Training through an Injury

I injured my knee May 15th. Since then, I have had to change everything about the way I train and workout. It has been frustrating and depressing at times, but I have had to refocus on staying positive and being active while the injury heals.

Here are some tips for working through an injury:

1. Rest:
Healing takes time. Be smart and don’t push it too much. Listen to the advice of doctors and coaches. It is easy to want to jump right back into it, but healing takes patience. Rest has been a struggle for me because I convince myself that I can do things that I shouldn’t right now. It is important to have good coaches and friends to keep you in line.

2. Focus on weaknesses:
Take the time you have now to attack some of the weaker movements not affected by your injury. Leg injury? Work on getting a strict pull-up! Now that you are limited, it is a perfect opportunity to address them. Focus on form because that can help prevent future injuries.

3. Importance of nutrition:
Healing from an injury can take time, but eating healthy can help speed up the recovery. Also, with injuries, you are not able to do as much or workout as hard, so it is important to adjust your diet to avoid gaining unhealthy weight.

4. Test all movements and range of motion before grabbing the barbell:
Don’t jump the gun and try to come back where you left off. You are bound to hurt yourself again. Start slow and gradually work your way back. Test the movements of a lift without weight first to see if you experience pain before grabbing a barbell with some weight.

5. Do not create other injuries:
From my personal injury, I was favoring my right knee a lot and that was causing the tendonitis in my left knee to flare up and cause pain. Use light enough weight where you are not favoring certain areas to cause imbalances. Using light weight with more reps is a good alternative. This is the time to focus on form and making improvements.

Injuries happen, but how you deal with it emotionally and physically makes all the difference. Stay positive. Be smart. Listen to your body. You will be back in no time.

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