Injury and Illness Prevention Through Exercise Overview

Balancing Act It's a fact of life: Injuries happen. w If you don't exercise, you could be more prone to an acute or abrupt injury or disease w If you do exercise, you may find yourself with a chronic injury or decreased immune function from overtraining.

So, which way do you go? w The answer lies in proper exercise w There's a concept in fitness known as the Risk/Benefit Ratio w Talk with your group - try to figure out what this means - Risk/Benefit Ratio?

Risk/Benefit Ratio w Yes, exercise poses some risks (-), like_____________________________ w But exercise also holds many benefits (+), like _________________________ w The key is to find a program that offers many many more + than -

Risk/Benefit Ratio  Risks Benefits

Risk/Benefit Ratio w Overall chance of injury

Benefits w As you strengthen your muscles, your body's injury potential decreases w If you're building leg muscle, your knees have much more support than before w If you're strengthening your abdominals, then your back has increased support

Other Benefits w Increase in bone density w Increase in lean muscle mass w Decrease in body fat w Increased ROM in joints w Positive impact on connective tissue w Great website: w

Benefits other than the physical w Psychological Self-esteem Depression Body image Outlook on life w Productivity More energy Contributions to society

Part 2 w General fitness concepts

Fitness Keys for Injury Prevention: Warm-Up  5 to 10 minutes at a moderate intensity w Purpose increases your body core temperature increases blood flow more muscle elasticity w Dynamic warm-up stretches the body while warming up w What this means for you is muscles that are ready to work. You will significantly reduce the risk of a strain or sprain in the muscles, tendons and ligaments. So, whatever you do, warm up first!

Fitness Keys for Injury Prevention: Stretching w Fact or Crap Static stretch before you do anything else Bounce for added stretch Hold static stretch for 3-4 seconds Only warm-up / dynamic stretch the areas that are stiff Focus your warm-up / dynamic stretch on the areas that will be used in the activity Dynamic stretching can be done alone or with a partner Dynamic stretching is not as important as other aspects of a workout

Fact  Stretch warmed muscles, preferably after cardiovascular exercise of 20 minutes or longer.  Hold stretches for 20 to 30 seconds.  Breathe through your stretches and do not bounce!  Stretch all areas of the body - right and left, upper and lower  Stretch with a partner for motivation w Stretching will allow your muscles to move more easily without strain. Greater flexibility will reduce the risk of muscle injury. Remember, stretching with muscles that haven't been warmed up will offer little benefit.

Other areas of fitness w Aerobic w Anaerobic w Muscular strength and endurance w Core w Proprioception w Agility  Cool down

Aerobic Conditioning w Oxygen used efficiently w Long duration (3 min +) w minutes most days of the week for best results w Low to moderate intensity (55-75% MHR) w Talk Test – ensures that oxygen and glucose interact to spark fuel w Million dollar question…

Aerobic w Glucose (energy) come from food w Excess food stored as fat which can also be used as fuel w Costco-sized fuel source w Water (H 2 O) is of critical importance w Creates greater endurance – heart, lungs and muscles working more efficiently w Slow twitch muscle fibers (type I) enhanced with progressive overload

Anaerobic Conditioning w Oxygen not used to create fuel w Yes, still breathing (inefficient) w Short duration (1 second – 2 minutes) w Power; short bursts of energy w Uses fuel stored in muscles – ATP – limited w 7-11 fuel source w REST is critical to replenish ATP!

Anaerobic w Fast-twitch (type II) muscles can improve with progressive overload w High intensity exercise still burns fat! w The afterburn… w Don’t have 45 minutes to exercise today…do 20 minutes at a higher intensity…burn calories all day long

The Cheetah and the Dude… w Who will win a 10 mile race? (eating your competitor is NOT allowed) w Consider lung capacity, pace, lifestyle

Muscular Strength and Endurance w Strength How much force a muscle can produce Example… w Endurance How long a muscle can sustain a force Example… w Which one is more aerobic and which is more anaerobic?

Core w Trunk stabilization w Abs of steel w Protect the spine w Reduce risk of back injury w Variety and functionality

Proprioception w Standing stork test w Bodies 6 th sense w Senses where limbs are without use of sight

Agility w Bodies ability to change direction quickly w Change of direction – multiplanar (all planes of motion) w Quickness w Speed w Reaction time

Conclusion w Exercise for injury prevention can be complicated but it is a worthwhile endeavor w Each component in the fitness chain works to keep the links in balance and as healthy as possible to avoid breaking w Your responsibility now is to research your assigned topic and teach it, along with an exercise program, to the class - ready?