After suffering an injury and undergoing surgery or treatment, you may be ready to get back to the gym. It can be frustrating watching all of your progress disappear before your very eyes, so it’s natural to want to go back to where you left off.
As long as your doctor says that you’re ready to get back to your routine, it’s time to jump back into the ring. Here are the best tips to see you through.
Always Stretch and Warm Up
It’s essential to get your body stretched before engaging in a workout. Your muscles will need to work a little extra to get back to where they were before, so take your time really stretching. A stretch routine should always start and end your workout, injury, or not.
It’s also a good idea to warm up with a low-intensity exercise that gets your heart beating. Your warm-up should be at least 5 minutes in order to get you ready for higher intensity.
Do Non-Strenuous Exercises
It’s best to start slowly with exercises that don’t exhaust your body too much too quickly. Take it easy on your joints and do a workout that won’t hurt you.
Swimming is a great option or the elliptical machine. Long distance running is probably a bad idea, particularly if you suffered a knee or ankle injury.
Focus On Form
Your form is incredibly important. When bouncing back from an injury, it’s vital that your form is as correct as possible. Your spine should be straight with your shoulders squared and soft. When doing lower leg exercises, lead with your hips.
By focusing on form, you’ll make sure that you have less of a risk for injuring yourself again.
Take Breaks
Even though you may be excited to dive in and get a solid work out in, you should take frequent breaks as often as possible. The idea is to work your way up slowly rather than go full force.
Take breaks every few minutes to observe how your body is feeling and take a few sips of water.
Stop If You Feel Pain
If at any moment you feel pain, stop what you’re doing immediately. When you feel pain, it’s your body telling you that you’re doing something wrong. The old saying, “no pain, no gain” does not apply when you’re getting back into an exercise routine after getting hurt.
No one’s body is the same. There’s no guaranteeing how long it will take to get back to the way you worked out before your injury. The most important thing is having patience and trusting your process. Make an effort to take your time, and you’ll get back on track in no time.
Originally posted on July 9, 2019 @ 8:19 pm