When you get into your training mode and are going for your big goal it’s easy to get tunnel vision. If you start with a comprehensive ASSESSMENT and training plan then tunnel vision isn’t a bad thing. You’ve seen where you’re weak and strong, what you need to improve as well as what you can be confident in.

Unfortunately most athletes don’t take the time for this important step. It usually goes more along the lines of inspiration strikes or desperation approaches and the training just starts in a hurried state with no real clear plan of attack.

If you’re taking the latter approach then injuries are sure to follow you close behind. Everyone has an imbalance or movement dysfunction. You can’t live in our society and not. Some are more severe then others. Some hurt more then others.

Because you have these “hot spots” as I like to call them, any time you increase intensity or volume in your training the new stress usually shows up in that same area of imbalance. That’s when an injury usually occurs. It’s rarely a sudden injury too. More often than not it’s more of a nagging injury that just doesn’t seem to go away, and sometimes it’ll turn into a chronic condition and worsen over time – especially if you never address the root cause of imbalance.

Just the other day I was in a local gym and saw a guy in his mid-30s bench pressing and then right after completing his reps he’d reach across his body and rub his left shoulder. He did 3-sets and each and every time he was done it was back to rubbing the shoulder. These are often the types of injuries that you get when you don’t know where your weaknesses are.

He’ll probably ice it a little and maybe even rest an extra day but I guarantee he’ll be back at the bench press soon, because the injury just doesn’t seem like a big deal. He’s not even benching more than his body weight so I’m sure in his mind its just pain that you need to push through. That’s where so many people go wrong – pain isn’t the same as discomfort when it comes to training.

What you may not realize is how simple some of these dysfunctions and imbalances are to fix – if you’ve identified them. Everyone that we work with at RITTERSP goes through an ASSESSMENT of some type, whether it’s training through RITTERFAST and therefore remote or if you come by THE LAB and get started.

Bottom line when you start out in a training program is to make sure the little things don’t become be things down the road and de-rail your training and the pursuit of your goals. Get the knowledge of what you need to address and get your body ready to take on the journey before you.