscles in your body.

If you have suffered an injury always take advice from an expert because if you start training too quickly you could do yourself even more damage!

If you’re new to exercising then get advice from a trainer to make sure you are doing all your exercises correctly. Some of the equipment at the gym can also be quite confusing to adjust so it’s always better to ask for help rather than struggle on your own.

Stay within your comfort zone as you gradually expand it. One of the foremost reasons people give up on workouts is injuries produced by working beyond their capacity. That makes working out no longer fun. Building up, while you build out, to increase your ability to do more, faster will keep you going for years to come.

Your health will thank you for exercising common sense, while you exercise your body.