fbpx

4 Keys to Achieving Physical Goals Injury Free!

You have a goal, but you don’t quite know where to start – we can help!

You have a goal – Let’s Achieve it

Okay – you’ve locked in and decided on a goal. You are super motivated. Nothing can stop you! You buy all the gear and are ready to finally tick off that one physical goal that has been lurking in the back of your mind for a while now. 

The only problem is – you don’t quite know where to start.

Well, this is the post for you!  

When you are trying to achieve a goal, there are a few key principles that will need to be addressed for you to get to that finish line, injury free. 

4 Keys to Achieving Physical Goals Injury Free!

The Key Principles to Achieving Your Goals 

If we try to simplify these principles, they can be broken down into the following: 

1. Physical goal 

    1. This refers to the activity you want to achieve
    2. Some examples of this include: running 10km, swimming 2km, completing a marathon, bike riding around the world (ha). 

2. Supply

    1. This refers to the basic strength, motor patterning, range of motion, balance, coordination and explosiveness needed for your specific goal 
    2. This is usually done quite well in the early stages of a goal 
    3. People will get in the gym, see a physiotherapist and prepare themselves, build robustness to supply the demand 
    4. The hard thing with the principle of supply is that once you achieve your desired supply, how good are you at maintaining it 
    5. Examples of this include doing calf raises for strength, knee to wall mobility for range and pogos for explosiveness preparing for running 

3. Demand 

    1. This refers to the physical activity that is linked with your goal 
    2. Examples include: swimming, running, hiking 
    3. Once you have built up supply, it is now time to start your demand activity 
    4. The aim is to slowly build up the amount of demand you are doing
      • You can mix this up with concepts like duration, intensity and frequency 
      • If you build up your demand too quickly, people can tend to get injured, or develop and pain profile secondary to our fourth principle – capacity 

4. Capacity 

    1. Capacity is closely linked with demand
    2. If we slowly build up demand, our capacity / tolerance to the activity improves, and we can generally tolerate more demand without flaring 
    3. Capacity can be influenced by a number of factors. Some examples of this include:  
      • Sleep 
      • Stress levels 
      • Nutrition 
      • Alcohol and substance use 
      • Perceptions / beliefs around the body 
      • Fixation 
      • Previous injury 
      • Current injuries / chronic conditions

Achieving Your Physical Goals with Previous Injuries

So there you have it! A simplified introduction into some principles that will significantly influence your ability to achieve your physical goals. 

Make sure you are aiming to work on your supply before jumping straight into demand. Once you have ticked your supply, ensure you are maintaining some level of it as you slowly build up your demand. 

Remember – if you build up demand too quickly, you will exceed your capacity, and almost certainly flare. 

Working with previous injuries / currently chronic conditions can make this process much harder! That said, if you are perfecting the above concepts, you put yourself in a much better position to succeed. 

Lastly, don’t forget your CNS regulators that can largely influence pain and injuries. Nail the basics – they have such a larger part to play that things like ice baths and other fad recovery modalities. 

Need help with building up your supply – that is where we come in! Book in with a physio today! 

Need help with calming down your central nervous system and assist with capacity and tissue tolerance? Book in with a myo and SMASH THOSE GOALS. 

 

 

This blog was written by Luke Waker, the Head of Physiotherapy / Senior Physiotherapist at Physio and Fitness Clinic, B Sc Physiotherapy  (hons) – Monash University. 

Luke is an Australian trained physiotherapist with over 17 years of experience within the fitness industry. He started his journey as a swim coach and over the years progressed through personal training, group training and then for the past 9 years, has been working as a physiotherapist.

4 Keys to Achieving Physical Goals Injury Free!
4 Keys to Achieving Physical Goals Injury Free!

Here at Physio and Fitness Clinic, we can assist you with your physical goals. Make an appointment with a physio today.