I’m a personal trainer – my ‘bulletproof’ training tip is a game changer, so many people make mistakes

OVER two-thirds of Irish say their New Year’s exercise program caused them serious injuries.

Nuasan research found that 56 percent of people began a wellness journey in January — with 46 percent joining a gym or club, while 54 percent began their own exercise program at home.

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However, 65 percent of them admitted that their sudden fitness efforts had caused them pain or injury.

Ronan Murphy, personal trainer and founder of Fitby15, consulted with Nuasan, a Galway-based wellness company, about a “bulletproof” program designed to minimize injuries.

He said: “We are all guilty of stopping and starting our physical fitness regimens or jumping into extreme routines as part of the New Year New Me culture.

“But fast forward 3-4 weeks into a regimen and there’s generally a ‘pinch’ somewhere on the body.

“Why? Because we tend not to listen to our bodies and move on.

“What you need to do is become aware of why the problem arose, address it, and continue with a modified regimen that includes warm-up and recovery.

“I recently consulted on a survey Nuasanthe Galway-based natural body care brand for active people, which showed that 65 percent of respondents had caused themselves pain or injury by overdoing their exercise regimen.

“To put it in perspective. Imagine if it were superimposed on a rugby team…that’s almost two out of every three players injured!”

He urges people to follow his five-minute joint loosening program to ensure no injuries occur.

He said: “From experience the knee is usually not a problem, 90 percent of problems in the knee usually start with something small in another area above or below and the knee is usually the warning sign.

“When someone comes to me with knee pain, it’s generally because something higher up (square, hip) or down the chain (ankle, calf, foot) isn’t working properly.

“Similarly, in my experience as a coach, the majority of back pain (and it tends to occur in the lower back) is the result of immobility in the hips and/or a lack of core strength.

“Like the knee, the back reports a problem that is going on elsewhere. The pain just manifests here as it is the ‘end of the road’.

“I’m pretty sure that with a few hip flexor stretches, hip mobilization exercises, and core strengthening exercises, you’ll eliminate many cases of back pain.”

Nuasan has launched a new CBD-infused muscle gel that may also support recovery.

The sustainable brand also has a new bundle – the CBD Power Recovery Bundle – which combines a massage gun and the best-selling muscle gel for €140.

Ronan said, “When you exercise, you need to warm up and strengthen your joints and muscles or you’ll eventually succumb to the dreaded mojo sapping injury.”

The Daily Bullet Proofing Routine

Set a clock to count down from 5 minutes.

0-1 minute: Ankle Circles with Heel Raised Gradually shift your body weight to one leg while doing circles (spend 30 seconds on each ankle)
1-2 minutes: Knee circles with hands on knees and feet flat on floor. Play around with the rotation direction and range
2-3 minutes: “World’s largest” route alternating between left and right.
o Get into the high plank (top of a push-up)
o Bring your right foot forward as far as possible and place your foot flat outside of your right hand
o Keeping your foot where it is, rotate your arm toward the sky and twist it through your back. Bring your hand down, foot back and repeat with left side
o Try to increase the forward reach of the foot with each rep
3-4 minutes: Crouch down. Get your hands on the floor. Get your hands into a high plank (top of the push-up) and then crouch back down and stand up. Repeat
4-5 minutes: hip opener
o Sit on the floor with your knees bent and lean back with your hands behind you
o Drop your legs to the right and then back to the left
o Each time your legs move to the side, aim to keep your opposite buttock on the side
Floor (it will probably lift, but imagine the glute/hip stretching with each rep)
o At the 20 second mark, keeping your knees to your right side, allow the glutes/lower back stretch to really get going for 20 seconds, then repeat on the other side.