It is going to happen at some point…you are going to suffer one or more injuries during your training lifetime and recovery can be a tricky road to navigate. Nobody wants to hear that they will ever be injured because there is pain and likely inactivity associated with it at some point. The reality is that you will get injured whether you train or not but more important is how you let your injuries dictate your future progress.

Most injuries will be of the nagging variety, a twinge here or a strain/sprain there which may slow you down from time to time. These injuries are usually fixed by modifying your program for a short time while being a little more proactive with your recovery efforts between training sessions. On the other hand, you may suffer one of many more serious injuries which forces you off of the training floor for an extended period of time. The latter example puts you into a completely different mindset all together which so many people do not know how to cope with.

The Solution

With a serious injury you have to do a few key things to ensure that you get back to where you were BEFORE the injury as safely and as efficiently as possible.

1. 1. Get your injury checked out by a trusted professional(s) and do not delay your treatment and recovery plan.

1. 1. Keep your entire care team (doctor, trainer, dietician, etc.) informed of what is going on so that they can work TOGETHER to get you back on track.

1. 1. Focus on what you CAN do, either physically and especially nutritionally to stay on course as much as possible. It is way too easy to begin feeling sorry for yourself and give in to the mentality that “Since I cannot be as active as I want to that I should just stop ALL of the other things that have made me successful.”

1. 1. Get back to and increase your level of activity at your prescribed pace. You will NOT win any awards for going full speed faster than you should especially if it results in reinjuring yourself.

Understand that we have worked with clients that have experienced just about every physical setback you can imagine. At the same time, you will not lose everything that you’ve gained as much of what you will have gained has NOTHING to do with your physical attributes. Your mental changes/habits are what have led to your success and will keep you on the right track in the future. Injuries WILL be a part of your future in some way, just don’t let them define who you ultimately become.