Daily telegraph features Karl Lockett

No Gain in Pain from Pushing it

EXTREME workouts are crippling people racing to get their bodies ripped for summer, with a leading sports podiatrist reporting a 20 per cent increase in debilitating injuries.

The warning comes as a new study has found junk food accounts for a third of young men’s energy intake, leaving them without enough essential nutrients for building muscles, increasing strength or even sexual function.

Sports podiatrist Karl Lockett said this time of the year people were obstacle course racing, bootcamping and crossfitting to get their “summer bodies’’ ready.

But with a “no limits’’ mindset, he said such programs coupled with a “no pain, no gain’’ culture were putting exercise beginners at risk of severe injury.

“I have seen an increasing number of patients with injuries caused by intense workouts with a too-hard, too-soon approach for a beginner level of exercise,’’ he said.

“Some have crippling pain from ailments such as torn ligaments, which take a long time to heal, to less serious soft-tissue pain that keeps them out of action for weeks.

“Extreme workouts aren’t a good choice for those who don’t do regular exercise.’’

He also cautioned about letting peer pressure and competitiveness push beginners beyond their limits. “Pain is a warning sign,’’ he said.

His comments come as a study by the Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council (GLNC) found 40 per cent of young men aged 19-30 were eating less than one serve of wholegrain foods a day. It found 59 per cent of men instead regularly ate junk food.

 
Written by Karl Lockett