Injured? Reappraise, Re-Think & Recover

Pulls, strains, aches and pains. We all have them from time-to-time. It is during these moments that the importance of being in-tune with your body and training AROUND, rather than THROUGH minor injuries becomes most valuable. Using introspection into your physical condition will help you avoid further damage and speed your path to recovery, rather than going through an endless routine of

strain, exercise, worsen, repeat

For anyone who has watched young male lifters in the gym (and I am stereotyping), let me point out that a lot of common pulls & strains can be prevented by ‘checking your ego at the door’. But that’s another issue for another post. Let’s say that the damage is already done. You’ve felt that twinge of pain suggesting that you were doing something that your body was unable to keep up with.

STOP

Ask yourself - What is the damage? Is it feasible to continue, or would you be better off finishing your workout with something a little more low-impact? Awareness of your body is vital in sports performance, and I find that the use and practice of ‘mindfulness’ techniques helps bridge the gap between mind and body. Personally, I recommend beating a tactical retreat for almost any pain NOT associated with the build up of lactic acid in the muscle, in favour of active recovery at home. Stretching, icing, heat packs, physio appointment - whatever it takes (depending on the injury and its magnitude). This next section is where a lot of people may take issue. After the recovery process has given the muscle time to heal and the pain to reside, many individuals will jump in and continue the same movements using the same training loads they were using upon injury.

STOP ONCE MORE

The reason your muscle failed you last time was because you placed a stress upon it that it wasn’t ready for. Generally speaking, following musculoskeletal injury, a process of rehabilitation is ideal, where you -

• Work around the injury

• Use ‘optimally controlled weights’

No, the use of lighter weights does not make you a sissy. In fact some of the hardest workouts I’ve had have involved the use of optimally controlled weights which allow you to almost bridge the gap between the aerobic / anaerobic threshold, burning fat while building muscle simultaneously.

GLASS HALF FULL?

Use each setback as a learning experience. When I injured my rotator cuff a few months back, I found myself unable to perform any chest, shoulder or arm work for 4 weeks. However, I did not give up, fall into depression or lament my ‘set-back’. Instead I used the opportunity to make further developments with my back and leg training. Life is very rarely BLACK OR WHITE, instead it is your interpretation of the shades of GREY which can either give you hope and motivation or take it away.