THE RISK-TO-REWARD RATIO – PART 1
High-intensity training and volume always carries more risk than low intensity training and volume. The rewards gained from low-intensity training and volume is less for the high level athlete, but the rewards can be very significant for someone seeking general health and fitness.
All forms of training have a risk-to-reward ratio. Taking part in a CrossFit class, a Met-con class, a barbell club and even a yoga class come with a risk of injury. All fitness activities carry a risk. The risk depends on the activity, the equipment, the environment, the ability of the athlete performing the exercise activity, focus, conditioning, level of fatigue, the health of the athletes tissue – nutrition plays a role in this – previous injuries, and biomechanical factors. The level of risk associated to certain exercises and classes is not the same for all athletes due to many different factors including training age.
Another way to think of risk levels would be to consider a sport like skiing, which has a well established system of coding levels of difficulty to allow people to decide the activity risk based on their self-assessed experience levels. The person’s level of craziness, ego and amount of red bull could also impact their decision. Each ski run is marked with colours as follows:
Green– indicates low difficulty level and low risk of injury, suitable for everyone.
Blue – indicates a medium difficulty level and an increased risk of injury, suitable for more experienced skiers who understand the risks and respect them
Red – indicates a high difficulty level with steep gradients and a high risk of injury, suitable for the more experienced skier with a high level of skill and strength who understands the environment and the high risks attached
Black – indicates a very difficult level with a very high chance of injury if anything goes wrong. These runs are for the crazy people who have little care for the consequences that could end more than their skiing future.
There should be a coding system for training in the gym to make more people aware of the risks attached to certain exercises, volume and intensities – who knows even a goal based training program. Certain exercises can offer large rewards to competitive athletes, but the same exercise can carry a high risk for the general trainee. There are also high demanding exercises that have a huge risk for professional athletes. The trade-off for the high level athlete can be worth the risk because their career may depend on it, whereas the athlete training for general health and fitness would be smart not to take this risk as the reward is insignificant. It is important to remember that high risk does not automatically mean that the athlete will be injured. It means the potential for injury may be higher due to the specific technique or training intensity needed to increase athletic development.
A well-conditioned and experienced athlete with great technique and a properly functioning musculoskeletal system will lower this risk of injury. Athletes with a lower level of conditioning, desk job, poor nutrition, insufficient rest and recovery between training sessions, high stress demands in life (having a day job) can actually increase the risk of injury from certain exercises.
There are many variables that determine the risk-reward ratio of certain training programs that should be considered. In general, the older the person, the higher the risk and the lower the reward in strength and development due to decreased hormone levels and recuperation capabilities – younger athletes always recover faster and can train harder with lower health impacts. Taller people with longer limbs and torso have potentially higher risks due to mechanical leverage that can cause increased stress on the body. Different exercises, coordination, technique and speed of a movement are other factors that can also increase the stress on joints and muscles.
In the next post we will explain some of examples of exercises that have low rewards and high risks attached.