March 11, 2025 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Working Out Should Make Us Better Instead Of Causing Injury And Burnout

The other day, my husband emailed me a great story by Robert Forster, PT. The headline read: “Stop the Insanity! The gym should be a place where we get better; better health, better performance and achieve a better state of mind.”

I really resonated with this. All my life, I’ve been working out, trying to fight the genes I inherited from my dear grandmother; short, fat, cute face and jolly. I was determined not to be Granny Annie (at least the fat part!) 

Unfortunately, over the years as I worked out, the injuries piled up. First it was my knee from doing high impact aerobics every day for six years. But I looked great.

Then it was the former football player, my first trainer, who trained me to be a mini football player. My neck started getting thicker and my right shoulder hurt like hell. No. Goodbye.

A while later, I started up with another, inspiring me to learn to run. So, like an idiot, I thought I could run a marathon after being able to run five miles. I started training, got up to 18 miles, and ended up seriously hurting my lower back. I never got to run the LA Marathon. Or really do anything else, without my back, shoulder and knees hurting like hell.

Forester said in his article, “in the race for fitness and weight loss, trainers will stack intense workouts week after week and sometimes lengthen the duration of intensity without factoring in the critical time for recovery. The natural consequence is over-training, cortisol (stress hormone) overload, weight gain, burnout and injury. Then they wonder why their clients just quit.”

That’s exactly what happened to me. I quit. I stopped doing anything but walking my dog and doing yoga. 

Forester says, “safe and effective stretching and injury prevention workouts specific to a client might not be sexy or trendy but they are proven successful at the highest levels of human athletic achievement. Exercise begins with strengthening the joints and bones you can’t see. These structural parts of the body move the muscles that adapt metabolically to intense exercise over periods of time. 

It’s insane to chase a six-pack of abdominals (yeah right, I’ll be sporting a six-pack) if your joints and bones, especially your spine, aren’t even strong enough to allow you to stand up straight. (that’s me again!) It’s insane to begin any fitness or performance endeavor without a plan to increase structural and metabolic health to prevent injury and overtraining.

Well, I have a plan. My new workouts are very different. But they are not easy. And I have not lifted a single weight in the month that I’ve been going to him. 

A lot of what I need to do is strengthen my core and reduce the sway in my lower back, causing my stomach to stick out. (Ok, I need to lose weight there as well.) The exercises for this are very difficult; I’m doing small but effective movements laying on the ground and sweating my ass off in the first few minutes of doing it!

It was also determined that I walk on the sides of my heels. To remedy that, I have also been exercising my feet and toes. I have not paid attention to my toes since I was in ballet school, 13 years old! But I do get weekly pedicures.

And my shoulders are starting to round a little. There’s an exercise for that as well, that does not bother the bum shoulder I created several years ago. After exercise, I want to walk straighter.

I’m inspired. I’ve been working with my trainer for a few weeks (he doesn’t work with Dr. Forester). He has developed a personalized training regime for me to increase my structural and metabolic health, as well as preventing injury and overtraining. I have long way to go. But I’m hopeful. 

Bless you, Granny Annie. But here in LA, 60 is the new 40…

in News
<>Related Posts

Holey Moley in Santa Monica Serves up Festive Jameson Whiskey Cocktails for St. Patrick’s

March 10, 2025

March 10, 2025

Whiskey, Guinness & Mini-Golf: Holey Moley’s Irish-Themed Drinks Are Here With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, Holey Moley...

More Pacific Palisades Residents Join Lawsuit Against L.A. Over City’s Fire Response

March 10, 2025

March 10, 2025

Residents Expand Legal Action Over City’s Alleged Fire Response Failures Twenty-five additional Pacific Palisades residents have joined a lawsuit against...

Owners of Palisades Villa Seek to Rebuild, Help its Displaced Residents

March 10, 2025

March 10, 2025

The fundraiser states that the loss has left them in a dire financial situation A Pacific Palisades couple who lost...

Palisades Fire Evacuee Identified as Woman Found Dead on Santa Monica Beach

March 10, 2025

March 10, 2025

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner later determined her cause of death to be blunt force head trauma Authorities have...

Disaster Relief Deadlines Extended Financial Aid Available for Small Businesses and Homeowners

March 10, 2025

March 10, 2025

Grant Opportunities, FEMA Assistance, and Property Tax Relief for Wildfire Survivors LA County and Federal officials have extended the application...

County Supervisor to Push For New Homelessness Department in Response to LAHSA Audit

March 10, 2025

March 10, 2025

Horvath labeled LAHSA’s issues “a nightmare,” aligning with growing frustration among elected officials Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath called...

Executive Function Coaching Practice Opens in Santa Monica 

March 10, 2025

March 10, 2025

By Susan Payne Forgetful. Unorganized. Distracted. Impulsive. These may be difficult, yet commonly used words to describe yourself, or a...

Rifkin Raanan Leads Renowned Beverly Hills Cosmetic Dentistry

March 9, 2025

March 9, 2025

By Susan Payne Subtle differences in training, expertise, technological capabilities and amenities make all the difference when choosing the best...

‘All in One’: Mirror Mirror Med Spa Specializes in Skin, Face and Body Treatments

March 9, 2025

March 9, 2025

One of the top med spas in Los Angeles is at the top for a reason: state-of-the-art, minimally invasive, customized...

(Video) Where great minds grow at The Willows Community School

March 7, 2025

March 7, 2025

The Willows, a DK-8 co-educational school, enrolls 474 students from 57+ zip codes annually. As a balanced, progressive educational leader, experiential learning,...

THIS WEEKEND: Mardi Gras Parade Returns to Venice Boardwalk

March 6, 2025

March 6, 2025

The Tradition of Mardi Gras in Venice Dates Back to 1914 When a Louisiana Native Introduced the Celebration to the...

Water Ban to End, Power Lines to be Buried in Palisades as Recovery Efforts Accelerate

March 6, 2025

March 6, 2025

Officials outlined the record-setting removal of hazardous debris and unprecedented utility restoration Nearly two months after wildfires devastated the Pacific...

Nude Man Charged in Violent Sawtelle Attack: Faces Prison for Attempted Rape and Child Assault

March 6, 2025

March 6, 2025

Concerned Citizens Stopped the Vicious Attack After Victim Screamed for Help  A Los Angeles man has been charged with multiple...

Film Review: Riff Raff

March 6, 2025

March 6, 2025

FILM REVIEWRIFF RAFFRated R103 MinutesReleased February 28th You may think that a film titled Riff Raff is a fun, light-hearted,...

Woman Arrested in Connection With Santa Monica Arson Fires

March 6, 2025

March 6, 2025

The Fires Were Set at Multiple Locations, Including a Trash Container Near a Bus Stop A woman was arrested early...