How to get back on track – mentally – after an injury
The past couple of years, I’ve had some health issues that have knocked me down. Nothing serious, thankfully – just a series of conditions that have kept me from being able to exercise the way I have in the past. The latest – hip bursitis – and with it, four weeks of physical therapy. I gotta tell you, with one challenge after another, it’s been harder to get back on track each time. Not just physically, but mentally.
When you have an injury, your doctor can tell you how to move forward with your exercise routine. But how do you get past the frustration and get back on track mentally? I definitely needed some help this time around. So I went to Heather Frey – personal trainer and founder of SmashFit for some of her always amazing motivational wisdom. Here are her tips for staying physically and emotionally strong through an injury:
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1. First, find out from the doctor what you CAN do and focus on *that*, not what you can’t do. If your injury is to your lower body, find out what kind of upper body workout you can do. Maybe swimming, band work, or a body weight routine. If the injury is to your upper body, then keep walking, or hit the cardio equipment. This will keep the body physically moving and your endorphines intact.
2. Remind yourself, “This is temporary”. It will be tomorrow, and it will be next week, and next month, and you will be well. Take impeccable care of yourself and feel your healing and strength each day. Take as good care of yourself as you would if you were taking care of someone else in your position.
3. Find other soul-filling activities to do with your time. Write the novel you’ve been meaning to write. Take the class you’ve been wanting to take. See the the time-off as a way to build other strengths you wouldn’t have time for otherwise. It could be a blessing in disguise.
4. Relish in your COMEBACK! Become your own success story and keep your head forward thinking. You got there once, certainly you can do it again!
Thanks, Heather! I am really trying to focus on #1 – what I CAN do. And who knows – maybe I will find a great new stretch or exercise during the next four weeks of physical therapy that I never would have known about otherwise.
