Staying Healthy: Preventing Injuries and Ensuring Quick Recovery Post-40
[Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 12 seconds.]
In working with clients, questions center around certain themes. One of them is around some of the tools I use to stay healthy or keep me moving. I’ll share my 5 most useful gadgets around the house that do not require a home gym set-up.
Most of these are in the gym, but one of them is in the kitchen.
What about the gym?
Some of you may have a home gym or a dedicated working out space. But many people do not. The list below includes items that do not take up a significant amount of room and can be put away in a closet when not in use.
Crossover Symmetry - I use the shoulder package but they have other offerings. Given that I am at a standing desk or sitting over a laptop for a good chunk of my day, this is an integral part of my warm-up. They have different kinds of attachments depending on your home set-up. If you don’t have a wall to connect them to, they have “belts” that wrap around doors that you can easily take attach and detach them. The main negative with this is that they are expensive. That said, we have had these since we built our home gym and they have gotten plenty of use.
Using Crossover Symmetry “belts” around a standard door.
“Sling Shot” - if you have ever been told by your orthopedic doctor or physical therapist that you need to engage your glutes more and your knees less, this band can help. If you have knee pain or IT band aka illiotibial syndrome issues (IYKYK), this gadget is something you want to have. It’s portable and reasonably priced. Again the recommendation to use this as part of your warm-up/activation routine. Another gadget that has been with us since we started working out at home. It’s sturdy and it does the job.
Manduka eQua Yoga Hand Towel - these towels absorb sweat much better than traditional towels. If I’m doing a hard sesh on the Peloton, they absorb everything. These towels are also lightweight and pack well (I’ll typically bring one hiking). Plus they come in a few colors. The towels were initially designed for yoga so they are meant to be non-slip. If your hands sweat when you’re doing push-ups but you don’t like the feeling of gloves, this towel is a great option.
Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells - another mainstay of our house even before we converted part of our garage to a gym. They don’t take up much room while still allowing you to progress in weights. The downsides of these are they have a wide footprint regardless of if you are using the 5# or the 52.5# setting. They are also more sensitive than your typical dumbbells, which means that dropping them will likely break them. [NOTE: you should always do what you have to do not to injure yourself, but also know that these cannot taking a beating like other dumbbells you may have used in the past.]
A word about the cool-down
The cool-down is just as important as the warm-up. And if you’re going to go sit at a desk or on a couch for hours on end, you need to prioritize the cool-down. Not only are you trying to get your heart rate down at a reasonable pace, but you want to do some static stretching of your key muscles while they are warm.
Now it’s time to think about recovery
This leads to my final must-have gadget in the house. Our kitchen scale. The one we have is old so here is a link to a more current list.
Why am I starting with this? No other tool in my house has been more effective in keeping me on track with nutrition better than a kitchen scale. Having a reliable scale helps to ensure I am consuming the right amounts of the foods I need to eat in order to fuel my body.
This is particularly true when it comes to protein, which is critical for building and maintaining lean mass to prevent osteoporosis. If I’m not fueling with the right foods, I am more susceptible to injury.
It’s also helpful for baking like when I made these for the hubs birthday over the weekend.
My version of the Paris-Brest, which required some “off-roading” when one of the elements came apart.
I’ll get into different modalities on reducing inflammation in a different post, including:
Sauna and sauna blankets
Steam rooms
Ice baths and cold plunges
Massage guns
And then you have sleep as the ultimate recovery mechanism, which is a massive topic in its own right.
“Are you ready to invest in yourself as opposed to getting injured and spending time in your physical therapist’s or chiropractor’s office?”
How are you staying injury free?
Are you struggling to come up with an approach that helps you stay out of the PT or chiropractor’s office?
How about finding a program that is focused on keeping you safe and active so you can accomplish the goals you’ve set for 2024 and beyond?
Or do you have a program you love but need accountability on doing your work outside of your workouts (i.e., warming up, cooling down, sticking with good recovery routines)?
Go Long can help.