Recovering From a Physical Setback

Life is a series of setbacks. This is not a negative view of the world, but for most of us we encounter daily setbacks on a small or large scale. Setbacks are a natural occurrence which is only as negative as we choose to allow it to be. Injuries for many, especially athletes, can be as much as a mental setback as physical. Myself having had 4 hernia surgeries to repair 6 hernias, I can relate first hand on the struggles of losing time in the gym. Each time I had to rely on other coping strategies, and focus my mind on the end result; being healed up and ready to train again.

How to come back from an injury stronger than before

Placing value on the end goal, and not dwelling at a momentary setback. When a setback occurs it's hard not to be frustrated and want to give up. As we know being a gym rat is a lifestyle, not a passing fad. When we refocus our minds to the goal of getting back to training, and improving our physical/mental health an injury will be a learning experience to be applied to yourself or when helping others that are in a similar situation. Here are a few things to try to focus on when recovering from an injury.

HEALTH

Changing your view on performance. Sometimes injuries can be long lasting. If this is something you’ve experienced, hopefully you just changed your approach to training and health in general. Instead of heavy deadlifts and squats, utilizing other types of training, higher volume, and more low impact training. Not letting an injury distort your overall view on health is paramount, remember you're in this for the long haul!

PERFECT YOUR CRAFT

Now that you have some downtime to allow your injury to heal, you now have ample time to perfect your craft. Whatever career you're in, more time to refocus your attention to your business, clients, or education for yourself is added value to your downtime. Example: A coach can use this time to address their client needs; diet, training, supplements ect. Read new research on dieting and training to apply it to your knowledge base.

ESTABLISH A SUPPORT SYSTEM

My wife has undergone over 20 orthopedic surgeries and I have been part of her support system for at least 16 of the surgeries. So I can empathize first hand the setbacks and mental challenges when learning to walk again, make modifications, and even be ok with defining a new normal. Each operation was a needed intervention that slowed physical progress and also presented challenges to returning back to the gym due to the after effects of her surgeries. Even though this caused frustration, it was an opportunity to create a new workout routine and start fresh towards making progress again. Also addressing the associated anxiety with starting from scratch again.

SEEK THERAPEUTIC ASSISTANCE

For many the gym is therapy.  Thereby, time away from the gym leaves many gaps of self help.  Many athletes will identify their mindset as a contributing factor to their success after recovering from an injury. Take time to get your mindset right so when you return to training you are 100% ready for your goals.