• Sudden drop in performance
• Changes in your sleep pattern
• Loss of enthusiasm for training
• Change in appetite
• Increased incidence of illness
• Feeling tired even after easy workouts
• Moody and unpleasant to be around

Beginner athletes always assume more is better.  This may work for a year or so but eventually you will stop seeing improvements and realize that you have to train smarter, not harder.  The best way to do that is to get a triathlon coach.  Find someone in your area that has a good reputation and listen to everything they say.  If hiring a trainer is not in your budget, then read the Triathlete’s Training Bible.  This book will give you the basics to design your own training program. Everyone responds differently to training and listening to your body is very important.  Your training program will change over the years as you learn what works and what doesn’t work. Most programs will have at least one complete rest day a week and then every 4th week will be an easy week.  It is also important to take a break from training completely at the end of the triathlon season. Learning to train smarter will allow you to perform pain free for many years.

Why don’t these machines have long term results?

Because they cannot get rid of scar tissue in the muscles. Any muscle that crosses a joint will stabilize and compress it.  In the neck and low back there are many muscles that cross these joints.  If you have scar tissue build up in these muscles, then they will always add increased load and pressure to your discs.  Removing the scar tissue with ART, MAR, and IAR, will naturally decompress the spine.

I am a big fan of foam rolling as a warm up.  It will warm up the tissue and temporarily relax your tissue to allow for better range of motion.  However, I would never use a foam roll as a method of removing pain.  If you are experiencing pain, you should be evaluated by a professional.  Most likely you have scar tissue build up in your muscle.  This scar tissue can alter the way the joint moves which leads to pain.  You can think of it as pouring glue into a muscle.  The muscle won’t stretch or contract like it should.  The only way to get rid of the scar tissue is to develop a lot of tension directly on the scar tissue. This is accomplished by using ART, MAR, and IAR.

Both of these exercises create impingement in the shoulder.  The position of the arms causes the bones in your arm and shoulder blade to jam into the bursa and rotator cuff tendons. This can cause irritation, inflammation, and pain.

If you have to perform vertical rows, make sure you shrug your shoulders at the top.  The shrug will move the shoulder blade out of the way and decrease impingement.

The empty can exercise should never be performed. It has been shown that you will get better muscle activation without the injury risk if you perform the same type of exercise with the thumb pointed up.  So if you are doing the empty can exercise (thumbs pointed down) perform it with the thumbs up.

Preventing Shoulder Pain: Installment 1

1.  Always have your headrest properly adjusted. Ideally the top of your headrest should be level with the top of your head.

If your headrest is too low, your head will extend above and over the restraint, which then acts as fulcrum and increases your injury risk. When you are struck from behind, a 1-3 inch vertical rise in your head will occur. This can further bring your head up and over the headrest aggravating your neck.  Make sure the adjustable headrest is locked into position. When the head snaps back, it could make contact with the top of the headrest and may drive it down like a hammer drives a nail.  Unfortunately, headrests are designed for the 50% male (5’10”) population. Taller individuals should still adjust the headrest into the highest position.

2.  Keep the back of your head as close to the headrest as possible (see picture above).

Backset[/caption]

“Backset” is the distance from the back of your head to the front of the headrest. A starting backset greater than 2 inches decreases the ability of the head restraint to protect against neck injury. Studies have found that neck symptoms increased when the backset distance was more that 4 inches.

3. Don’t sit too close to the steering wheel.

Sitting too close to the steering wheel can result in the airbag hitting you at full deployment speed (around 200 mph).  In an ideal situation you want to contact the airbag after if fully deploys. You should sit at least 10 inches from the steering wheel (measured from the center of the steering wheel to your sternum/breast bone).

4. Buckle up even if you are in the backseat.

I think by now everyone knows to buckle up. Most cars have airbags and without being buckled up the airbags become a deadly weapon.  I think its pretty common to be lazy when you are in the back seat, especially when you don’t have to worry about being struck by a 200 mph airbag. If you don’t want to buckle up for yourself, you should at least do it for the front seat passengers. When the rear seat passengers are unrestrained, the fatality risk to front seat occupants is increased by up to 75%.

5. Don’t allow passengers to put their feet on the dashboard.  If they are in this position during an accident, it could result in serious injury.  Generally you always want to keep your arms and legs away from where the airbag deploys.

The above recommendations are some of things you can do to reduce your chances of being injured in automobile accidents.  The next article, “To brace or not to brace for impact”, will cover what to do if you look in your review mirror and see that someone is clearly going to ram into the back of your vehicle.

To prepare for a rear-end collision:

1.Brace your head against the headrest.  This reduces the distance between your head and the front of your headrest. The closer your head is to the headrest the better.

2. Always look forward and NEVER lean forward.  If you have your head turned at impact this increases your chance of injury.

3. Push your foot on the brake pedal and push your back squarely against the seat back.

4. Tense up like someone is going to punch you in the back with a 4000-pound car.

If you are involved in a car accident, it is important to be evaluated as soon as possible. Once more serious injuries like fracture, dislocation, or disc herniations are ruled out, it is important to have your neck and back evaluated by a Chiropractor.  Early treatment can reduce your chances of experiencing pain later down the road.

Since the support doesn’t come from the bone, the soft tissue surrounding the shoulder plays a huge role.  The group of muscles that cross the shoulder (rotator cuff muscles) contract to stabilize the shoulder.  To get a better understanding of how the rotator cuff muscles work, click the following link (Rotator Cuff ). The tendons of the long head of the bicep and tricep also cross the glenohumeral joint, but their role is outside the scope of this article. There is also a labrum, shoulder capsule, and ligaments to help support the shoulder. All of the above structures can be damaged during improper exercise technique, so learning proper technique is crucial to every exercise you perform.  So if you want to get HUGE or swim in an Ironman triathlon or anything in between, then start taking care of your shoulders.  These installments will cover some common mistakes that occur at the gym.  It is always best to hire a fitness professional to watch your form and correct any technique flaws that you may have.  Time and money spent now will save you a lot of hassle in the future.

The seated horizontal row is a very common exercise performed incorrectly at the gym.

First mistake is pulling the elbows too far back.  The elbows should only go until they hit the side of your torso.  See below:

Wrong-Elbows too far back[/caption]

Correct-Elbows at torso[/caption]

If you pull your elbows too far back, two major problems arise. First, your shoulders roll forward and place stress on the front portion of you shoulder capsule and ligament. This can lead to shoulder instability because these structures become slackened. Second, when your elbows come behind your torso, you are more likely to pinch your shoulder blades together and shrug your shoulders.  This will lead to a strong rhomboid  and upper trapezius contraction without major contributions of the lower trapezius or serratus anterior.  This will be discussed more in a future article but it essentially will lead to muscle imbalances that can lead to shoulder damage.  Instead of pinching your shoulder blades together, you should imagine pulling your shoulder blades down and back. You also have to be careful that you don’t pull your shoulder blades too far down because too much scapular depression can encourage the forward shoulder roll. This is why it is beneficial to have an expert observing you.

Wrong-squeezing shoulder blades together, elbows too close to side and elbows too far back.[/caption]

The picture above also shows the elbows too close to the torso. This will encourage forward rolling shoulders as well.  The elbows should be off your side about 20-40 degrees.

Another common mistake that can occur is neck protraction.  This is where the head moves into the forward head position. See below:

Wrong- Chin is too far forward[/caption]

The neck should be retracted (also called packing the neck in some circles of the strength training world) at all times during the exercise.  Basically you should make a double chin.

There are many variations of the horizontal pull and the above tips should be followed on them as well.  If you want to dive deeper into the row, Eric Cressey, MA, CSCS has an excellent video entitled 8 ways to screw up a row. He focuses on the standing one arm cable row which is a better exercise than the seated horizontal row. Standing one arm cable rows force the core to contract more because your body has to resist the rotational force from the pulling arm.

Hopefully these tips will help you the next time you’re at the gym.