Read more about the article How to avoid injury when learning new skills

How to avoid injury when learning new skills

Is injury caused from a lack of skill or lack of strength? I argue that most injuries (excluding falling off of a box or dropping a barbell on your head) come from lack of knowledge. The knowledge about your skillset and your own physical limitations. Your priority should be to create consistent, perfect movement before adding load / intensity/ speed to your training and allow your body to get “stronger” through more training volume and skill acquisition.

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Paddington Feature Member: James Dent

The first time I met James our much loved former coach Codie asked me to take him through a PT session. He did not tell me that he usually had to bribe James to do the metcon piece, and as a junior coach I followed the program to a tee. Next thing I know James is refusing to jump on the rower, saying he “didn’t want to get his heart rate up” and attempted haggling to swap the exercise for push-ups. This is a long way from the athlete he is now, constantly pushing for Rx WODs and ending up sprawled out on his back after giving 100% in every workout! So what changed? Before starting, James was most nervous about his “appalling lack of fitness being on display. Seeing how fit everyone looked in the classes didn’t help with this, so it actually took 6 months of just doing PTs before my coach eventually forced me to do a group class.”

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Why is load management so important to stay injury-free?

Did you know, there is no such thing as good and bad exercise? There aren’t exercises that are dangerous and there aren’t exercises that are safe. There are just exercises. The factor that determines whether it is safe or not, comes down to your current capacity and your ability to manage load.

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Want to get better results? Then do the following.

February is almost gone. You probably started 2021 with a list of personal goals for this year. You felt motivated, ready to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to get where you want to be. You were fired the f*** up when you wrote them, (if you actually did). You began your journey, your first pull-up, first handstand push up, first muscle up, first kilo of many off the scales. You started, guns blazing after every session doing those extras a coach told you to do. A few weeks go by, and you are smashing the extras but haven’t gotten the result you were hoping for. The motivation is dimming, you start to slack off on those extras, you feel as though the finish line is a tad out of reach now. If you feel this way you’re not alone. Studies show that only less than 30% of people work through their goals and accomplish them.

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Paddington Feature Member: Nathan Wotton

Our first BBB Paddington Member of the month for 2021 goes to the nicest high school teacher you’ll meet - Nathan Wotton. Nathan appeared on the scene in June of last year once COVID gym restrictions eased and has been a regular member of the afternoon crew ever since. Nathan joined up looking to restore his back and shoulder health after injuring himself earlier in the year; “I came into BBB about 6 weeks after having major back and shoulder issues that required plenty of scans. Having Lewis being a patient personal training me for the first few months really allowed me to correct previously poor technique which would have likely led to the issues”

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Waterloo Feature Member: Indah Larasiti

Working full-time shift work as a nurse is not an easy task, however, our latest superstar makes it look just that. For Indah, it was about finding a place to train that gives her life balance, helping her stay fit and healthy and blow off steam when she needs it! Indah has been with us for just over a year now (cute), and has been a superstar from the start. Her bubbly personality and infectious smile has made her a queen of the gym and a massive part of our community. Working shiftwork as a registered nurse, you could be forgiven for not being serious about your training and slacking off. Indah has not only stayed consistent in her training but has been able to learn more advanced gymnastics skills such as pullups, toes to bar and handstand pushups. Not to mention being the fastest at the gym at burpees (jealous)

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How to prevent injury

During training, we all want results RIGHT NOW, which is why we often push too hard past our capacity and tolerance. Injuries most commonly occur to muscles that are neglected due to altered movement patterns, which decreases their capacity, but are then forced to exceed their tolerance in a single bout (or repetitive overuse).

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