Injuries can feel like the end of the world.
They can create barriers to movement, and they will likely have a major impact on the training you had planned to accomplish a specific goal.
As a coach, I’ve seen people quit working out and give up on all physical activity after experiencing an injury. In some cases, they had every intention of resuming movement when healed—but they almost never do.
I can tell you this: People are always much worse off when they quit than they would be if they had simply adapted their plan and continued to exercise.
The truth is that if you experience an injury—in the gym or in daily life—you do not need to give up on fitness. In fact, that’s the exact opposite of what you should do.
I bring injuries up because dings and dents are inevitable as we go through life. Exercise is incredibly safe, but injuries can happen, and you can’t ever predict when your 130-lb. mastiff will get excited and pull you down a slippery slope at the Rabbit Lake trails in Kenora. (Ask me how I know).
So it’s best to say, “I’m going to keep working toward my goals no matter what happens. I’ll work around any problems and keep moving.”
If you make a plan to work around any issues, you’ll maintain momentum, cultivate resilience, preserve health and come back better than ever.
Here are my top tips for working through an injury.
Silver Linings
I’ve personally experienced multiple injuries through sport and life.
I’ve broken my hand, injured my L5 vertebrae, impinged nerves in my neck, torn an oblique, torn my meniscus, developed tendonitis in my knee, and had sore elbows from training big dogs to walk on a leash. And that’s just part of my list.
Never once did I contemplate “taking time off” after an injury. I was always back in the gym as soon as it was safe to do so. I made a plan to keep training, and I always made huge progress building the parts of my body that I could train. Instead of saying “this is the end of the world!” or “I’ll just take a few months off,” I decided to ask “what can I do instead?”
I trusted that a silver lining could be found and gave myself small goals to tackle as I recovered.
For example, while I recovered from surgery on my hand, I used sleds to train my legs with a harness. I pushed, pulled and dragged as much weight as possible. I also worked with a safety bar instead of a regular bar and built in a ton of extra core work because that was what was available to me.
When I was finally able to pick up a bar with my hands again, I added 30 lb. to my deadlift after not deadlifting for over four months. This happened because I chose to continue training and use whatever tools I could to keep getting better.
The same thing happened when I injured my back. I couldn’t squat or hinge at the hips, but I could work my upper body. So I did. And I achieved lifetime PRs on my strict press, my bench press and my pull-ups.
Your mindset can be a weapon or it can be a prison. It really is your choice.
When you get injured, there will be some initial anger, sadness and frustration. But you have an opportunity to build physical and mental resilience. Use that opportunity to get better and stronger!
It not about what you can’t do. It’s what you can do that matters.
Pivot or Perish
It’s so important to be adaptable.
You want to be someone who can change course if you need to—daily, weekly, whenever the need arises. This becomes especially important as you age. If an injury happens—and it almost certainly will—you must pivot.
If you quit instead, frailty is waiting for you. Muscle is perishable. You have to work hard to earn it, and you need to keep working to maintain it. Cardiovascular fitness goes away if you don’t keep moving. Flexibility vanishes. And so on.
Imagine where you want to be 25 years from now, and then ask yourself what you need to do to achieve that.
If you have health and fitness goals—I’d encourage you to set some!—accomplishing them will almost certainly involve strength training and some conditioning. You need to keep at it no matter what! If you picture yourself living independently, playing with your kids or grandkids, and travelling and pursuing your hobbies, all while feeling really good about yourself, you cannot give up on exercise when you have an injury.
Every choice you make right now with your fitness will directly impact your quality of life in the future. Don’t throw out your plans when the going gets tough; adjust them and keep going!
Ask for Help
Here’s my No. 1 tip: If you do experience a setback with movement because of an injury, ask for help. Especially if you are floundering.
If you can’t figure out how to keep moving on your own, you’re likely to throw your hands in the air and become despondent. But an expert can tell you exactly how to keep moving while being mindful of any current restrictions as you heal.
I found myself in a much better place as a coach after dealing with injuries myself. I acquired way more compassion and empathy for people who were working through injuries.
I learned how to adapt movements to work around various injuries, and I learned which questions to ask. For example: “Does this movement cause pain at a Level 8? If yes, we need to change it. If it’s just Level 2, we can work with that and it will help you recover!”
Sometimes you just need reassurance that you’re not going to cause more damage or that a little bit of stiffness is normal as you start to move again. I found great relief when a care provider told me that I would not aggravate an injury by continuing to train. He told me what to expect and what to watch for, and I worked with my fitness coach to make a plan that would help me stay on track with my goals.
Whether you’re in a group or personal training setting, a great coach should be able to adjust and customize a workout for you. You should never feel bad about asking for that. Great coaches want to keep you motivated and help you recover, and they’re happy to work with doctors, chiropractors and physiotherapists to find the best course of action.
If you’re feeling down about an injury, ask your care provider “what can I do?” and then get in touch with a great coach who can help you keep moving safely.
Keep Moving!
Injuries can be difficult, but they do not need to be the end of the road for health and fitness.
You absolutely can keep training and come back even stronger than you were before an injury.
Keep going! And if you need a coach to help you, let’s talk!
