The two areas I’m very careful about when it comes to my exercise routine are my knees and my shoulders. To have an injury in either of these areas would seriously impair my ability to workout. As we age, this becomes even more of a focus. I’ve learned to warm up these areas with each workout and identify which exercises put undue strain on these joints. I’ve had injuries to both my knees and my shoulder and it set my routine back months. It’s demoralzing. So my goals have changed over the past couple years. I no longer focus on very heavy weights. I’m not trying to play football or enter a bodybuilding competition. I don’t concentrate on size anymore. Now it’s tone, balance and level of fitness.
So my chances of having another injury have been diminished somewhat. Or so I thought. During a push-up competition in my family room I tore a portion of my triceps muscle on my right arm. High school and college age boys may be able to get away with this sort of thing without warming up first but not us old guys. This isn’t just a sore muscle that you feel two days later. This made a pop and I felt it tear. Triceps tears are rare and they usually happen on the eccentric part of the arm movement, where in my case I was going down to the ground with the push-up motion. Going a little too fast, I suppose. Had I taken the time to warm up the muscle, I might not have been injured. As a chiropractor, I use my triceps constantly, and now my workout is altered dramatically for many weeks to come.
I’ve only talked about muscles here but warming up the joints is just as important. I’ll save that for another time. Warming up the muscles before exercise or any strenuous activity is essential at any age but much more so as we get older. The consistancy of our exercise, and our health depends on it.
