“I have a fake knee, I have a fake hip, I’ve got a lot of metal in my back – it’s a field day at the airport. My body hurts almost all the time.” ~ Jane Fonda. Jane, longtime aerobic exercise innovator, finds it hard to do yoga.1
While heredity is a factor, years of repetitive use from aerobic exercise will eventually wear out your joints, regardless of your genes. The key is to not overdo it. As a preventative measure it would help to safely strengthen those joints that are prone to injury; one day a week substitute low-impact circuit strength training instead of high-impact aerobics. It’s more cardiovascularly demanding than most aerobic exercise, and your aches and pains will subside.
At our Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Personal Training locations we have clients who can no longer do aerobics, but they have no problem strength training using our protocol.
With our protocol we:
· Eliminate high-impact jerking movements that create forces that lead to injuries.
· Limit movement to a pain-free range of motion.
· Sufficiently work muscles to a deep fatigue to stimulate a positive adaptation with one exercise set instead of multiple sets. We seek to determine, no how much exercise you can withstand, but the least amount you need to continuously improve. This lowers the probability of repetitive-use injuries.
· Use MedX equipment with medical rehab features that are more easily tolerated by the joints.
Done correctly, low-impact circuit strength training will give you a measure of protection from injuries and bring relief from chronic pain. Your body doesn’t have to “hurt almost all the time”.