Build your functional and specific strength to equal or exceed the demands of your chosen sport or activity.
If your muscles and tendons cannot handle the stress loads of a given sport or activity in which you participate, you will most likely hurt yourself. Strength and flexibility are the cornerstones of physical fitness, and they 每 in turn 每 depend on a well-developed sense of balance and ability to react. If your muscles are weak or tight, there is a greater risk of injury. Stick with your balance and core strength training, and layer on muscle-specific exercises if your chosen sport or activity demands additional development of those muscle groups. Remember, though, never to pursue isolating training on its own 每 always have functional training as your foundation for fitness.
Incorporate balance training into your fitness routine to prevent falls and fall-related injuries.
Falling will most commonly occur where there is inactivity, leg muscle weakness, poor balance, or poor vision. Slowly adopting a more active lifestyle and proactively training your proprioceptive abilities will help minimize the chance of fall due to physiological deficits. This type of preventative health management is incredibly valuable. By engaging in injury prevention though preventative maintenance, you will be stronger and healthier and spend less money on doctors!
Developing speed and agility can help you avoid injury in contact sports.
Your ability to react is one of the first reflexes to suffer when you are fatigued, and this can lead to injury. Think about hockey, football, soccer and other team ports. Now consider skiing, inline skating, and other individual pastimes that require balance and agility. In all of these cases, the ability to react quickly to objects in your path or people coming is very important to avoiding collision, staying on your feet, and remaining in control of your movements and actions 每 essentially, keeping out of high-risk situations. Speed may be developed by improving technique utilizing efforts with a 6 second maximum effort. Agility and coordination emphasize neuromuscular control and are the culmination of all physical fitness factors, and will be best enhanced through balance and core strength training.
Only participate in exercise that you can comfortably tolerate.
Too much too soon is often the cause of overuse injury. You should start slow when beginning a new exercise program or sport, or trying to achieve a higher level of proficiency or intensity in a given sport or exercise program. To reach your peak performance, slowly build the intensity of your workouts - an increase of about 10% each week is usually recommended as a safe program to prepare your body for the full-blown version of an activity and to prevent injury. As exercise becomes more intense, be aware that some soreness is normal as your muscles adapt to the increasing workload, but you should never put yourself in a position or at an intensity level that causes musculoskeletal pain.
Build balance, ankle flexibility and strength to prevent ankle sprains.
A sprained ankle is the most common injury sustained by athletes, and it is a common injury even among people engaging in everyday activities. Ankle sprains occur and reoccur because of failures in ankle flexibility and strength, but it is a fundamental loss of balance and control in the entire leg that precedes most ankle injuries. Training balance can reinforce the protective, proprioceptive mechanisms in the leg and decrease the chances of injury.
Balance training can help reduce your risk of ACL injuries.
ACL injuries are one of the main causes of permanent sports disability. ACL injuries are more common among female athletes than male athletes, but gymnasts, soccer players, basketball players and volleyball players are all at risk due to sudden stops and starts, high-impact landings, and lateral movements. The good news is that a combination of functional training and lower-limb muscle development can help prevent injuries. Common, non-functional exercises for ACL protection include using jump training and leg curls to strengthen your hamstrings. It is also recommended that you avoid turning or landing with straight legs. These are good tips, but it is provocative that a study that included 600 Italian male semi-professional soccer players found that found that proprioceptive training reduced ACL injury rates by over 700%. Definitely incorporate balance training into your workout regimen to help safeguard your ACL, and maintain your flexibility by being sure to always cool down and stretch after exercise
Prevent injuries by getting enough rest and proper nutrition.
Proper rest and nutrition are necessary for optimal athletic performance and preventing injury. If you do not get enough sleep and/or not consume an adequate diet, you will only put additional strain on your internal organs and muscles. This will hold you back and could set you up for injury. A key component of the proper nutritional balance is hydration: dehydration of as little as 2% can affect physical performance, making injury 每 as well as fatigue, headaches, and nausea, more likely. Even people with relatively sedentary lifestyles should drink at least 64 ounces of water each day, and active people should be sure they drink at least 8 additional ounces for each half hour of exercise.