CrossFit is a great way to get (or stay) fit and feel awesome about yourself. But, like everything else that requires that much intensity, it does come with its risk for injury. And I don’t want you to become part of the injury statistics, so I’m going to quickly go over 7 ways to stay injury-free so you can continue to work out hard and stay fit.
Many of the risk factors for injury are under your control and modifiable, so it’s just a matter of if you are willing to use your head and make some worthwhile changes. I think you would agree that it is better to make some modifications or take a few days off here or there than to be sidelined from the gym for a month or two because of injury.
And I’m sure you’ve heard some of these things before and they might seem like common sense, but I bet you don’t do them all the time and could use a good reminder.
HERE ARE 7 WAYS TO PREVENT CROSSFIT INJURIES:
1. Start Slow / Ramp Up Slowly
I put this one first for good reason. When you start working out in a CrossFit gym with a group of people in an intense, high-octane environment, it’s common to try to push yourself as hard as you can and “compete” against others/yourself or the clock. If not kept in check, this can easily put you down a path towards injury.
Since CrossFit takes elements from many different areas (Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, plyometrics, etc.), there’s a good chance that you don’t know how to perform all the exercises. So, it’s important for you to take your time in the beginning and really learn the fundamentals of each of the exercises/lifts/skills. A good coach is vital to this process and can really help build the necessary foundation of knowledge and skills so you decrease your injury risk.
If you increase the frequency or intensity of your workouts too quickly, you are increasing your chance of getting injured. Keep in mind that you don’t have to do the specified weight in the WOD, so adjust accordingly. Don’t try to be a hero and go for the heavy weight because other people are doing it. Your body needs time to adapt and recover (see #5) to this new type of workout, so ramp up slowly.
Remember that everyone will progress differently – we all have different starting points and goals – so don’t try to compare yourself to others working out with you. Gradually work your way up to your desired goals and resist the temptation to progress too quickly.
2. Use Proper Technique
I think everyone understands how proper technique reduces your chance for injury, yet bad form/technique is rampant throughout the CrossFit community and is one of the leading causes for injury.
Olympic lifts are highly technical movements to perform and require a lot of practice/coaching to learn. Seek out a good coach who can teach you proper technique and make sure you put in the appropriate time to learn each exercise. Sometimes you will have to regress an exercise until you get the movement down and then you can build upon that. You have to be able to show proper technique or skill competency before advancing the movement. If you advance too quickly, you’ll increase the likelihood of getting injured.
It’s also important to understand that fatigue can greatly affect your technique. Fatigue leads to poor technique which leads to injury. When you are working out in a fast-paced environment with highly technical exercises, it’s very easy to lose good form. So, be mindful of your technique not only at the beginning of a round/set, but especially towards the end.
3. Perform a Dynamic Warm-Up Before Your WOD
A dynamic warm-up will not only help improve your performance, but it will also help reduce your risk for injury. While I feel like most people have heard of a dynamic warm-up, I definitely don’t see them being performed that often and it’s a shame because they are so easy to implement. And going for a 200m run isn’t an effective dynamic warm-up.
If you are one of those people who doesn’t feel really loose/good until a few sets/rounds in, you probably aren’t warming up properly. You should take your warm-up as seriously as your workout/training. It is common for people to report PR’s when they incorporate a dynamic warm-up into their workout. Multiple studies (too many to even list) have shown how dynamic warm-ups are superior to static stretching in preparing an athlete for performance and how they reduce your risk for injury.
Some of the benefits of a dynamic warm-up are:
- Increases heart rate and blood flow (in muscles and in brain) -which significantly increases the amount of nutrients / oxygen brought to muscles
- Increases body temperature
- Improves range of motion (tendons and muscles become more elastic/flexible)
- Helps activate the central nervous system (brain and nerves) which improves your coordination/movement ability
- Decreases risk for injury
I think it’s fairly obvious to see how all of those effects will improve your performance/WOD. Below is a video example of a 10-minute dynamic warm-up designed to be performed before weightlifting.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZwMGJgVQ5U[/embedyt]
4. Listen To Your Body
This should be common sense, but undoubtedly many people will ignore what their body is telling them and push forward, thereby increasing their chance of getting injured or turning a minor problem into a big one. When you feel pain during a workout, that is your body’s alarm system going off and telling you something is wrong. Don’t ignore it!
Generally speaking, the longer you ignore an injury/pain, the harder it is to get rid of. So, if you have had an issue/pain for more than a week and it has caused you to modify your WODs, get it evaluated by a physical therapist.
It’s important for you to know your physical limits. Know what your body is capable of and don’t try to go past that. It’s ok to push yourself hard within your physical abilities, but don’t try to do 135 lbs. snatches if you can’t get your arms overhead without any weight. You want intensity not insanity.
5. Have Recovery Days
Some of you will probably roll your eyes at “recovery days” and think that more working out is better and you can’t miss a workout. And every strength and conditioning specialist out there will say that recovery days are one of the most underrated (and under-utilized) aspects of a training program – especially for someone who is 30+. You just can’t recovery as quickly/well as you did in your teens and 20’s – it’s a biological fact.
Whatever your training plan/goals are, make sure you build in recovery days. You need rest days to allow your mind and body to recovery. They will allow muscles to heal and strengthen. Fatigued muscles will never be able to perform at 100%. And this will cause early fatigue, bad technique, compensations, etc. which can lead to injury.
As a general rule, I recommend 2-3 days a week of “non-intense” WODs. This doesn’t mean you don’t have to work out at all, rather you have a “recovery” workout or you do a yoga class, etc. If you go pedal to the medal all the time, eventually the engine will blow and you’ll be laid up for a while without any working out.
6. Get Consistent, Quality Sleep
In order to maximize the effectiveness of your recovery after each workout, it is absolutely vital that you get adequate sleep (8-9 hours) every night. Poor sleep (both in length & quality) is an American epidemic. The overwhelming majority of Americans don’t get enough sleep and operate in a sleep-deprived state every day. Which affects them physically and mentally.
A good night’s sleep is vital for physical recovery and restoration of the body and mind. During sleep, the body increases blood supply to muscles and human growth hormone is release, allowing the body to repair and grow. And the longer you sleep, the more restoration/recovery takes place. If your sleep is cut
short, your body won’t get the necessary time build and recover.
I know that to some people it might sound silly that better sleep will help you heal faster and perform better, but think about how much better you feel when you wake up after 8-10 hours of good sleep. Now imagine if you got that on a regular basis!
7. Get Your Body Checked Out for Mobility/Pain Issues
Before beginning any new type of activity/workout, it is highly recommended you get a “musculoskeletal assessment” so that you have a better idea of how your body moves (or doesn’t move) and what you can do to work on it and how you should modify certain exercises so you don’t injure yourself. It’s also a good idea to periodically get checked out to make sure you’re not developing any bad compensations/tightness.
A musculoskeletal assessment isn’t just going to your primary care doctor and getting your blood pressure and weight checked. It is a head-to-toe assessment of how you move, what activities you want to do, and how to fix any limitations. It’s important to address these limitations before they become problematic.It’s also important that the physical therapist understands the proper regressions for each of the exercises. This way they can make the right recommendations/modifications for your workout. Things like if you have anterior knee pain with squatting then try box squats, if you have shoulder pain with pull-ups then switch to inverted ring rows, etc.
Conclusion
I hope I’ve provided you with some helpful tips on how to reduce your chances of suffering an injury during your workouts and be able to continue to train hard. If you would like to further discuss any of these tips or have any other questions/concerns, just shoot me an email at dennis@modernsportspt.com.