Hypermobility: Workout in the gym

Hypermobility is not a disease, it is just a deviation from normal, but it can make life bitter. The opinions of doctors and physiotherapists on how to deal with it also differ. One recommends not to exercise, the other strong medication and the third sport. Muscles shorten with strengthening, which is an advantage in this case. A hypermobile person must learn well to know the normal range of motion of the joints and watch them during exercise and especially not to exceed it, although it is very easy for him and at first it does not even seem dangerous.

Basic rules for exercise

When exercising in the gym, it is necessary to pay attention to several basic rules. In particular, it is necessary to build a solid muscle foundation and pay attention to increased caution when training on machines and squats. It is also good to avoid swing and dynamic exercises. Do not perform too thorough stretching before and after exercise, which should aim to increase the joint range even more. It is good to focus more on the initial short dynamic warm-up of the main joints and the final gentle stretching of the shortened muscles. We also do not perform fast swing movements. I would definitely recommend a hypermobile individual to use the services of a good personal trainer, who will compile an individual training plan for him. Then exercise is safe for him and there is no reason to avoid him.

Training plan

At the beginning of each exercise, warm-up in the cardio zone should come, followed by light stretching and dynamic warm-up of the main joints. The circular movements support the activation of synovial fluid, which nourishes the joint, maintains the elasticity of the cartilage (absorbs shocks) and reduces the friction of the articular cartilage. We do not include a thorough static stretching at the beginning of the training, as it can cause microscopic cracks, which can result in tearing or damage to the muscle. We will include a more careful stretching lasting at least 10 minutes until the end of the training unit. For hypermobile individuals, however, it is true that less means more, therefore gently stretching, but not increasing the already large joint range.

When assembling the main part of the training, it must be assumed that the main emphasis must be placed on strengthening the muscle corset. Nowadays, it is not a problem to find gym balls, bosu, aqua-hit or other balance equipment in gyms, which are great for strengthening the centre of the body (so-called core). It is good to start training with any balance exercise, whether you are a beginner or advanced. It is advisable to include 1-2 exercises. It is also better to use a single arm rather than a large barbell to begin with. The reason is easier to compensate for muscle imbalances that arise due to hypermobility. Then we can move on to the next exercise with respect to the selected training split. As I mentioned above, training in hypermobility is not different from normal, rather it is necessary to respect certain rules.

Tips on how not to hurt yourself during training

Cervical spine

When exercising on a bench, the head is always placed in the extension of the spine. We never raise our heads. Practicing the correct posture of the head with the chin tucked in should be a part of every athlete's life. In the case of shortens, we place our hands in the back and the eyes point upwards in the direction of movement, thus avoiding excessive bending of the neck. Be careful when strengthening the latissimus dorsi muscle - pulling the pulley behind the head. The cervical spine should not break and dodge the pulley. A better solution in this case is to sit with your back to the machine so that the spine is straight when the pulley is pulled down.

Elbows

The elbows remain in the unlocked position, ie. they should not break backwards. Women in particular are prone to hypermobility of the elbow joints. This must be taken into account when leaning on the bench, eg when pulling the one-arm in the forward bend or kick-back, as well as during a deadlift. During the biceps curl, we never go to the end again in the extreme position.

Shoulders

One of the least comfortable movements for the shoulder joints is multipress exercises. The barriers of the machine do not copy the natural trajectory of movement. It certainly doesn't matter to include multipress exercises in training from time to time, but I don't recommend them in the long term and with a higher weight.

Spine

Especially when exercising standing or sitting without support, it is necessary to pay increased attention to the lumbar spine, which tends to be in hyper lordosis. For beginners, therefore, I recommend that you first include exercises sitting on a bench with back support. A variant is also to sit on a balloon, which is itself a balance surface, and will not allow us to sit hunched over or, on the contrary, bend. Once the muscle corset is strengthened, we can move on to standing exercises and control the muscles of the lumbar spine. In addition to exercising on balance mats, I also recommend spinal exercises for the back. In order for the spine to be in the right position, we must not forget that in addition to the deep stabilization system and back muscles, it is also necessary to strengthen the abdominal and buttock muscles and thus avoid the lower cross syndrome.

Hips and knees

For hip joints, we must be careful, for example, with inverted shortens with stretched legs, squats or lunges, when "peeling" often occurs in the joints. That is why even here it is important not to overload anything. The knees are especially prone to squats, lunges or legpress exercises. The golden rule is that the knees must not be locked. If for any reason we are not able to perform the exercise correctly, we prefer to include another exercise, more gentle on the joints, such as kick back machine, leg extension machine or exercises with your own weight, which allow more control of movement.

A few words in conclusion

If, after reading these article, you find that you are hypermobile, there is no reason to despair. If you follow the basic rules of how to play sports and if you do not overload your joints with inappropriate movements and sports, hypermobility should not cause you any major difficulties. If you are still unsure, contact professional trainers, who should be able to advise you in everything.