I have been inspired to write this post from a person I don’t even know who told me I was wrong in my thinking on myths. There is no way I am wrong because if you notice at the bottom Joe D. is the author. Occasionally I will use other sources to add other reliable information to my blog. However, I always acknowledge where these articles come from. I will start out by saying that not only is Joe D. correct, I am also correct or I would have never posted his myth.
Let me first explain that in order to do any type of aerobic conditioning (plyometrics) you have to have some sort of muscle development. For example, think of the time you or a person you know broke a leg and had a cast put on it. What happens to the muscle? The muscle begins to atrophy (loses muscle), right! Depending on how long the cast was on or how long a person has gone without using this damaged limb, will determine what a person can or cannot do after the removal of this cast. Let’s say the cast was on for 8-weeks. Who does a doctor send you to after the removal of this cast? A physical therapist right! (Which most people fail to follow through on). Does a physical therapist have you go out and jog (plyometrics) a mile before they have you do resistance training to rebuild the muscle. Of course not, even though the bone is healed (and in most cases stronger than before, due to the calcification around the break area), you must develop a level of strength to engage in any high impact plyometrics (running). We have all seen the knees buckle on a baby that is learing to walk and using the coffee table to hold themselves up?
Knee pain, joint pain, and lower leg muscle tension is a common concern for most runners, especially if you haven’t developed any level of strength (not in all cases). Now, take into consideration that both legs have been inactive for a prolonged period of time and are weak in comparison to a person’s overall bodyweight. Please consider, if you’re overweight or just beginning a fitness program, beware of any type of high impact plyometrics (especially running off/on concrete) before building a solid foundation of strength.
LIFT HARD! TRAIN HARD!
May 14, 2007 at 8:33 pm
One of my Ex’s blew out their knee in high school, skipped PT and went right back to normal activity after surgery. a year later while engaging in some heavy lifting around the house it twisted a little bit. Instead of wrapping it or taking care of it, again just going back to normal activity. A week later it blew out again, while walking across the house. When at the doctors,he said that if she had gone to PT her knee would have been fine. She had never built up the strength in her knee through PT to start regular activity. Even after a second surgery, 2 weeks on her back, she never found the time to go to PT, even after the DR told her at was the reason for the 2nd blow out.
May 14, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Thanks for sharing that with us all.
May 14, 2007 at 10:24 pm
And don’t forget to buy a good pair of running or cross training shoes that suit your training habits and goals.
May 15, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Hmm I wonder if that’s the reason I have so many problems with my wrists. They were never broken, but did dislocate (originally it was because I got up from the bed wrong, one hand on the bed and twisted somehow without taking my hand off; the second time after correction, was heaving myself onto the side of the pool to get out) and as a result, I find that I can’t put bodyweight on them. I’ve recently (since starting my program) begun to feel the strength in them again, and I was proud to be able to complete 2 sets of 8 pushups (that’s all I could do without wanting to cry from the wrist pain) where I couldn’t do that before. I was never sent to a PT though, and my chiro told me I would have full use again after taking it slow for a few months. I think they might need to be popped back in again however.