By: Anthony Campo
Prevention is the idea that you should address muscular imbalances, trigger points, and weaknesses before they cause an actual injury. Here are some basic fundamentals to help you stay healthy and be able to stay consistent with your training.
Probe Yourself – This might sound funny, but is true, probe yourself. You should do soft tissue work (basically means massage) as often as possible. Using a foam roll, ball, stick, or even just you hand, you can perform soft tissue work on yourself. Not only does this keep your muscle tissue healthy, but you can also get in tune with your body and any possible problem areas you may have. Once you identify trigger points, or other problem areas, then you can address it thus helping to prevent an injury from ever happening.
Work Through A Full Range of Motion – The majority of people who perform squats and bench press are consistently working through a partial range of motion. If you always train in a partial range of motion you are putting yourself at an increased risk of injury. Training ONLY partial ranges of motion lead to tight and imbalanced muscles. When doing a bench press, make sure to bring the bar all the way to your chest, and on squats go as low as your body is able to with proper form. If you are not healthy enough to work through the full range, then you should address those issues first before you partake in those exercises.