A fitness-related injury can have physical and mental effects
Working out is tough but trying to
stay active and healthy while injured can be even harder. There’s nothing like feeling at the top of your game to having it come to a speeding halt. Whether you’ve pulled muscles, ligaments or even broken bones, it’s important to focus on rehabilitation from your injuries.
Injury from Inactivity
My lower back hurts, your lower back hurts, everyone’s lower back hurts, I get it. The amount of stress your lower back deals with on a daily basis is often overlooked. Injuries typically occur during exercise or sudden movements, like squats or even just getting out of your chair. But are they really the root cause of the injury?
Surprisingly, inactivity is usually to blame. Contrary to what many believe, you don’t need to necessarily overdo a workout to develop an injury. When we are inactive for long periods of time, our muscles contract and tighten up and we become extremely vulnerable to injury. The best way to avoid injuries is to prevent one from ever happening. Especially for the lower back. You need to get up and start moving! Stretch your legs, do mobility work, find your weak points and improve them. Got tight hip flexors? Stretch. Tight quads? Grab a foam roller.
Understand your Fitness Mindstate
For many people, fitness activities can be 
frustrating. After fighting with yourself to head back to the gym or into your routine, the last thing you want is an injury bringing you down. For many people, injuries seem like justified reasons to completely stop all their fitness activities. Unfortunately, this view causes many people in the Health Concerned, Back-Burner, and Yo-Yo groups of the Fitness Town Mind State Fit-ometer turn away from their health.
Injuries can have Physical and Mental effects
For people who are consistently active and those who participate with fitness leisurely tend to not realize that injuries can result in mental stress as well. Perhaps you’re depressed that since your injury, you haven’t gone to the gym for over 3 weeks. Maybe you’re disappointed that you couldn’t do as many reps as you used to. Whatever your injury, a little comforting can go along way from the people who support you.
Once recovered from an injury, many people hold themselves back mentally in fears of re-injury. When you aren’t confident of yourself, you aren’t going to be able to get the most out of your workout. If you are a professional athlete, you’d probably agree that injuries can be one’s worst nightmare. Imagine training for hours daily to have to step back and not participate in a competition you worked so hard for. This can be very emotional as you look to the podium and think that could be you standing there.
The key to success is to understand that you
can’t let your post-injury reluctance keep you from returning back to your fitness routine. Sure, you would have loved to have participated in the event, but since you gave your body time to repair itself you can be back at it for years to come. It’s important to gradually work your body up to your pre-injury status. Start with smaller exercises and gradually increase the intensity level over time. I recommend looking into a braces which could help provide extra support when getting back to it.
Simple steps to avoid injuries:
1. Warm Up
- Stretch or do a warm up prior to an intense workout. Start with basic stretches and begin simple cardio. Monitor your timing as your warm up should be shorter, for example, 15 minutes. Within these 15 minutes, your goal is to get your heart rate up and and muscles moving to prevent pulls.
2. Gradually Increase Intensity
- If you’re new to the gym, start to build muscle gradually. You won’t be able to get ripped in a week, so start slowly and increase your intensity by 5-10% each week.
3. Know your Limits!
- It’s very important that when you workout you listen to your body. If you overdo a workout, you will have tender and sore muscles in the following days. You may want to impress that really cute boy or girl looking at you, but injuring yourself isn’t the way to do it. Overdoing your workout can be very dangerous and you could put those around you at risk as well. If you can’t bench press 200lbs, then perhaps make it your goal to gradually work your way to it rather than failing on epic proportions. When doing strength workouts, such as bench presses, it’s important to have someone spot you.
4. Ask for Assistance
- If you are unsure of specific exercises or have fitness related questions, I recommend consulting a professional.
5. Limit your Inactivity
- If you are constantly in a sitting position, your posture can play a big factor in your backs health. It’s a good idea to occasionally get up and move or go for a walk during breaks. Continuously staring into a computer screen for the majority of the day can put your eye sight at risk. By getting up and moving throughout the day you continue to keep your muscles active.
In today’s fast paced world, it can seem easier to skip steps and try to get there faster. Creating a healthier lifestyle and body is a work in progress over time. Fitness is not something you can push yourself to do and then suddenly stop. In order to continue your results without injury, it’s important to maintain a healthy diet and consistent fitness routine. The key to fitness success is to….
ALWAY’S KEEP MOVING!
