By taroHow to Heal Without Changing Your Workout
Nothing sucks more than having to drop a productive training program because of joint or muscle pain.
When soreness strikes, the glorious quest for PRs (on the deadlift, bench press and squat) is replaced by the tedious toil of rehab (with foam rolls, wall slides and bird dogs). What if, instead of dropping our most cherished exercises, they could be converted to corrective exercises? That is, what if we could use the deadlift to end back pain? Or the bench press to end shoulder pain? Or the squat to end knee pain? This conversion is possible. In fact, I manage most overuse injuries through the use of traditional, high-performance exercises.
Big, compound movements recruit specific groups of muscles. Within every group, some muscles will be relatively strong and some muscles will be relatively weak. Most muscle and joint pain occurs when the strong muscles become tight as a result of compensating for the weak muscles. The solution, of course, is to strengthen those muscles which are weak. Rather than resorting to corrective or isolation exercises, boost weak muscle activation by stretching their antagonists prior to a set of a compound exercise. For example, just prior to a set of bench press, stretch or release the posterior deltoid to improve pectoralis engagement. Other major antagonists to bench press muscles include:
- infraspinatus
- teres major
- rhomboids
- the elbow flexors
A basic first step to improving muscular balance would be to prioritize those antagonist muscles which seem especially tight – really tight muscles cause the opposing musculature to be really weak! Of course, attending a Tarodo Muscle Balance workshop will make the process much more precise and effective. Workshops reveal exactly which muscles need to be stretched and which muscles need to be strengthened. Learn to address and prevent issues related to overused muscles (this includes back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, facet syndrome, intervertebral hernias, osteo arthritis, tendonitis and much more!).
Improve weak muscle activation by addressing tight antagonists. With the antagonist method of enhancing muscle balance any exercise can become MUCH more therapeutic. The cause of your pain can become the cure! Experience the enhanced resiliency that will keep you on the path to a personal best!