Well, i was quite surprised to see that my last blog attracted a bit of attention from some (all be it a little crazy) "fans". And as i sit here, under trained, injured and fairly annoyed, i can't help but think of one of the requests from one of the "fans"; injury tips.
I guess my words of wisdom would be as follows. Listen to your body! So many times people have made the grave mistake, "ahh, she'll be right", "i'll just train, through it", oh dear what a mistake indeed. As soon as you feel a niggle coming, stop and re-asses. Have i felt this before? How much does it actually hurt? Is it related to a previous injury? Make a smart decision, either stop training, or ease it up and cruise home. If it's to bad, call for someone to pick you up (another reason why you should all ways carry a mobile with you when training - except for swimming...).
Trust me as i am learning the hard way now, it's so much better giving up one set, just as a precaution, rather than two, three, four weeks. However most injuries can be prevented, how?? Warming up and cooling down, properly. Dynamic stretches while warming up (movements stretches) and Static stretches when cooling down, are the most effective to prevent injuries. Walk for 5 or 10 minutes after every session, this keeps your blood flowing for oxygen delivery and lactic acid removal.
Eating right, Protein and Magnesium promotes muscle growth and repair, hydration helps the body recover better, and you'll cramp a hell of a lot less, with the correct levels of salts and sodium. Ice baths (and to a lesser extent hot and cold showers) reduce muscle swelling and damage as well as compression gear, i.e. socks, tights etc.
Probably most important is sleep (learn from your own advice Mark...). Your body repairs its self when we are sleeping. If we deprive ourselves of sleep, we deprive ourselves of recovery and repair, which will, trust me, catch up with us in the long run.
As for hip pain - the best recovery methods are as follows. Rest, Ice and Heat Application, Stretching, Anti-Inflammatory Medication and Physical Therapy. ;)
Well that about sums up my brief knowledge. As for my self. Monday i was back in the pool and feeling good, 3.5k under the belt. I was ready to ease back into running on Tuesday, i arrived early and with a nice little warm up under my belt, i set off. 100 meters good, 150 sweet, 200 GAME OVER. Instant pain back in my foot. As a result i have been pretty shattered the rest of the week and am visiting the Physio tomorrow. I will keep you posted.
Well that's about it for me. Keep training smart and recovering properly, trust me, injuries suck.
Cya out there peeps.
Markus
