how the word ‘prehab’ can change everything
This is how you stay on the good side of the wellness curve.
As humans, we’re wired to react to health problems and seek relief as fast as possible. It’s connected to our intrinsic desire to stay in a state of equilibrium. Where we fall short, however, is in predicting and acting on warning signs before they become too serious. We spend all our time and energy rehabbing instead of focusing on the easier task of prevention.
This is where my favorite word, ‘prehab’ comes in.
As a kinesiologist and trainer, I can confidently say that the concept of prehab has the potential to change the landscape of our healthcare systems, but it’s so scarcely utilized that it’s practically unknown.
I’ve seen it over and over again in my practice. Everyone seems to grasp the importance of rehabbing an injury, but you start talking about preventing complications through intentional movement and people start to lose interest. Once one works to get beyond those mental barriers and fully grasps just how powerful prehab work is, light bulbs start to go off.
This is the key to maintaining the body like a well-oiled machine.
This is the way we place less stress on health facilities.
This is the way we extend the health span for all populations.
The beauty of prehab is that it’s simple. You don’t have to train for hours on end or have a deep understanding of the science. You just need to be motivated enough to be consistent with the simple stuff. This is about showing up day after day and pushing just outside your comfort zone. It’s about saying yes to prioritizing your wellness for the sake of feeling better in your body.
To help get you there, I want to introduce a couple of exercises and tips so you can see for yourself just how simple yet transformative this mindset can be.
Let’s get started.
Before getting into any specifics, I want to provide a couple of disclaimers. For one, this guide will only be focused on musculoskeletal health as that’s my specialty. Secondly, I encourage you to talk to a health provider if you’re not sure where you fall in the spectrum of rehab or prehab work for a specific area. Oftentimes the lines can be blurred, so focus on doing lighter work and then gradually ramping things up.
As I want to keep things relatively concise, we’re just going to over one example in an area that commonly gets injured. If you’re not sure what types of exercises you should be doing for a certain joint or muscle, feel free to reach out and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
Just to clarify…
Rehab = strategic movements focused on expediting the healing process of an injury
Prehab = movements outside of the context of rehab focused on prevention before pain/injury strikes
While you may think that you have to start doing a bunch of fancy workouts or programs to apply this prehab philosophy, things don’t have to ramp up as drastically as you think. While working with my clients, I always encourage them to simply find corners of the day to fit in a few exercises. As long as you’re consistent enough every week, you’ll start to feel stronger and more mobile in no time.
Even 20–30 minutes per week can be the difference between pain and function! Without further ado, let’s look at an example to see how you can take your injured or neglected tissues and transform them into strong, mobile ones that work to support every aspect of your life.
KNEES: Rehab — Sit to Stand
2 x 10-12 reps
Keeping your heels on the floor, sit back into a chair before extending back up again. Focus on hinging at the hips and keeping the heels tracking over the toes. If you want an even greater challenge, simply tap your butt on the box/chair but keep the load through your legs. Make sure to squeeze your buttcheeks at the top to extend all the way up!
KNEES: Prehab - Elevated Squats
2 x 10-12 reps
This is very similar to a regular squat. Instead of hinging from the hips, let your knees track slightly over the toes as you descend. Yes, this will feel awkward at first. Once you’re at a depth that feels challenging, simply extend back up by engaging your glutes. If you don’t have access to a wedge, use a household object like a book. Ideally, we’re aiming for about 15–20 degrees of decline at the ankle to the toes.
You can see how, although subtle, the second movement fosters more strength and stability. It’s this act of taking your tissues just beyond what they’re used to that can help you stay injury-free and functional throughout all tasks of daily life.
The beauty of this philosophy is that can be translated to virtually any exercise to help you bulletproof your body and be more proactive about health care. Are you willing to make time to upgrade your exercises now so you don’t have to waste time being injured later? It’s a tough question, but it’s the right one to ask.
The difference between living a pain-free life or one bogged down with injuries can be as small as your mindset towards exercise. If you’re willing to do what others won’t and implement a prehab philosophy into your fitness journey, everything will start to change. You’ll start feeling stronger and more functional in all aspects of wellness. You’ll grow more confident in your physical abilities. You’ll spend less time rehabbing stubborn injuries and more time doing the activities you love.
If you’re looking for a good time investment for your health, start doing prehab work. It’ll change how your body feels and can transform your life.
You got this.
Hey, I’ve got exciting news. You can start applying this strategy today! Come grab one of my programs and get started. You won’t regret it.
