October 26, 2009

Get a one rep max Jerk
Max box jumps in 1 minute 24” box

An interesting read on painful joints and what to do about them. An excerpt:

When you sustain an injury, the first impulse you have is to rest it. You’d avoid movements that hurt in attempts to give the injury enough time to get better, hoping that things will work out at some point. Well, while it’s important to manage pain, decrease swelling, and allow enough time for your body to repair itself, the reality is that you can’t avoid usage of your joints (at least, not unless you plan on consigning yourself to complete bed rest).

Problem #1: By avoiding usage of the joint, you impair the joint’s function.

Problem #2: By impairing the joint’s function, you allow the joint to get weaker.

Problem #3: A weaker joint is less capable. So you end up either using it less (see problem #1) or continuing on as if nothing happened and risking further damage to the joint (see problem #2).

In physical therapy literature, this sequence is referred to as “the downward spiral of pain” – by limiting function as a response to pain, a patient gets worse and worse until he’s virtually non-functionally.

Read the whole thing

Colleen pulling in squat clean/push-up WOD