Sounds like the better option, right?
But how do you do that?
How can you continue training hard while addressing those little twinges, little aches, we like to ignore and just try to push through until it's too late?
By being aware of our daily posture and how it can ALTER our recruitment patterns!
What this means is including PREHAB as part of our warm up routine!
First off, it is about being CONSCIOUS of what is working during our workouts instead of just pushing through the pain.
Second, it is about including in our warm up exercises that reverse the constant flexion we sit in all day, every day at our desks to help make sure we are mobile and the correct muscles are ready to work.
I mean think about it...you sit hunched over all day then go try to press overhead which requires your spine to be able to be mobile enough to extend properly.
Well...for many it doesn't.
So to press overhead, their body takes the path of least resistance and it finds the mobility it needs from somewhere else...aka our shoulders or our lower back.
Ever feel your lower back during overhead presses? This may be why!
Ever wonder why your neck hurts? This may be why!
Ever wonder why your shoulders feel more strain then they should and you've had rotator cuff issues in the past? This may be why!
Our body finds a way to complete the movement we ask it to do EVEN IF IT SHOULDN'T!
This is what leads to overload of smaller muscles and compensations that create imbalances and therefore INJURY.
By simply being aware of the effect our daily posture may have on our mobility and even the way we recruit muscles to perform movements, we can then include moves to counteract these effects in our warm ups so we go into our workouts ready to train hard.
We can use our warm ups, the foam rolling, stretching and activation moves, to correct the dysfunctional patterns we've started creating due to our desk jobs and long commutes.
And then during our workouts we need to be AWARE of what is working and what SHOULD be working to modify moves to fit our needs. If a muscle is trying to compensate or we can't perform a move correctly, it's time to REGRESS TO PROGRESS!
This will allow us to train hard to achieve the lean, strong upper body we want!
BUT it's harder than we think sometimes to get the right muscles working. It's why establishing that mind-body connection is so key!