I write this blog to relate a personal experience I had, and as well as a cautionary tale. The winter is coming. It is getting colder. As much as I hate to admit it, the nice weather is gone for now. This makes it imperative that everyone gets a good warm-up in. I know that early in the morning, or at the end of a long day you just want to do the least amount possible, but warming up is key to injury prevention and solid performance. Now we will go into story telling mode.
Last winter I had to go to the 6 A.M. class because I had class during the other classes. If any of you have seen me in the morning during the 6 A.M. class I don’t put a whole lot of prep into getting the gym. If I have to be here at 5:50, I can wake up at 5:40 and be a few minutes early. On this particular day, I was not a coach, but an athlete. I was maxing on my clean & jerk. I breezed through a warm-up and started lifting. The first few lifts went well. I was ready to hit a new PR, but i missed the first attempt. On my second attempt I managed to get the weight overhead and lock it out. However as soon as I let go of the weight my shoulder lit up with pain. I immediately dropped to the ground in pain. I couldn’t move my arm beyond my chest without fighting the urge to cry. I had pulled a muscle in my shoulder because I wasn’t properly warm.
So I hope you guys don’t get scared of clean & jerks but I do hope that you realize, in the cold, a thorough warm-up is a must. We have a warm-up written on the board, which will get you ready for anything. If you have any extra tight spots, they will most likely be worse in the winter. To avoid injury, warm up well and dress warmly. Are you ready for the cold? Do you go through to full warm-up already? What helps you get through the cold weather? ?Post Comments below!
-Chris aka T.I.
Tim working on muscle ups! Click here to check out more pics on Flickr!
