Plagued with Minor Injuries...am I the only one??

redsoxy
redsoxy Posts: 73 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm growing more and more frustrated here..and hoping to get some feedback.

I work out....hard, at least 6 days a week. I have been going at it hard for over a year - and prior to that - working out regularly 5 days a week, just a little less "hard". My workouts consist of strength training, cardio and/or circuit training. They are a minimum of 1hr and most of the time 1 hr 30min or 1hr 45min.

However it seems that I am plagued with minor injuries that seem to happen back to back..and never really leave me totally functional. First it was an overworked achilles, then a sore shoulder, then a pulled groin...etc etc. These injuries are never serious enough to see a doctor...they are just annoying/nagging things that keep me from going all out in my workouts.

I stretch before and after working out and am very careful to keep good form on all exercises. Is this just going to be something that I live with because I'm getting older? Or am I lacking something in my diet that will help to prevent this?

Or is this just part of the deal as we train harder??

Replies

  • albinogorilla
    albinogorilla Posts: 1,056 Member
    I couldn't tell you a day when i was pain free..........there isn't one in my memory, i dont ever take anything for pain though, on the off chance a minor injury turns major............
  • upgetupgetup
    upgetupgetup Posts: 749 Member
    I'm growing more and more frustrated here..and hoping to get some feedback.

    I work out....hard, at least 6 days a week. I have been going at it hard for over a year - and prior to that - working out regularly 5 days a week, just a little less "hard". My workouts consist of strength training, cardio and/or circuit training. They are a minimum of 1hr and most of the time 1 hr 30min or 1hr 45min.

    However it seems that I am plagued with minor injuries that seem to happen back to back..and never really leave me totally functional. First it was an overworked achilles, then a sore shoulder, then a pulled groin...etc etc. These injuries are never serious enough to see a doctor...they are just annoying/nagging things that keep me from going all out in my workouts.

    I stretch before and after working out and am very careful to keep good form on all exercises. Is this just going to be something that I live with because I'm getting older? Or am I lacking something in my diet that will help to prevent this?

    Or is this just part of the deal as we train harder??

    Yeah, join the club. Some of my things are more serious than others (am seeing doc for one), but in all it adds up to less time feeling awesome and more time in epsom salts.

    In other words, yeah, I think it's just like this now.

    Stick to moderation at all levels, for all things, to minimize time off and KEEP PROGRESSING, even if it's slowly.

    Meaning:

    - switch up your cardio so you don't do one thing more than once a week. And choose things with varied movements (hiking, swimming if you make it so) over endless repetition (treadmill, rowing).

    - for lifting, use a higher volume, lighter load, like 10-20 reps at 60% max < maybe this means a shift in goals. Maybe it means you're going to have to think about bone density and joint function, instead of body composition.

    - avoid high impact, avoid going to the ends of range of motion

    You can still infuse these limited workouts with precision and intensity.

    I think the 'go hard' mentality should die for people over a certain age (and younger than most people think, like 30), esp if they are new to exercise. It's just stupid. I'm totally prone to it too.
  • vanguardfitness
    vanguardfitness Posts: 720 Member
    Most of my pains are due to inflammation, not injuries. I either take alive, or drastically cut back on volume. You can try taking in more omega 3 or fish oil pills to see if it helps. You can also just take a break for a couple of weeks and don't do a damn thing. Or even a month. Just watch your diet.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    You are answering your own question with your description of your workout routine. It is likely you are just beating yourself. Most of your injuries sound like overuse injuries which is a dead giveaway.

    I would recommend that you rework your routine a little with more active recovery and some extra strength work on some areas that are chronically injured.
  • Dauntlessness
    Dauntlessness Posts: 1,489 Member
    I hurt/am sore everyday but I dont injure myself as much. This is what is happening atm:

    Middle back (where you bend side to side) pinches sometimes. Mostly when I do side bends with too much weight...sigh
    I have arthritis in 2 of my toes so they are swollen 90% of the time cause I am so hard on them. I actually put band aids around them because they are too big and rub together which causes irritation. They go numb when I do too much cardio.
    Behind my right knee, down my calf tends to get pulled when I do squats and lunges on the smith machine. I think I'm using too much weight (90 lbs with whatever the bar weights)II also need to stretch, I am so guilty of not doing that enough.

    So yup, I think the last person was right. We just need to alter our routines so it doesn't keep happening. Getting old sucks...haha
  • redsoxy
    redsoxy Posts: 73 Member
    Thanks guys...some good tips and information here! I am so stubborn that I hate to think I *can't* do what I want...but now I see that I need a little modification and some moderation.

    Wish I had this drive back when I was 20....I may not have to work quite so hard now if I did!
  • Cyclink
    Cyclink Posts: 517 Member
    "working out hard for 6 days a week", especially if it's every week with no variation, is a primary ingredient in overtraining and is a common cause for nagging injuries.

    The problem is that your body needs 36 to 48 hours to recover from a hard workout (sometimes more for extra hard ones). By doing another hard workout before your body is recovered, you cannot go as hard as you need to in order to make significant fitness gains.

    As your body grows more and more fatigued, each muscle lacks the strength to resist its antagonist the way it should, causing subtle muscle imbalances just due to fatigue. Given long enough, and they turn into injuries.

    Some coaches sum it up this way: Most people train to hard on their easy days and too easy on their hard days.

    My 2000 season was like that. Injury after injury after injury, mixed in with several crashes. When I hired my first real coach, the first thing he told me was that I was overtrained. He went on to tell me the reason that I had so many crashes that year was that my neuromuscular system was fatigued badly enough that my reflexes and coordination were off, so I could not respond quickly and I could not react correctly even if I did it in time. My nagging injuries were for the reasons I mentioned above.

    He shifted me to a program with just 3 hard days a week. The exact ingredients of those "hard" days varied throughout the season, but the basic rhythm (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday were hard days, Wednesday and Sunday were long but not difficult, Monday and Friday were either super easy of off) never changed. Some hard days were 20 minute intervals. Some just just 20 seconds. Obviously, the number of intervals, how many sets of intervals, and the recovery time between them varied a lot.

    I won my first race six months later.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    I hurt/am sore everyday but I dont injure myself as much. This is what is happening atm:

    Middle back (where you bend side to side) pinches sometimes. Mostly when I do side bends with too much weight...sigh
    I have arthritis in 2 of my toes so they are swollen 90% of the time cause I am so hard on them. I actually put band aids around them because they are too big and rub together which causes irritation. They go numb when I do too much cardio.
    Behind my right knee, down my calf tends to get pulled when I do squats and lunges on the smith machine. I think I'm using too much weight (90 lbs with whatever the bar weights)II also need to stretch, I am so guilty of not doing that enough.

    So yup, I think the last person was right. We just need to alter our routines so it doesn't keep happening. Getting old sucks...haha


    I believe the bar on the smith machine is 20lbs--at least it is at the gym I go to. I don't think you are putting too much weight on it either. Before I switched to the squat rack, I was squatting with 100lbs plus the bar (120 total). Maybe have someone check your form? I have had mine checked several times ( the two trainers check it if they happen to walk by when I am squatting) and I think I am going to have them check again Monday--I'm not sure if my form is bad or I just need a chiropractic "tune up", but Friday my one hip was bugging after I did my sets.

    DEFINITELY stretch. I was guilty of that for a while, and my quads burned for days. The trainer made me stretch and turned me into a total believer. I never leave without stretching now! Its been ages since I have had any significant pain.

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