You just recently hit a new PR on that lift you have worked so hard at improving. Then BAM! You tweak your back at the annual Family Thanksgiving 🦃 Football game…. These tips will help when you’re training while injured.
What now? Treat with Ice 🧊 and heat? Take 2-4 weeks off completely Cancel my gym membership?
An unfortunate part of training is the occasional tweak or injury that makes it challenging to do your normal exercise routine. While it is important to respect pain following an injury, the key is maintenance of your fitness. Fitness is muscular strength and endurance, cardiovascular endurance, and general mobility. Typically, unless the injury is severe, you should be able to check a couple of these off in your training regimen while recovering.
Here are a few suggestions to help train around your pain so you don’t lose ground on your performance:
- Use Exercise Variations- Instead of that painful barbell back squat, try a front goblet squat or bodyweight squat
- Lighten the Weight- For the first week try increasing the volume to 3 lighter sets of 15-20. Instead of heavier strength training, gradually work your way back into your normal training block over time.
- Train the Opposite Side- If your pain is one sided, this is a great time to work on unilateral training of the unaffected side. You will most likely find some deficits that will help performance in the long run.
- Cross Training- This is a great time to work on something out of your comfort zone. Consider weight training or swimming if running is painful.
- Possibly, a yoga 🧘♀️ or spin class if you can’t get under that barbell yet.
At any given point we will all deal with a minor setback, but don’t let that keep you from pressing on towards your goals strong 💪
