Despite our best intentions to improve our health or sporting performance through exercise in the gym, injuries unfortunately do occur. Minimising your injury risk should be one of the first points considered when planning how you will reach your goals.
Ensure Good Program Design
When starting a fitness program, having a well-structured plan is essential for achieving your goals without injury. All programs should adhere to basic programming principles, including:
Progressive Overload: Progressive overload is a key component of a properly designed exercise program. Most injuries result from doing too much too soon. This principle applies to all types of activities, both in the gym and on the sporting field. Gradually increase volume and intensity over weeks and months. An example for a beginner runner might be increasing your running distance by no more than 10-15% each week (e.g. if you run a total of 5 km during the first week of your exercise program, increase this amount by no more than 500-750m the following week).
Exercise Balance: For gym-goers, include one pushing exercise (e.g. bench press, seated chest press) for every pulling exercise (e.g. seated row, bent-over row). For example, if you complete 4 sets of bench press, ensure you also complete 4 sets of a rowing variation like a seated row during that particular week.
Include Injury Prevention Exercises Specific to Your Needs: Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Some weaknesses can eventually lead to injury if not addressed. A common example involves the shoulder external rotators. Most gym exercises encourage internal shoulder rotation (e.g. bench press), creating an imbalance in strength. Adding exercises to strengthen the muscles that rotate the shoulders outward (as seen in the picture below) is beneficial for most programs. Seek professional help from a sports physiotherapist to identify your weaknesses and implement corrective exercises to reduce your risk of injury when starting a fitness program.
Ensure Correct Exercise Technique
Receiving coaching to improve exercise technique is an important consideration at any level of sport of exercise. Common examples where technique is relevant include:
In the Gym: Correct technique when performing exercises in the gym ensures that the appropriate muscles are being used which therefore minimises undue stress on joints and ligaments.
With Athletic Movements: Proper running mechanics and sport-specific techniques (e.g. jumping, bowling in cricket, serving in tennis) influence how strain is distributed throughout the body during athletic manoeuvres. Ensuring correct form in these activities can significantly reduce the risk of injury.
By focusing on proper technique, you can enhance your performance while reducing your risk of injury.
Ensure An Adequate Warm-up Before Exercise
Warming up properly before any exercise is essential. Starting each routine with a gentle warm-up helps to elevate the body's temperature and increases blood flow to muscles, thereby enhancing muscle and tendon resilience to stress. Warm-ups should be specific to your sport or exercise. A basic framework might include:
For a Typical Gym Routine:
10 minutes of light aerobic activity: e.g. treadmill or bike.
2-3 sets of tailored injury prevention exercises specific to the muscle groups/body areas being exercised.
2-3 warm-up sets of the exercise being performed, starting at a low intensity and progressively working up to the desired workout intensity.
For Multidirectional Sports like AFL or Soccer:
5 minutes of tailored injury prevention exercises specific to sport or injury history
5 minutes of light aerobic activity: e.g. light jog around an oval.
5 minutes of dynamic stretches/mobility exercises
5-10 minutes of running and sports-specific drills at progressively higher intensities.
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