You are injured...... not dead! Part 1

So hands up who has had an injury that has stopped them from training? Or how about a mobility issue that is limiting you in what movements you can do? Or maybe putting you at risk of injury due to a reduction in mobility and range of motion?

Yep just as a thought, everyone has their hands up for one or all of those reasons!

This can be an extremely frustrating time for an individual and also a potentially very dangerous time. Everyone is alright taking a bit of time to rest and recover in order for pain to subside, and then return to full training. Alternatively if it is a mobility issue they will do modified movements for a period of time, however in both instances it is very rare for the individual to really focus and address the root cause of their injury or mobility issue before returning to full movement. Typically frustration will set in and pain will be gone so they will return to doing the movements that caused injury or pain in the first place without changing why they got injured or why the have limited range of motion in the first place

I want to bring this back to what CrossFit is: Constantly varied functional movements, performed at high intensity. And focus on the high lighted part, functional movements.

For those who have done the CrossFit Level 1 Seminar will remember this chain:

Mechanics > Consistency > Intensity

Meaning that we must first get the mechanics of the movement right, we must then show consistency of moving with good mechanics again and again, then lastly we add in intensity. Intensity is achieved either through adding weight or moving faster, so I am not going to even worry about that part today. I want to look at only mechanics and consistency as they pertain to functional movements.

Remembering what Functional Movements are, they have the ability to move large loads, long distances and do so quickly; Functional Movements are natural movements of universal motor recruitment; and Functional Movements are SAFE

However there is more to just saying that the squat or deadlift is a functional movement, and as a general term they absolutely are. However if you squat with a rounded back and your knees falling in while you are on your toes with a massive forward inclination, well sorry bro but that is not functional. Likewise if you deadlift with a rounded back with weight in your toes then you probably will not be lifting with your posterior chain and as a consolation prize you will most likely win a herniated or blown disc.

It is good that you are going for a full range movement but squatting or deadlifting with those faults is not functional as you cannot move large loads long distances at any speed while avoiding injury if you are in a mechanically and anatomically weak position. If you want your squat to be functional then you need to be in an anatomically safe and strong position, which for the squat as an example means the following:
  

• Have a strong and stable mid-line; so a neutral spine is maintained throughout the movement supported by all core muscles
• Weight is centered through the heels with a flat foot
• Knees pushed out to engage the hip external rotators and ensure your knees track over your feet to avoid pressure on the cruciate ligaments of the knee
• And the strength to maintain all these structures again and again to make this movement consistent 

Once your squat is proficient then you can add weight or speed for intensity. In short, the squat is not a functional movement until your squat has the ability perform the function of moving an external load  without putting you at high risk of injury.

I am going to insert a small caveat here, in that no program that is effective in increasing your capacity to do work in a reasonable time frame is 100% safe. Life and training has inherent risk involved so when pushing yourself to move more weight or move faster there is an element of risk involved. The idea is to reduce this risk as much as possible by moving better and training smarter.

So this is part 1 of this series as I wanted to set up a chain of thought for two posts to follow this one. With so many people focused on increase work capacity, many forget that before we can increase work capacity we must first improve human movement. For those who listen to Kelly 'K-Star' Starrett will know that loading in a weak position with no mechanical advantage will ultimately and quickly lead to injury. Final thought for this first part is as follows: 

Look at the way you move, is it functional and is it safe? Great, you are ready for intensity. 

Do you have a mobility issue that is preventing you from being able to move in a way that is functional and safe? Then you need to fix how you move first. 

Have you got an acute or chronic injury due to poor movement patterns? Then you need to firstly recover the injured structures and then retrain your movement to prevent future injuries.

Stay tuned for the next parts that will deal with how to train with mobility issues or injuries, and the mental aspect of working through that whilst staying motivated. 

Thanks for reading guys, like and share on Facebook. Send me questions or comments, always happy to talk shop! 

Gav