FIT TO CRASH - A program to make you invincible!
Is it possible to injury proof the body?
‘FIT TO CRASH’ - A term coined by Darren the head redbull physio and Mario Cart champion at Harris & Ross after Andrew Cottons broken back recovery.
Is it possible to protect the body from impact and make you more invincible?
Why is it some athletes, sportsmen , seem more prone to injuries than others? Is it just bad luck or is there something we can do to make us more resilient to injury?
TRAINING LOAD
Athletes and clubs now very aware of the dangers of over training. Rest and recovery is when the body repairs and benefits from all the training it’s done. Mental recovery is also something which is becoming more and more prevalent and something we’ve been looking at over the last couple of years not only with surfers but business’s and athletes such as Exeter chiefs, Wigan Warriors and Arsenal U23 football. The ability to down regulate, to switch off, to reset the body and mind makes an athlete better able to endure stress when it comes.
Most professional clubs now take into account players physical and mental wellness to assess the intensity of the training session required. How much sleep they’ve had, whether their body is in a sympathetic or a parasympathetic state, whether they have stress or anxiety in their life can all affect predisposition to injury and efficacy of the immune system. This helps then decipher whether they need to rest and recover rather than continue to be pushed and the intensity of their training is based on these results.
RANGE OF MOVEMENT
Increasing range of movement required for your desired sport means your body can get in more demanding positions without the likelihood of injury, muscle strain, tear etc. However too much flexibility without strength could mean the athlete is vulnerable at end range of movement. In fact static stretching since the early 2000s has been shown not to prevent injury and actually reduce power output for performance. (see recent blog post. ‘Stretching doesn’t prevent injury’) . I recall when lecturing Sport Science at this time the philosophy of a ‘warm up’ changed and the ‘stretching’ became dynamic.
Is there something missing in your training?
Recently with my own personal injuries (L4 disc and bruised rib) I have been thinking about if anything was missing in my own training. Was there anything I could have done to greater injury proof my body? Was I giving enough time to my own form and function? When training others was I doing too much myself? Was I doing too much ‘functional fitness’? , Can you do too much yoga? Was I not strengthening enough? Was I incorporating enough posterior chain strength, stability and preparedness for impact? Now I’m 40 does that mean I’m more predisposed to injury? Is this ‘fit to crash’ training even more vital to active humans as they age? In fact a lot of my own rehabilitation for my back injury was based around strength, activation and stability without going to end range of movement. Would the rib injury have been worse if not for the activation and stability training I’d done with my back? Obviously there’s a point when if you are loading or impacting with enough force you are going to get injured but the question is ; can you decrease the extent of the injury with good training and preparation?
I believe you can.
Anti rotation, Stability & Isometrics
A lot of injuries occur when an athlete is exposed to high forces that they can’t control. Consequently this means that as well as joints in the body needing more freedom to move other joints need more stability. The ability to prevent unwanted movement under force. This is a philosophy we’ve been applying to the big wave surf team but it also very relevant to all athletes. Recently when working with Exeter Chiefs Rugby I noticed that in the gym the players were training anti rotation for their necks and cervical spine. They were wearing a Hannibal Lector-esque head mask tied to a cable machine and holding the load isometrically to resist flexion, extension and lateral flexion making themselves ‘Fit to Crash’ into other well trained athletes at full power.
NAZARE
Nowhere is this more relevant than In Nazare, Portugal, when considering the needs analysis of the best Big wave surfers in the world. To prepare a man or a woman for a wave of up to 100ft to land on your head is really putting this theory to the test! In speaking to some of the physio team in nazare, who work with a lot of professional Portuguese footballers, they posited that some of the surfers were ‘too mobile’ suggesting that for the impact of a giant wave they needed strength, stability, and ‘stiffness’ around the joints as well as strength and length through full range of required motion for surfing and for the wipeout. Length and suppleness without strength could in fact lead to increased vulnerability and likelihood of injury when getting rag dolled by a giant wave or having a 50ft lip land on your torso. In fact a lot of the training for a big wave surfer is firstly for the mind and secondly for the wipeout and only then comes the actual surfing and towing part.
To this end a lot of our training with the big wave team is to create a strong stable base through compound strength training such as deadlifts, squats, Romanian deadlifts, planks and then to supplement and stabilise the musculature surrounding the hips, lower back, core and shoulders through isometrics, eccentrics, proprioception.
In a shoulder strengthening program with big wave surfer Justine Dupont last October. Isometric strength and time under tension made a massive impact in regaining full mobility and getting the injured shoulder back as equally as strong as the other one in unilateral strength tests.
Collagen
Since Cotty broke his back and injured his knee he has been using Collagen to aid tendon, ligament, cartilage, joint and muscle repair. Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies and is the connective tissue that holds together most of our body. It has the added benefit of not spiking blood sugar like other proteins. Recent research seems unequivocal that it can speed up tissue repair. (Medical Press, 2019)
FIT TO CRASH PROGRAM - Pics below.
1) DEADLIFTS at 80% of 1RM. 3 x 8/12 REPS.
2) SQUATS - 3 x 6 80% of 1RM
3) ECCENTRIC LEG PRESS - Both legs out 1 leg back. 12/12 x 3.
4) ISOMETRIC GOBLET SQUAT - 2 mins.
5) PALOF PRESS HOLD - 3 x 1 minute each side.
6) PALOF SIDE PLANK - 1 ARM HOLD. 1 Minute.
7) CABLE CORE - opposite hand/knee. 3 x 12 each side.
8) LOLASSANA - Cross leg Seated hold (Lolasana) 3 x 30 seconds.
9) WEIGHTED PLANKER. 3 x 30 seconds + 30 seconds rest. (Rest in rest or continue to plank without weight)
10) MULTIFIDUS - CORE BALL . 2 minutes.
11) TRUNK STABILITY - 4 WAY. 1 MIN or MAX each side (Front, back, side, side)
There you go, now you are ready for anything. If you hit the floor you’ll probably dent it rather than break yourself. If someone punches you in the gut they will break their hand. If you do a push up you won’t lift yourself up you’ll push the earth down. (Chuck Norris) and if a 50ft wave lands on your head you will smile, surrender, accept, embrace, and maybe even enjoy! After all now you are a super hero.
For a bespoke screening and program to strengthen and protect your body specific to your needs check out both our SURFIT and our bespoke online programs. Or you could come join Cotty and I on our Nazare Surffit life course this April or join us in the south of France for a reboot retreat this May.
1) DEADLIFTS - STRENGTHEN POSTERIOR CHAIN TO PROTECT BODY. 4 x 6 @80% 1RM with emphasis on long , strong spine and hip hinge. Ensure technique is good before going heavy.
2) SQUAT . Ian Blake, (NCM FITNESS. Ilfracombe)
3) Cotty Kneehab 2019. Eccentric leg press. Both legs out one leg back slowly with control and knee and ankle stability.
4) GOBLET SQUAT - 2 MINS ISOMETRIC HOLD OR MAXIMUM.
Keep external rotators activating and avoid foot pronation (Coming onto inside of feet) YOU ARE A GRASSHOPPER. YOU ARE A GRASSHOPPER.
Photo : Matt King Oxford football player.
5) PALOF PRESS HOLD - MAX HOLD EACH SIDE X 3 REPS. Anti rotation to strengthen erector Spinae musculature surrounding lumbar spine.
6) Unilateral Palof Side Plank with Insanity stare! Isometric activation of adductor muscles, upper thoracic posterior chain, and core. Draw belly to spine. Great exercise to stabilise pelvis and protect hips.
7) CABLE CORE. Tuck belly to spine and try and stay stable as you pull cable to Hip. Progression - Take opposite knee off the floor and bring to opposite elbow. Very challenging as you can see from my wobble!
6) Lolasana - Core strength and isometric stability of shoulders and arms.
9) WEIGHTED PLANKER 3 x 1 MIN (Or Max) - Start with 3 x 30 seconds with 5/10kg then progress as long as you can keep posterior pelvic tilt. Pushing lower back into weight.
10) MULTIFIDUS STABILISATION - Stabilise pelvis. Strength and Balance. 1 Minute. Hands together arms straight go to right and if you can lift left knee then switch sides. Very challenging but very effective in strengthening mutifidus to stabilise pelvis.
11) TRUNK STABILITY - Grab a friend and try this 4 way isometric trunk stability hold. Got this one from Jack Birch as he used with British rowing team. He’s now coaching the British ski and snowboard team. A great one for the big wave riders for trunk stability to strengthen erector Spinae surrounding lumbar spine.