Sprains, Strains and how to Prevent Them in the First Place

We all want to stay active and a regular exercise routine is an essential way to ensure that you maintain a healthy lifestyle. The one drawback to regular exercise is the possibility of injury. This is something that we cannot always avoid and when it happens it can really affect our exercise routine and our everyday lives. We have all heard the horror stories of people doing some exercise and ending up with broken limbs, sprained ankles, pulled muscles and ligament injuries. This can put you out of commission for several days to several months. So what injuries are possible and what can we do to avoid them? Below we will see what can happen and how we can prevent them from happening.

While listening to the radio I heard the story of a young woman who decided to participate in crossfit training. This is a high impact type of exercise that includes exercises such as high-intensity interval training, Olympic weightlifting, plyometrics, powerlifting, gymnastics, girevoy sport,calisthenics, strongman and other exercises. These types of exercises requires a high level of athleticism and great strength. The young lady loved doing crossfit as she had a been involved in sports her whole life including competing in the Olympics for martial arts. Crossfit provided her with an opportunity to compete with others and remain athletic at the same time even if she was not able to it at an Olympic level. One day she was doing box jumps (literally jumping up on boxes from a standing position) and she felt her leg crumble underneath her weight. It turned out she had shattered her lower leg from ankle to knee breaking it in multiple places. It took several surgeries, a lot of physiotherapy and many months of recuperation to get her walking again much less working out.

Traumatic injuries such as the one described above are the worst types of injuries we can suffer while working out. Common injuries like sprains and pulled muscles are a bigger concern for everyday people. But it is important to remember that exercise is not inert. They can provide you with great benefits but can also cause great injuries. It is best to do any exercise with great care and preparation. Also, consult your doctor before you do anything strenuous or if you feel that you are experiencing pain or discomfort while doing the exercise.

How do you get a sprain?

Sprains can happen all over your body. When do exercise you may encounter a sprained ankle or wrist. Sprains are injuries to ligaments when they are suddenly pushed past their limits. They can tear or become deformed as a result. Usually, you just need to give your sprain some time to heal and some cold compress. If they are particularly bad, you may need to seek some medical attention as soon as possible.

How to prevent sprains?

Some ways to prevent the injury are to not over do it if you have not done an activity for a while. Say you had to take an extended break from playing basketball and finally got the opportunity to start playing again. Do not over do it by playing exhaustively for an hour. Your ligaments and muscles just cannot take it. You need to give them some time to stretch and get used to being used in that way. Stretch first, take it easy for the first few times on the court (do not exert yourself too much), play for a short period of time, and stop if you feel any discomfort.

Another type of muscle sprain is a groin pull. It can occur when you push off your feet in a side to side motion, like when you run. You see this injury in athletes all the time especially in sports such as hockey, soccer or football. In these sports, people are required to run or skate at the drop of a hat and it is this kind of situation can cause a groin pull.

You can prevent a groin pull by stretching and warming up beforehand. Make sure that you do so in a through manner to ensure the best results. Also, just like the basketball player above, make sure that you have conditioned your muscles for the task at hand. Build up conditioning through repeated exercise over time can prepare your muscles for any activity you might do.

5 Exercises to do in March

So March is here and warmer weather is just around the corner. Here are 5 exercise ideas for people to do during March while the snow is melting and it isn't quite warm enough to do other more summer-oriented activities.

#1. Shovel Snow out of the driveway. Chances are likely you will need to do this anyway, but if that is already done you can also:

Make one last snowman before it melts.
Have a snowball fight with friends / family before it all melts.
Move all of the snow on your property into one corner and let it melt there, so that the grass can start growing sooner.

#2. Go Snowshoeing, Skiing, Snowboarding or Ice Skating one last time.

Or if there isn't enough snow left to do those activities, go for a hike instead. Take the dog with you!

#3. Stay inside and exercise like you did in January and February. Maybe you dislike cold weather entirely and have no interest in going outside when there is still a wisp of snow on the ground, in which case staying inside might be more your thing... But that sounds awfully boring so why not change it up a bit? You could:

Get a gym membership for 1 month only.
Get a membership at a yoga studio for 1 month.
Get a membership at a rock climbing studio for 1 month.
Get a membership at a boxing gym for 1 month.
Sign up for 1 month worth of martial arts lessons.

#4. Try an Extreme Sport that is either outdoors or indoors. Examples:

Sign up for archery lessons in Toronto.
Join a paintball organization so you can run around and shoot friends with paint.
Try "Archery Tag" at one of the various locations in Toronto that offer it.
Join a club that does Parkour or Freerunning (hopefully you are under 30 and already reasonably fit).

#5. Spring Clean your Home. Cleaning things is actually very good exercise and your home probably needs a good cleaning anyway. Listen to music while you clean, take your time doing it, work up a sweat, and remember to take a break every so often. Have fun!

Can Feng Shui improve my workout?

Feng Shui is the Chinese philosophy system of harmonizing oneself with their environment.  In it, one seeks to arrange their space to ensure that energy is able to flow uninterrupted throughout.  Remember Yin and Yang, well they also play a part in feng shui in that they help to describe the flow of energy within a space.

How does this help you with your exercise routine? It just so happens that creating a feng shui space can allow you to energize your workout, improve your desire to work out and make you feel better in the long run.

What exactly are we feng shui'ing? We want to focus on the space so we want to select, arrange and prepare a space that is conducive to the flow of energy.  We can accomplish this by doing some very specific things to our personal gym rooms at home.

What colour should I use?

We should start with colours that you should not choose.  Dark colours such as brown and black are not the colours you should be painting the wall of you personal gym.  They tend to bring down the mood of a room and can cause people to feel tired and ready to got to sleep (definitely not traits of a room we want to do energizing exercise in).  

You should pick a colour that will make you want to move and shed those pesky pounds.  Colours you may want to pick are ones that reflect nature and the outdoors such as shades of green or sky blue.  These colours will put you in a peaceful mood that will allow you to focus on your exercise.  Or you may want to pick a pale yellow that will reflect the natural light coming from your windows.  And lastly, you can pick a hot colour like red that will increase you energy and make you feel like working extra hard to burn your calories.

Selection of a room

If you are so lucky as to be able to pick the room you will be exercising in you should pick a room that gets lots of natural light and maybe a bit a breeze.  This will provide you with a space that has the proper flow to it.  Also, try to find a space that is away from too much noise, but be sure to balance it out with some sort of energizing element (perhaps some red paint) as too much tranquility will not give you a well balanced space.

Arranging your gym equipment

To make sure that you place your gym equipment in a manner conducive to feng shui the first step is to make sure that your space is kept clean and tidy.  The best way to ensure that the space is able to encourage the flow of energy is to keep it clean.  

Next, if you can put some of it away in a closet you can ensure the space is kept as open as possible and that it will not disrupt the energy flow.  Place the equipment in the eastern section of your house.  This is the area most associated with new beginnings, family, friends and health.

Feng shui is a great tool in ensuring that your exercise is done in a positive and productive space.  Using the ancient Chinese philosophy will help you to lose those pounds you want in no time.

Indoor Archery Ranges in Toronto

Q

"Is there any indoor archery ranges in Toronto?"

A

This is a frequently asked question. The answer is "Yes, there are, but it is complicated and difficult to get into them."

The reason why it is complicated/difficult is because of the following reasons.

#1. The Hart House Archery Range (University of Toronto) is full. No new members allowed except for 1 day during Frosh Week in September each year and 1 day at the start of January each year. So unless you are an U of T student or alumni, don't bother.

#2. The Ryerson Archery Club is also full. The club is brand new as of Jan. 2015, and they're already full. Ryerson students come first of course, but even so the club is officially full. So unless you are a Ryerson student and willing to wait until September maybe then they will allow in new members.

#3. Casa Loma used to have an archery range and taught longbow lessons once upon a time, but they have since shut it down due to liability concerns. So you are not going to find any help there.

#4. The Toronto School of Archery has 3 locations in Etobicoke (only on Mondays and Thursdays), East York (only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays) and Beaches (which is full and not accepting new members). The "ranges" are in the basement of a church, a community centre, etc, and only operate between 6 PM and 9 PM. Which severely limits your options if you are busy on weekday evenings.

#5. The JCCC (Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre) does have a gym they use as an archery range - but it is only for people who sign up to study Kyudo (Japanese archery using yumi bows). Kyudo is highly ceremonial and is basically the archery equivalent of Japanese tea ceremony. So unless you are a patient type of person who loves all things zen then you are probably not going to enjoy Kyudo.

#6. Archery District is not a real archery range but I am listing it anyway. It is a facility for people into Archery Tag™, and costs $24 + HST per person for 1 hour of usage. You use the bows and equipment provided and no outside equipment is allowed. During that hour you play with up to 20 people games of Archery Tag™, wherein you shoot each other with boffer arrows. I have been to Archery District twice myself so far and it is a lot of fun, but for people who enjoy accuracy, shooting long distances, just want to practice then you need to find a different place to practice. So unless you want to practice shooting at moving targets you need to find a different place to practice.

#7. Archery Camps / Day Camps is another option if you are looking for a place for your kids to practice. There are a number of day camps and archery camps in or near Toronto which offer archery (either indoor or outdoors). ArcheryToronto.ca maintains a list of archery camps and day camps. However unless you are a kid in the right age group this isn't going to help you.

"So where can I practice indoors then?"

After reading all of the above you are probably feeling a bit disheartened and wondering if you will ever be able to find an indoor archery range in Toronto that is open 7 days per week, is indoors, and will let in anyone as a member.

But do not despair I am working on just that.

For the past year almost I have been building a Waiting List for an Indoor Archery Range - which I am tentatively calling Toronto's Indoor Archery Gymnasium (TIAG). To get on the waiting list please email cardiotrek@gmail.com and give your name, email address, phone number and whether you want a monthly or annual membership.

This indoor archery range will be located in the Leaside / Davisville area of Toronto and work on a gym membership basis. Monthly membership will be $100 and annual membership will be $800. Once the Toronto's Indoor Archery Gymnasium is up and running smoothly the rates will come down, but at present the only way to make such an indoor archery range financially viable is to charge the rates mentioned above in order to get a space large enough for multiple shooting lanes.

So far 30 people have signed up for the Waiting List, but we need 50 people to sign up in order to open an indoor range. 50 people x $800 = $40,000. That is how much we need to lease, renovate, and maintain a space, and as the membership grows each year we will lower the annual rates in order to encourage more members to sign up for the annual membership.

Range hours will likely be:
Sunday 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Thursday 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Friday 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM

The range will also be hiring staff to supervise the range + archery instructors - people who have experience teaching longbows, recurves (traditional and Olympic), compound bows and shortbows / horsebows.

The range will be designed to be friendly to hunters, competitive shooters and recreational archers. Everyone will be welcome. The photos shown on this page are photos showing how other archery ranges are designed. The Toronto Indoor Archery Gymnasium will be designed using a mixture of styles. We will also be making an effort to make sure the space is wheel chair accessible (several of the other ranges mentioned above are not wheel chair accessible).

"What if I am looking for a crossbow range in Toronto?

Lastly the Toronto's Indoor Archery Gymnasium will include space for people who are into crossbows - making it the only crossbow range in Toronto. So if you are looking for a crossbow range in Toronto, please email cardiotrek@gmail.com to add your name to the Waiting List.

Archery Vs Wind Speed and Time of Year

Q

"Hello!

What is the best time of year to do archery in Toronto? I am asking with respect to weather conditions.

- John W."

A

Hello John!

Ignoring rain, I think the biggest factor would be wind conditions - especially for shooting longer distances because the wind effects the arrow 4 times as much at 80 yards compared to 20 yards.

Judging by the average month to month wind speeds in Toronto (as well as a measurement of the average number of days with strong wind (52 kph or more) then the best month to do archery in Toronto is August.

I created the chart above using data from currentresults.com. The statistics below are likewise from the same website. If you want to check the wind, temperature, precipitation and humidity for other times of the year I recommend visiting the website. Other people reading this can also check their local weather conditions to see which is the best times of the year for them to practice if they want ideal conditions.

Temperature wise August's temperatures average between a high of 26 C and a low of 17 C.

Average precipitation during August is 81 mm, so there should be plenty of dry days.

Average humidity during August is 81% in the morning and 61% in the afternoon, which means the best time of day to go to the Toronto Archery Range is the afternoon or early evening.

Personally I like shooting during September and October. Sure it is slightly windier in September and October, but the temperature is more comfortable and there is less humidity in the afternoons.

Another factor, outside of wind conditions, is how busy it is at the archery range at different times during the week. The best time to go is a weekday morning or early afternoon. On weekends the range tends to get crowded.

Lastly I want to note that what you are asking for is basically when is the best time to get the ideal weather conditions in order to get more accuracy, however when doing archery outdoors the primary purpose really should be to learn how to adjust for wind / weather conditions. Thus you learn how to shoot regardless of whether it is raining, windy, snowing, foggy, cold, hot, humid or any other kind of conditions.

I personally love shooting at a moving target on a windy day. The smaller the moving target the better.