The most important rule in avoiding exercise injury is to be sensible. It does not matter if you used to be 100 m sprint champion at school 20 years ago; if you suddenly decide one day to go out and sprint without any preparation you are more than likely to cause yourself an injury, from a pulled muscle up to and including damage to your ligaments!
Even a minor muscle strain can take up to three weeks to heal causing you pain and reduction in activity in the meantime, and major injuries involving ligaments can take up to two years. A few preventative measures are a lot better than cure, and you will kick yourself if you get injured in this way as it is so easily avoidable.
It is important also to remember that we are all individuals with different body types, and some methods of exercising suit some body forms more than others. There are three main body types, although most of us do not fit squarely into one box or another — after all we are human and infinitely variable!
Ectomorphs are usually small boned and narrow and may be tall with long gangly limbs. Ectomorphs tend to excel at sports such as endurance running and are better avoiding physical contact sports such as football and definitely rugby.
Mesomorphs at the all-rounders of the exercise world and can usually adapt to most forms of exercise although may be too heavily framed for extreme endurance running. Mesomorphs are athletic in build and have classic “V” or hourglass shape from shoulder to hip. Most all-round athletes are mesomorphs and respond well to almost any type of exercise training; this is a most adaptable body type.
Endomorphs tend to be solid and square with a tendency to fat, although many endomorphs are extremely strong, as there is plenty of muscle under the blubber! Shoulders are often narrower than hips and most endomorphs can be described as hefty. Endomorphs have to work hard to keep fat levels low, but are extremely strong in terms of contact sports and a have a high power to weight ratio, so can be very fast in short bursts.
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Thanks for your post exploring body types and injury prevention. I think many people tend to think they can “jump right in” a new program without considering how to consecutively build themselves up. Good post!