How to workout and not hurt. I’ve recently upped my workout game and I’ve been sore pretty much 24/7. Having danced most of my life, I’m used to sore muscles and I even like how I feel after a tough workout but this constant aching is not fun.

While I know that some of my aches and pains are due to having Hashimoto’s and some of them are due to getting older, but I refuse to give in to the pain and being on a daily dose of painkillers is, frankly not an option.

Although it might seem counter intuitive and although you might  have heard that you should stop moving when you are sore, what you should actually be doing is moving more.

Much of the pain that we experience is due to weak muscles (muscle imbalances) and a loss of cartilage in our joints. Instead of ignoring the problem and the pain we should be meeting in head on.

HOW TO WORKOUT AND NOT HURT

KNEE PAIN

In all my years of training, two very common spots people complained about were their knees and lower backs. While they may have had injuries in those places, it was also often due to muscle imbalances that caused stress in the body. As always, if pain persists even when you are not working out then it’s always wise to go see a physiotherapist or a doctor because they will be able to take a more in-depth look at the problem.

Hips. One key to having healthy knees is to have proper mobility in your hips. The easiest way to check this is to lie on your back, arms out to the side with both legs straight on the floor. Lift your right leg up to the ceiling. If you can lift it to 90 degrees without either leg buckling or rotating or knee bending then your hips are sufficiently mobile.

SOLUTIONS

Hamstrings. It’s time to take stretching seriously now. Place your right foot in a strap or band and gently pull it up to the ceiling until you feel some resistance. Make sure your legs are not rotating and your hips are straight (yes, even if you can’t lift your leg as high). Hold this stretch for 20 seconds. Now bend the same knee toward your chest. Without lifting your knee try to straighten your leg (don’t worry, it won’t stretch very far) you should feel a deep stretch in the belly of your hamstring muscle. Hold for 15 seconds and switch legs.

Pigeon. Sitting on the floor, bend your right leg so that your foot is touching your left thigh or is in a parallel position in front of you. First, sit up straight opening your chest to the ceiling. Hold for 20 seconds. Then, slowly hinge your body forward and if you can, reach your arms out on the floor in front of you. If you are more advanced, try pulling your back leg toward your glutes. Hold for 20 seconds and switch legs.

The other common cause of knee pain are week ankles and feet. Don’t believe me? Look down at your ankles and notice just how small the joint really is and how much weight it needs to support all every single day.

Ankles. Oftentimes a lack of ankle flexibility can also negatively affect your knees. I admit that if I wasn’t dancing I would probably never think of my ankles but because they are stabilizers, they should be strengthened on a regular basis. To find out if your ankle are flexible, lie down on your back with your feet flat against the wall. Now try to pull your toes back (your heels shouldn’t move). If you can’t then you definitely need to work on that. Roughly one inch is good and more is even better.

SOLUTIONS

Knee bends. Stand, on your right foot, about an inch away from a wall. Yes, you can hold the wall for support. Keeping your back straight, the goal is to try to touch the wall with your knee without letting your heel lift off the floor.  Do this slowly 10x and switch feet. To give yourself a bigger challenge you can do alternating lunges.

Point and flex. Channel that ballet dancer in you. This exercise is best done with a resistance band. Place the band over your foot. Gently pull on the band to create some resistance and then point and flex your foot slowly. Try spreading your toes and really focus on working through your whole foot. This exercise is great because it both stretches and strengthens your feet and ankles. Do this 15-20 times on each foot. For more ankle and foot exercises click here.

Additionally, cycling is a great overall activity because it gives you a full body workout, with a full range of movement, all while helping produce more synovial fluid that lubricates your joints.

BACK PAIN

Assuming that your back pain isn’t due to any internal issues or slipped disks or even weak abdominals (for the best ab workout read this) then likely it’s because of your hips. As a Pilates instructor I used to see it all the time. There are a couple of possibilities of what might be happening. One hip might be higher than the other or your hips might be rotated forward.

It’s quite common for our hips to be misaligned. Whether one is rotated forward or hiked up (as little as a few centimeters) it can have a huge effect on our back health. These issues don’t have to be due to an injury, mostly they develop over time.

SOLUTIONS IF ONE HIP IS HIGHER THAN THE OTHER

Glutes/Piriformis (supine pigeon prep). Lying on your back, place your right foot on the floor and cross your left ankle over your right thigh. With your left hand reaching between your legs, pull them toward you. If you don’t have the flexibility to hold this pose, simply place your right foot on a wall at a 90 degree angle to the floor. For the second part of this stretch, place one hand on your knee and press it gently away from you as you pull your ankle toward you. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

Clam. This is a hip stabilizer exercise, so you will need to focus on keeping those stomach muscles engaged and your hips steady. Resist the temptation to rotate your upper body to achieve a bigger movement and let your hips dictate how far your leg can open. Lying on your side, legs stacked, keep your knees in line with your body but bend your feet so that they are directly behind you. Open your top knee toward the ceiling without letting your feet separate or your hips move. I like placing my hand on my top hip, just to help keep it still. If this feels easy, wrap a band around your legs, just above your knees. Repeat 20x on each leg.

SOLUTIONS FOR AN ANTERIOR TILT

It’s also possible that you might have an anterior tilt which is when your hips are tilted forward. If this is your underlying cause then you’ll notice that you have a pronounced arch in your lower back. The focus for these stretches and exercises needs to be on releasing your hip flexors and quads while strengthening your glutes, hamstrings and abs.

Deep lunge. Start in a deep lunge with your right foot flat on the floor directly below the knee. Stretch your left leg out behind you. Now slowly lift your torso to a vertical position while pressing your pelvis forward. You should feel a deep stretch in your hip flexors (front of the hip). Tip, if you are having problems balancing, do this stretch next to a wall. Place a towel beneath your knee if it hurts to have it on the floor. Hold for 20-30 seconds, more if you can.

Hip lift or bridge. Lying on your back, bend your knees so that your feet are on the floor, hip distance apart, toes pointing forward. Take a deep breath and gently lift your hips toward the ceiling, keeping your body in a straight line. Hold for about 15-20 seconds and repeat.

I have hip issues and I know firsthand how tempting it is to want to sit down and avoid moving as much as possible but one of the best things you can do to help correct this problem is to walk. You’ll have to, however, be very conscientious about your technique.

First, focus on keeping your toes pointed forward, even if you naturally want to turn out. Then, as you step forward, let your heel gently strike first and think about rolling through your foot, until you push off with your toes. Lastly, as your back foot pushes off, you should feel your hamstrings engage just below your glutes. As you start to use your feet more, you’ll find that the muscles naturally begin to strengthen.

HEADACHES AND UPPER BODY PAIN

If you don’t have an underlining condition, then upper body pain can also be the result of muscle imbalances which can be caused by poor posture or by the jobs we do everyday.

Check your shoulder placement. This is one of the first things I always tried to teach new clients. Stand in front of a mirror and just look at your shoulders. Many of you will notice that one shoulder is slightly higher than the other. Perhaps one set of muscles is more developed than the other.  What you’ll want to do in that case is stretch out the tighter (aka more developed) muscles while building up the weaker side.

SOLUTIONS:

Shoulder & neck stretch. Sitting up straight on a chair or on the edge of your bed, plant your feet on the floor. Gently tilt just your head to one side and press the opposite hand away from you.  Hold for 10 seconds. Then, clasp your hands behind your head and very gently press your chin down toward your chest. In order to target the back of your neck, it’s important to keep your spine as straight as possible.

Rows. Holding your free weights and standing with your feet a foot width apart, bend forward keeping a straight back until you are almost parallel to the floor. Pull your elbows straight back and up to the ceiling while drawing the weights toward your chest. To increase the difficulty of this move, try lifting one of your legs behind you. You can also do this move sitting upright and pulling your arms back while holding an exercise band. Do 3 sets of 15-20 reps each. READ, BEST ARM EXERCISES FOR SUMMER

Check your head placement. If you see that your shoulders are fairly even (don’t forget, we aren’t robots and nobody is 100% symmetrical) then it could be that your head leans forward. On paper, an ideal posture has your head sitting evenly in between your shoulders. You might need to ask a friend to determine this for you. What they are looking for is whether or not your ears are in line with your shoulders when they see you from the side. Even if you don’t have this problem, take a second and jut your head forward. See what happens? Your shoulders curl forward and your back starts to round. This was a very common problem for the rock climbers I worked with and luckily it can easily be reversed.

SOLUTIONS:

Back extensions. These are so fun and have a ton of different variations. Lying prone (face down) on the floor, keep your arms by your sides and feel like you are gently lifting your belly button away from the floor. Inhale and on your exhale, feel like you are getting longer as you gently lift your upper body off the floor, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Take a breath and lower back to your start position. This can also be done with your hands in front of your forehead. I’m a big fan of this being done on an exercise ball as it adds an element of instability. Do 1 or 2 sets of 15 reps each.

Wall Extensions both arms. This is another great stretch/exercise to do if you are experiencing any pain or tightness in your shoulders, upper back or neck. Standing in a door frame, bend your elbows at 90 degrees palms up and facing forward. Place your forearms on either side of the door frame and lean forward. You should feel a deep stretch across the front of your shoulders and pectoral muscles. Tip: if door frames are uncomfortable for your body, you can also perform this stretch in any room corner. Place your elbows on the perpendicular walls and gently lean into the corner. For maximum effect, repeat with your arms above, level with and below your head.

We’ll might never completely get rid of pain but there is so much that can be done to help mitigate and alleviate the constant ache. Make sure that you are stretching regularly and above all, don’t stop moving!

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