by Kerry Taylor
Has this ever happened to you? You’re going along in your training, making great progress and being consistent getting to the gym, getting your workouts in, then “BOOM”, something goes wrong and you have some degree of an injury. Well, I’m sure if you’ve been training for a while, you have been in this scenario at least once before. My question to you is, then what? Do you abandon ship? Do you keep going? Stop working out forever? What I would like to do is tell you how I handle injuries when I have come across them for myself.
1. Fix Your Mindset
When the injury happens, you may let out a huge expletive, that I can’t say here. LOL. I have said my share when I have gotten injured, out loud, under my breath, in my mind, they were definitely said. LOL. Then the thoughts of frustration, worry, despair, dread, and now what, just to name a few, start to take over. Unfortunately it happened, give yourself the few minutes of frustration and then move on to the healing and keep moving process. This is a crucial part of moving forward.
2. See a Medical Professional
Depending on what happened, seek advice from your coach or/and a medical professional. Know the level of what you’re dealing with so you know how to progress from there. Make sure the medical professional is a good one that is willing to take time with you and understand who YOU are- that you are the type that likes to be active.
3. Keep Moving Forward
All too often we see people stop everything all together and that shouldn’t be the case. We should try to move forward with proper adjustments. Check out the area that seems to be injured. Test the ranges of motion you have that do not cause any pain response. Make sure to do this with no weight or added resistance. This will give you an idea of where to start. We would sometimes assume if I hurt one area, then that means all movements that move that area are out of the question. That is not always the case. Just because you may have your shoulder bothering you, doesn’t mean you can’t do any upper body work. Pressing and rowing may feel okay, but pushing may not. Take note of that and adjust accordingly.
4. Adapt, Adjust, Overcome and Execute
Now that you’ve figured out what you can and cannot do, we can create a plan of attack, program around that, and continue to move forward and make progress. When I had shoulder surgery, I was back in the weight room as soon as the doc cleared me to. I couldn’t use my surgical arm, but I could use everything else. Doing this allowed my shoulder to heal, but also allowed the rest of my body to progress and also help get my injured shoulder stronger. This happens through irradiation, but that’s a talk for another blog on another day.
5. Make this a Priority
Don’t overlook this. Start to focus in on nutrition more because it is the key to healing and getting back to 100%. It’s easier to get people to continue to work in the gym and push themselves. It’s harder to get people to take a huge stock in the things that make the magic happen. We change when we do these at the best of our ability. Yes, I’m talking about sleeping, resting, staying hydrated, and keeping our bodies filled with great nutrition. Get better at these and I promise you it will help to cut down your recovery time.
Apply these simple steps and you will be back in order in no time. Keep that head on straight, an injury isn’t the end of the world, just a small setback. Assess, create a plan and continue to move forward. Until next time, continue to live life 1 degree above the rest.
