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3 Secrets To Recover From A Muscle Injury Fast
By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training
=> Turbulence Training
This article on the 3 secrets to faster recovery from muscle injury is another great article to print out and file!
But first, confession time. Despite everything we know, old meatheads like me still end up hurting ourselves in the gym. But I’m lucky, because I heal quickly.
Now when you have a serious injury, you have to go to the doctor. There is nothing that I can do to help you – sorry!
NOTE #1 – I hope you never, ever get hurt!
NOTE #2 – If you do get hurt, the most important thing for you to do is get your injury checked out by a doctor.
Please be conservative!
But when I get a little muscle strain, I just use these 3 simple secrets for fast recovery. These secrets were given to me by my chiropractor.
1) Apply Ice immediately
Start by icing for ten minutes, then take ten minutes off, and then ice again for ten minutes.
(NOTE: Keep a thin moist towel between ice and skin to prevent skin damage.)
Ice the injury 3 times daily for the first 72 hours (morning, noon, and night). Of course, if the injury is severe, go immediately to the hospital.
2) Perform frequent, low-intensity activation of the injured muscle
Chiropractor Dr. Michael Sommers says, “You want to start the healing process by moving the muscle through very low intensity movements, and doing this frequently in the early period after injury.”
This low-intensity exercise keeps blood flowing throughout the muscle and prevents over-shortening during recovery.
For example, if you have a sore hamstring, Dr. Sommers suggests, “walking and doing low intensity leg swings will help recovery. But don’t do anything that involves too much exertion.”
(NOTE: If you aren’t sure what to do, ask your therapist…more about their role in secret #3 below.)
Personally, I also add in light, frequent stretching for the sore muscle. I’ll do one light 20-second stretch every hour or two, and that seems to help me.
3) See a therapist immediately…preferably someone skilled in A.R.T. (Active Release Techniques)
According to Dr. Sommers, “For most soft-tissue injuries A.R.T. is the best therapy to reduce scar-tissue build-up and to promote ideal muscle length through the healing process.”
“While other therapies can provide relief (ultrasound and TENS may have some effect), A.R.T combined with specific stretching and exercise seems to heal the tissue in the shortest to time with the lowest incidence of re-injury,” says Dr. Sommers.
In addition to getting A.R.T. treatment, a great therapist will give you a professional advice/assessment to gauge an appropriate time to return to training.
As Dr. Sommers says, “Re-injury is commonplace with weight training. Without the proper guidance it is all to easy to re-aggravate soft tissue injuries and triple the amount of time it will take to heal.”
Now I may push too hard in the gym, but I’m at least smart enough to stop pushing once the injury has occurred. And I’m also smart enough to go in for treatment ASAP after the injury has happened.
Dr. Sommers says, “Injuries rarely resolve on their own. Especially if the improper technique continues. Lifting through pain is a recipe for chronic injury and the sooner you are properly diagnosed and treated the more likely you can expect a quicker return to pain-free activity.”
So don’t try to “avoid” a nagging injury.
It’s better that you take 2 days off now rather than being forced to take 2 months off in the future.
Train safe and listen to your health professional!
To find an A.R.T. practitioner in your area, simply google, “Active Release Techniques + Your area”
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Those are the 3 most important secrets for healing fast, however I have a few more tips for you.
Nutrition
I believe that nutrition plays a huge role in recovering from injury.
Dr. Sommers agrees, saying, “Certain foods promote inflammation within the body’s various systems while others have an anti-inflammatory effect.
“Avoiding pro-inflammatory foods (nightshade vegetables, white processed flour, and deep fried foods) and eating a diet rich in omega 3 fatty acids can only help speed up the healing process.”
(For those who don’t know: Potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, paprika, cayenne, and Tabasco sauce are classified as nightshade foods.)
Personally, I recommend eating a diet of at least 10+ servings of fruits and vegetables per day. This should provide your body with the best healing environment. At worst, at least limit your intake of sugar, western diet, comfort food, etc., that promotes inflammation in the body.
I recommend my Simple Nutrition plan for fat loss & recovery:
Dr. Sommers says, “Each of us has to consider our own particular ability in trying to train safely. Fortunately our bodies are amazing communicators.
They give us warning signs when we’re verge of injury. Unusual aches and pains lasting longer than 48 hours should be taken seriously and all training should cease until it is deemed safe to continue.”
Be conservative!
Recovery As You Get Older
“Finally,” Dr. Sommers says, “Don’t forget that older bodies take longer to heal. Older muscle fiber requires longer recovery time, so whether it comes to recovering from heavy workouts or working through nagging tendon problems, age plays an important factor in return to activity planning.”
Be conservative!
Please forward this information on recovery from injury to your friends and family.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3, ESV)
7 Key Factors for a Perfect Workout
By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS Turbulence Training
Here are, in order, the 7 key phases you need to go through in order to have the perfect “fat burning, lean body sculpting” workout.
1 – Self-Massage
I’ve been doing this half-heartedly for years, but recently started taking this more seriously, using a foam roller, tennis ball, and Acuball to “tenderize” my muscles prior to training. I’ll do some videos and articles on this soon, I promise.
2 – Mobility Warm-up
Just like you see in all of the TT workouts, I use bodyweight exercises, dynamic stretches, and even static stretches prior to training – depending on my needs or my client’s needs.
3 – Explosive Exercise
Before I hit my main strength exercise, I’ll do a jump exercise (if I am focusing on a lower body workout) or a medicine ball throw (if I’m focusing on bench presses or military presses).
You’ve already used TT programs with jumps, but expect more medicine ball throws soon.
4 – Main Exercise
Now I move to the main exercise, such as squats, deadlifts or bench presses (and military presses or handstand pushups).
In your TT workouts, you’ll start with a superset of the most important exercises as your main lifts.
5 – Assistance Exercises
We’re about 15-20 minutes into a workout by now, and this is where I’ll add assistance exercises for my strength work or metabolic circuits for a fat loss program.
6 – Ab Endurance Exercises
Personally, I’ve been doing a lot of the basics – planks, side planks, Stability Ball planks, and rollouts. In TT programs, you get a little more variety, including TRX or Ball Pikes, plus Jackknives, cross-body mountain climbers, etc.
Just remember, you do NOT need (or want) to do crunches or sit-ups.
7 – Interval Training
If you are new to interval training, just listen to what Turbulence Training Transformation Contest Winner Charles Hiller has to say about it:
“Interval training, has opened my mind up to a better way of getting in shape and loosing weight. I am spending much less time in the gym, and obtaining results that I never thought possible -over 30 pounds in 6 weeks with TT. I have more energy, feel better, and no longer suffer bouts of depression. TT and intervals gave me back my life.”
And from Turbulence Training fan, Annette Hall:
“As an aerobics teacher since the age of 16, it has been extremely hard for me to accept that Intervals are the most effective fat burning method of training. However, I realised after reading on the TT site that if aerobics were effective I should have been as thin as a stick and I wasn’t! Since switching to intervals and TT workouts I have not only lost over 28 pounds, I am fitter than I have ever been and am wondering why people bother with aerobics for fat loss!”
Interval training is powerful and proven, and is an essential part of the perfect workout. If you aren’t using interval training in your workouts, make sure you get the Turbulence Training for Fat Loss System to discover how to boost your fat burning with intervals today!
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3, ESV)
In his book “How to Get What You Want“, Wallace D. Wattles, best known for his classic masterpiece “The Science of Getting Rich”, talks about the importance of “making constructive use of the people and things in your environment” in getting what you want.
One way you make constructive use of the people and things in your environment is to get the help you need, when you need it.
If you spend any amount of time on the Internet, you’ll occasionally need someone’s help…
It might be help with an online purchase, technical support for a product, or some other kind of help.
Regardless of the kind of help you need…
The manner in which you ask for that help will determine the quality and the quantity of the help you receive now and in the future.
You see…
There are two ways you can ask for help online…
One is “constructive”…
The other is “destructive”.
When you ask for help in a constructive manner, you’ll get the help you need, when you need it, and you’ll “build” a relationship that’ll keep the door open for future help.
On the other hand…
When you ask for help in a destructive manner, although you might get the help you need this time, you’ll “destroy” any chance of a relationship and close the door to future help.
Based on the thousands of questions and support requests I’ve received and answered online, here are five powerful tips that’ll help you get the help you need, when you need it, and get it in a way that’ll leave the door wide open for future help:
Tip #1 – Don’t lead with your chin.
Leading with your chin is a great way to get knocked on your…
Well…
You fill in the blank.
The single most important thing you need to remember when you’re asking for help online, whether you’re asking by email or by filling out an online form, regardless of how angry or frustrated you might be, is that there’s a real “live” person on the other end…
A person who has “feelings” just like you do!
Including phrases in your first request for help like…
“Are you going to help me right now, right this minute, or are you going to give me my money back?”…
Or…
“I’m starting to think this is a scam!”…
Or…
“If I don’t hear back from you in one hour, I’m going to call my lawyer!”…
Might make you feel good, but they’ll virtually guarantee whatever help you do get right now will be minimal, at best, and your chances of getting anything other than minimal help from that person again in the future will be somewhere between slim and none.
Tip #2 – Be polite.
For some strange reason, one I’ve yet to figure out, many people seem to think the rules of simple, common courtesy don’t apply online…
Don’t you be one of them!
A request for help written in a polite tone, using “please” and “thank you”, will, more often than not, get you a prompt and courteous reply.
Tip #3 – DON’T SHOUT!!!
Whether you know it or not, typing your request for help in all capital letters is the online equivalent of shouting in the face of the person who receives it…
And…
The liberal use of multiple exclamation marks makes your shouting even louder and more emphatic!
Question for you…
Do you like it when someone shouts in your face?
Guess what?
Neither does anyone else!
Tip #4 – Keep your request short and to the point.
Most people doing business online don’t have the time to read long, drawn out messages trying to figure out what you need, nor do they have the time to keep writing you back over and over again trying to clarify what you need.
When you ask for help online, *always* include your name, contact information, order information, specific dates, specific details, and a clear, concise description of the help or information you need.
Avoid including any information that doesn’t directly contribute to helping the person you’re asking for help to give you the exact help you need.
Tip #5 – Say thank you.
After you’ve received the help you’ve asked for, a simple “thank you!” or “thanks, I appreciate your help!” will go a long way towards insuring the door will be wide open the next time you need that person’s help again.
Once again…
The single most important thing you need to remember when you’re asking for help online is that there’s a real “live” person on the other end.
Treat that person as you’d like to be treated and you’ll find as I have that, more often than not, you’ll get all the help you need, when you need it, and that person’s door will always be open to you should you need their help again.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3, ESV)
I have to admit something…I am going to upset a few of my good friends when I crush this nutrition myth. But if I have to sacrifice myself in order to help you out, then that’s what I have to do.
So here’s the final (and most ridiculous) nutrition myth…
The Myth – Fat Burning Foods Exist
This. Is. Wrong.
Fat burning foods are the “unicorns” of the nutrition world.
They do not exist.
And when you think about it, the term doesn’t make sense.
How can a food cause you to burn fat?
It can’t.
Foods GIVE you energy.
They don’t cause you to burn fat.
When you eat food, the hormonal changes in your body SLOW fat burning, they don’t speed it up – no matter what you eat!
Listen, the experts mean well.
They want to show you a list of foods that will help you with fat loss, but it is a myth that “fat burning foods” exist.
And yes, they are right that whole, natural foods such as chicken breasts, eggs, nuts, fruits, and vegetables all help you lose fat by controlling your appetite and by not causing you to gain fat, but NOT ONE of those ingredients actually burns fat.
Now some might argue that eating hot peppers or caffeine or even green tea can burn fat, but do you seriously think that eating those foods is even 1/1000th as effective as a workout?
They aren’t.
Sorry.
Instead, keep your nutrition SIMPLE. Focus on whole, natural foods and limit high-calorie, high-sugar foods to just a couple of treats per week. Combine that with your favorite Turbulence Training workouts and you’ll lose fat fast.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3, ESV)
In my opinion, based on my own personal experience, kids function best when they’re real clear about exactly what’s expected of them in any given situation or under any particular set of circumstances.
Every year since he first began school, in the day or two prior to the beginning of each new school year, I’ve sat down with my son, who’s now twelve years old, to “lay down the law”, so to speak, about exactly what I expected of him in school and to issue him his “marching orders” for the upcoming school year.
This year won’t be any exception. Although my expectations for him haven’t changed much over the last several years, with a new school year about to begin, I’ve been thinking about them again in preparation for our annual talk together and thought I’d take a few moments to share them with you.
Here they are:
Expectation #1 – I expect him to behave himself and treat others as he’d like to be treated.
The first and single, most important thing I expect of him in school is to be polite, mind his manners, and treat others as he’d like to be treated.
All three elements of this expectation are very closely related and because he understands *why* they’re important, he has no trouble whatsoever living up to them.
Here’s why…
One summer day, shortly before he started school, we were driving somewhere (probably a toy store ), when, seemingly out of nowhere, he asked me what I knew about this “God thing”, as he phrased it.
As simply as I could put it, I shared with him my personal belief…
Essentially…
That One is All and All is One. That one Intelligent Substance manifests itself as what appears to be many elements of the material world.
Simply put…
We’re all made from the same Stuff, a Thinking Stuff.
After I finished my simplified explanation of this concept, he sat there quietly for a moment or two, staring out the car window, then he looked at me and said…
“Daddy, that makes sense!”
And, with “ah-ha” written all over his face, he added…
“So that’s why you’re always telling me to love my neighbor as myself and to treat other people the way I want to be treated, because we’re all one, right Daddy?”
At age five…
He got it!
Expectation #2 – I expect him to do his best.
Unlike many, if not most, parents and teachers, I could care less what his grades in school are…
Really!
You should see the look on people’s faces, especially his teachers, when I tell them this.
So, what do I expect?
Simple…
I expect him to put everything he’s got into everything he does and do the best work he can possibly do.
Throughout his writings, Wallace D. Wattles, best known for his classic masterpiece “The Science of Getting Rich”, repeatedly stressed the importance of doing all you can do each day and doing each separate act in the most perfect manner possible.
That’s *exactly* what I expect of him!
If, every single day, he does *all* he can do that day and if, every single day, he does each separate thing he does in school in the most *perfect* manner possible, with the purpose of learning…
And that, in the opinion of his teachers and/or the school system, earns him an “A”…
Great!
If it earns him a “B”…
Great!
If it earns him a “C”…
Great!
If it earns him a “D”…
Great!
If it earns him an “F”…
Great…
I really don’t care!
Why?
Because doing everything you can do each day and doing each separate thing you do in the most perfect manner possible with a purpose is the secret to success in anything and if he just learns this one lesson and applies it, he’ll be successful in life regardless of what his grades in school are.
Expectation #3 – I expect him to have fun.
Life is meant to be fun, not a bore, and I expect him to have fun in school.
That being said…
Please understand…
I don’t expect him to be the “class clown” or a “wise guy”.
However…
I do expect him to look for ways to make his “work” fun.
If he learns how to make his “work” fun, he’ll never have to “work” a day in his entire life.
Now…
These three expectations served us (and I stress the use of the word *us* here) extremely well throughout my son’s elementary school years, from kindergarten through the fifth grade here.
Last year, just before he was about to enter the sixth grade (“middle school” here), I added a fourth expectation to the list:
Expectation #4 – I expect him to continue to be himself.
The key word here being *continue*!
Once kids hit the “middle school” years, they begin coming under increasingly heavy peer pressure to be like “everyone” else and, in my experience anyway, it seems the school “system” at this grade level does very little, if anything, to discourage it. As a matter of fact, maybe unknowingly, it appears to me they foster it.
Unfortunately, many kids “cave in” to this pressure because of their intense desire to be accepted and liked by their “friends”.
I stress to my son, though he may be rejected and even possibly ridiculed by some, maybe even many, if he continues to be himself, he’ll attract *real* friends who like him for who he *really* is, not for someone he’s pretending to be, *real* friends who’ll be with him through “thick and thin” for many, many years to come.
Well…
There you have them…
My twelve-year-old’s “marching orders” for the upcoming school year.
In prior school years, because he’s been very clear about exactly what I expected of him in school and because he’s been very clear about exactly why I expected those things of him, he’s never failed to live up to my expectations and make me very proud of him…
I don’t expect this school year to be any different.
—–
Tony Mase is a serious student of the works of Wallace D. Wattles and the publisher of the “A Powerful Life: The Lost Writings of Wallace D. Wattles” ebook by Wallace D. Wattles…
Discover how you can own these 25 long lost, extremely rare, practically unknown, virtually impossible to find books and articles written by Wallace D. Wattles, author of “The Science of Getting Rich”… for just a tiny fraction of what they cost us to obtain! FREE Details: The Lost Writings of Wallace Wattles
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3, ESV)
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