Injury Prevention

Three things
1. Take care of everything behind and on top of your body.
2. Foam roll if possible
3. Listen to your damn body, not your training book

1. Taking care of everything behind and on top of your body
Train your back, hamstrings, ass, traps, and shoulders like your life depends on it. When I feel things coming apart, it is usually because my glutes, hamstrings, and lats need some attention. Another reason to train these areas is they all support and form a strong body. GG.

2. Foam roll if possible
If it's sore, foam roll it
If it's chronic, foam roll it carefully
If it's injured, let it heal until you can foam roll it

3. Listen to your damn body, not your training book
I'll be honest, this is really hard to do. When you have a goal for the day and your body tells you to fuck off, your immediate reaction is to exude cult like dedication towards your notebook.

Mind: I HAVE to deadlift 385x8x3
Lower Back: Why? What I'm feeling is way beyond soreness. There is a 50/50 chance I break today if we follow our precious notebook. Do it Sunday.
Mind: The book says so. We will power through like we've done in the past.
Lower Back: Remember that time we HAD to deadlift 430x4 when I felt like shit? Remember how your girlfriend raped you when your herniated disc rendered you unable to move from the bed? Remember how you wanted to cum before you passed out from the pain? Is any of this registering you yid fuck?
Mind: Maybe we'll just press a bit.
Lower Back: Maybe we'll just press a bit.

This conversation went through my head today after my warmup set with 315x3. It felt terrible, as had the sets before them. I made the decision to hold the deadlift portion of my training until Sunday, losing nothing. If I had injured myself, I would have been out for another few months.

Let me be clear, sometimes you need to push hard through little pains (90% of the time, these nagging pains go away during your warmups). If something is a large concern to you, consider the risk of being out for months vs completing a daily task. You need to keep focused on the big picture if you want to minimize the time you spend away from training.

In short, be smart, but don't be a pussy. Get stronger.