Training Your Mindset Through Injury

As an athlete, I’ve battled through injuries, and as a coach I’ve helped clients train through them as well. 

I firmly believe that your mindset can expedite your recovery or hold you back and prolong the injury.

There is inherent risk in sport and in training. When we push ourselves hard or even sometimes when we engage in recreational movement, something can go wrong and we might end up with some dings and dents. It’s not ideal, but it is the reality. 

However, research clearly shows us that lack of exercise and movement is worse for your health than pretty much anything else, and fitness training is not inherently dangerous. In fact, injury rates for fitness are lower than rates for most organized sports.

But if you do end up with the occasional setback, I have some advice for you. 

Find the Silver Lining

Hurt your knee? Time to get an awesome bench press or stronger pull-ups. 

Injured your shoulder? Let’s get a massive squat or deadlift. 

And so on.

When I broke my hand back in the day, I used different equipment, like the safety squat bar you see above, to ensure I stayed strong. You have options!

Far too often, people pull the pin on all movement when they experience an injury. Most of the time, there are plenty of opportunities to keep training and make impressive progress on other lifts, skills and goals! 

Shelving exercise entirely is a big mistake unless a physician or care provider specifically tells you to stop doing so (most won’t). When people give up movement completely when dealing with an injury, the decline in their physical health is often worse than the injury itself. It’s important to keep doing the things you can do.

Your current exercise routine might need some modifications, but it very likely doesn’t need to totally halt. Chat with your care providers and your coach to reframe your goals and find out what you can do. 

You might start with just rehab and then progress to something bigger. But quitting should not be an option. You have the opportunity to get physically and mentally stronger when some things are unavailable.

Find Great Therapists & Coaches

Your journey to recovery begins between the ears, and it can be supported by great care providers. 

I've been fortunate to work with great chiropractors and physical therapists over the years. They were instrumental in my recovery because they supported my safe return to movement and set realistic goals for my rate of recovery. 

It was so important for me as an athlete to hear that I was “allowed” to train again and even experience some discomfort in that rehabilitation process. In one instance, I was told, “You won’t do any additional damage if you start pushing again,” and I was thrilled.

Had it not been for their compassionate and informative instruction, I might have been sidelined much longer than I was. Instead, I went on to achieve lifetime personal bests and peak fitness.

If you end up with an injury and you notice that your therapist is not helping you progress through your recovery, find a new therapist. Your care providers should be able to tell you what you can do and what your timelines for recovery are. Those two elements make it much easier to deal with an injury.

Stay Positive

Injuries can feel like the end of the world. They can significantly affect your quality of life and personal happiness. 

But you can also make a decision to move forward and realize that there is an opportunity to focus on other goals and come back even better than you were before.