9 Tips on Injury Prevention

Over the summer, I was performing Strongman 

Shows at the Fayette County Fair in Dunbar, PA.

 

It was a great time and the kids

and parents alike seem to have enjoyed watching

me bend horseshoes, tear cards, and bend spikes

while lying on the bed of nails.

 

This was the first time I ever performed

Strongman Shows of this kind, so it 

was a bit of a learning experience.

 

One of the main things was having to go from

totally cold to being able to perform at a very 

quick rate, to avoid injury.

 

So, I am going to list a few of the things I am

doing to stay injury free while doing the shows.

 

I realize not all of you perform strongman 

exhibitions, but if you compete at Grip Sport,

Strongman, Powerlifting, or other sports where

you cycle bouts of activity and inactivity, then 

keep these tips in mind.

 

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1.  Stay Hydrated

 

I have written several times about  the importance

of staying hydrated.  Your muscles just won't work

if you don't have enough fluid in your body, and 

a couple days have been in the 90's so fluid loss 

happens quickly.

 

To stay hydrated, I hit my regular two glasses of 

water when I wake up in the morning, and

continue to do so throughout the day.

 

This has kept away the dreaded full body cramping

that my buddy John Beatty warned me about due

to lack of hydration and salt.

 

2.  Get Enough Vitamins

 

After the first day, I was feeling run down and

realized I wasn't getting enough fruit and veggies.

I have still not found a booth selling this stuff

at the fair so I bought a bunch of oranges, bananas,

berries, nuts, and mixed veggies at Walmart.  

This made a huge difference for me.

 

3.   Get Enough Salt

 

I mentioned the nuts that I am eating throughout

the day.  I also have a back of sunflower seeds.

From my old baseball days, I can crack sun-

flower seeds like a champ.  I don't do it during

the shows of course, but they are helping me

keep some salt going into my body.

 

I also grab a few slices of bacon from the 

breakfast bar and stick those in a little baggie and

much on those between shows.  Some sea salt

would probably be better, but I am making good 

with these sources.

 

That's about it for me dietary approach. Now,

onto some more physical tips.

 

4.  Solid Warm-up

 

Starting 15 minutes before each show, I am 

running myself through a warm-up to get

my joints well-lubricated and ready to go.

 

I start out with some rolling on my cardboard

pipe (foam rollers are cool, but I like this better).

I hit my lower back, rib cage, lats, glutes and 

hamstrings to get rid of some adhesions, 

promote more blood flow, and adjust my

thoracic spine.

 

5.  Back Wrap

 

I have just a cheap-o Walmart Back Wrap that 

I use to keep my lower back warm.  It works as

well as anything else I have tried.  There are 

more expensive options on the market, but I 

bought this when I was on the road for a 

Strongman contest back in the day and have 

loved it ever since.

 

6.  Nettles Patch

 

On the inside of my back wrap I have two 

patches which also contribute to blood flow

into the lower back called "Netical Patch." 

While walking through Nettles  can make you

break out into an annoying rash, someone 

figured out how to turn them into an awesome

patch.  These come from Nettle Farms Inc., and 

their website is transdermalinnovations.com, if 

you are interested in checking them out.

 

7.  Don't Sit Down

 

I try to avoid sitting down during the time I am

at the fair like I am trying to avoid the black

plague.  If I need to rest, I generally try to lean

against a wall instead of sitting down.  I do

enough sitting down while working to last me 

the whole day, plus when I do, it makes me cool

down and makes my hips freeze back up.

 

8.  Layer Up

 

Believe it or not, once I get all sweaty during

a show, once I stop, if the breeze is going I

start to feel cold, so I immediately throw on

an extra tee shirt.  Rain has been hitting the

fair off and on, and keeping layers on between 

shows has helped to keep me from catching

a chill when it is storming and when the sun

goes down.

 

9.  Elbow Sleeves

 

I am susceptible to elbow pain, and I am doing

more bending over the course of these 6 days

than I have in the last year, so I am being extra 

cautious and wearing my elbow  sleeves during

the shows.

 

This is just one of the many ways you can keep

elbow pain like tennis elbow and golfer's elbow.

If you are susceptible to this as well, check out

our ebook, Fixing Elbow Pain.  In it I cover dozens

more practices you can do to prevent elbow injuries.

 

Well, DIESELS, there are 9 things you can do to 

prevent injuries, whether you are doing Strongman

performances, competing in Strongman, Powerlifitng,

or Grip competitions, or doing any other kind

of sport or activity that involves periodic lulls

of action over the course of several hours.

 

All the best in your training,

 

Jedd