When recovering from an injury, how much is too much when pushing through pain or discomfort?
First off, I am not a doctor, so do not take this as medical advice. My thoughts are from my research, and anecdotal experience with athletes and clients. I will say that I have had many issues over the years of being an athlete, and training hard for nearly three decades.
Sprained ankles, shin splints, torn calf muscle, broken wrist, broken toe, broken thumb, strained knee joint, pulled hamstrings, elbow tendonitis, strained neck and threw out my back to the point I couldn’t lift weight off the ground without feeling it for over a year. I even dropped a barbell on my face and got 15 stitches above my lip where it connects to your nose. That incident came with tons of facial bone bruising, too. I’m sure there are a few other things that I forgot about, but you get the point. I have had my fair share of issues over the years.
Some of these were preventable, some accidental, and some were crazy flukes that were not caused from overuse. Hindsight is always 20:20, right? Let’s just say I learned from all of them. What I could have done to avoid it altogether, or what I can do to prevent it from happening again. I would never trade what I have built as my temple for what my body would look like had I never experienced any setbacks or issues. These setbacks were motivating factors for me to dig deeper why this happened, and in the process forced me to learn how to respond.
Before I get into any of that I want to get your mind right. You guys have heard of the 80/20 rule right? I think it applies to so many aspects of our life it’s not even funny. Well in this case, approaching any setbacks or issues is 20% mechanical, and 80% mindset. Almost everything is 20% mechanical and 80% mindset for that matter.
I love the quote from the legend Bruce Lee:
“Don’t speak negatively about yourself, even as a joke. Your body doesn’t know the difference. Words are energy and they cast spells, that’s why it’s called spelling. Change the way you speak about yourself, and you can change your life.”
I think we can all learn from Bruce Lee, and foster his mentality when it comes to the words you use about yourself. Not just spoken, but how you think, too.
I remember many years ago I had a client always complain that her back was “injured” after deadlifting. I watched her form closely, and gave her many cues to ensure that it was sound. We lightened her load, and decreased her intensity. I watched her like a hawk during the reps, and made certain that she stretched and warmed down properly. The next day she said she was injured again. I told her to come to the gym so I could help her relieve the tension with some stretches, and recovery exercises.
After spending time with her, watching her move, her body language, and responses to the exercises we were doing I noticed she wasn’t injured. She never trained in her life leading up to that point, so this was all new to her. She confused the discomfort of being sore, as being injured. Deadlifts use your back muscles, and yeah honey if you’ve never done them before then you are going to get sore. Being in discomfort from being sore is not an injury, so her words were not used correctly and it actually effected her mindset.
You notice how I haven’t said I was injured? I said “setbacks”, “issues”, “ailments”, but I will never say I was injured. Being injured is possible from a motorcycle accident, car accident, mountain biking, skydiving, sports accident and anything where you are messing with gravity and mother nature. The kind of setbacks from those situations can definitely be referred to as injuries, but I would still like to think it’s best not to say the “i” word.
In fact, let’s stop saying it altogether now. We know what the “i” word is, and we won’t say it anymore. When I hear the “i” word, I think back to when I was a kid watching Discovery channel where some animal was getting hunted by it’s prey because it was so weak and injured that it couldn’t defend itself. It’s basically nature’s way of letting the ecosystem sort itself out. This lion is injured; you are not injured.
There are a few resources to look at for fixing issues you may have. The Ready State is Kelly Starrett’s website, which has books, online Coaching, videos, and other products that you can use to help you fix your movement.
Also, Squat University is another great resource. The Book “Rebuilding Milo” is a great source of information, and they also have other products available to help you fix your movement.
The last resource that I use is from a contact I met online that I have been interacting with for a couple years. His company is Combat Therapist, and he mainly works with combat athletes, but a lot of it applies to athletes in general.
With the 3 above resources, you can search for a specific muscle group, and there’ll be a way to identify the issue, and an approach that is laid out to guide you through fixing it.
If your issues are shoulder related, we also have a Crossover Symmetry unit in the back of the gym. That also has a book with a protocol for you to ‘fix your shoulder in 30 days’. It’s very specific, but all laid out in the book. It is there for you.
Keep in mind that most issues are related to soft tissues. Your lack of mobility, improper movement patterns, and/or overuse. The lack of mobility can be addressed using the above aforementioned websites, and their products/services. The improper movement is something our Coaches will help you with. We demonstrate the movement, and help you find a variation that is challenging, but doable. If your form is off during a lift, or workout, and we see it, we will definitely intervene. Sometimes we can’t see everyone, so if you’re ever curious if you’re doing something correctly, please do not hesitate to ask a Coach.
Some therapies that I find helpful are including, but not limited to:
- deep tissue massage
- accupuncture
- chiropractic
- Power Dot (Electric Muscle Stimulator)
- Graston technique
- Zone 2 cardio (SHRED)
- Foam rolling
- LaX ball SMR
- Sauna
- Yoga
- Swimming
- Shadow Boxing
- Epsom salt baths
- Float State
- Theragun (percussion)
- Reverse Hyper (back chain)
- Sled drags
- Supplementation
- proper nutrition
- adequate and quality sleep 7-9 hours
Keep in mind that many of the above mentioned methods do not fix issues. They help with recovery, stimulation, and blood flow, all of which can make you feel better, but ultimately will not fix an issue. Look at these as more of a preventative measure once you are ailment free.
The one modality above that can actually fix issues over time is Zone 2 cardio. I renamed it to Shred because it sounds way sexier. Anyway, this low intensity cardio helps your body use the lymphatic system to flush out the byproduct of training hard. This is a way to create blood flow to flush out toxins, increase your aerobic base, burn fat, and recover from high intensity bouts.
I give all of my private clients a weekly goal of 120 minutes of Shred. It can be before or after high intensity training, or on a ‘rest day’/non high intensity day. Doing it right after high intensity for 15-20 minutes will help to take the toxins out of your fatigued muscles to expedite recovery, and reduce soreness. This also plays a role in taking your central nervous system from a heightened state back to a walking intensity (relaxed and not stressed). All you need is a heart rate device (we have these at the gym for sale). The gym pays for the hardware and software to display your heart rate on the screen. Keep your heart rate between 70-75% on the screen using a bike, rower, jog, jump rope with some light skill work, and you’re dialed!
Exercising through discomfort can be a challenging task, but it is essential to push through it to achieve your fitness goals. Discomfort is different from pain, and it is important to understand the difference between the two. Pain is a warning sign that something is wrong, and you should stop exercising immediately. Discomfort, on the other hand, is a feeling of mild discomfort or fatigue that you experience during exercise. It is a sign that your muscles are working hard and adapting to the stress of exercise.
Here are some tips on how to exercise through discomfort:
1. Start Slowly: If you are new to exercise, start slowly and gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts. This will help your body adapt to the stress of exercise and reduce the risk of injury. We have a protocol for new members that is 50/75/100 which is referring to the volume on month 1, 2 & 3. In other words, cut your volume in half on the first month, cut it by 25% on month 2, and then by month 3 you should be able to do the full workout. This is assuming you’ve been consistent with 3 x per week up to that point.
2. Focus on Your Breathing: Deep breathing can help you relax and reduce the feeling of discomfort during exercise. Focus on your breathing and try to take slow, deep breaths.
3. Stay Hydrated: Dehydration can make you feel more fatigued and uncomfortable during exercise. Make sure to drink plenty of water with added minerals (electrolytes) before, during, and after your workout. Being just 1% dehydrated can reduce your performance by up to 10%.
4. Listen to Your Body: Pay attention to your body and stop exercising if you feel any pain. It is important to push yourself, but not to the point of injury.
Working around an injury can be challenging, but it is possible to keep getting more fit while avoiding setbacks. Here are some tips on how to work around an injury:
1. Let the Coach Know First: during the workout explanation the Coach goes over the movements, variations, how to tweak/adjust to fit your current fitness level. However, they do not go over how to work around a movement that may cause pain. You must simply ask the Coach for a different movement that does not signal the “check engine light”. For instance, if pressing overhead with a barbell causes pain, then we may have you try dumbbell presses, or push ups as an example. The goal is to use the similar muscles without causing pain, so you get the desired result of the workout.
2. Modify Your Workouts: Modify your workouts to avoid putting stress on the injured area. For example, if you have a knee injury, you can switch to low-impact exercises like the Echo Bike or Concept 2 Rower in lieu of box jumps or running, for instance. You don’t need to ask the Coach to do this, if you already know. We have conversion rates for all modalities. For instance, 400m Run = 24/18 Calorie Bike & 500/400 meter Row.
3. Focus on Strength Training: Strength training can help you build muscle and improve your overall fitness level without putting stress on the injured area. Focus on exercises that target the muscles around the injured area to help support and stabilize it. Weightlifting is low impact, and will strengthen your muscles, bone, joints, and ligaments. Think of a tree in the wind that doesn’t blow over. It cracks and tears, but doesn’t break. Then when the wind subsides, it grows stronger and more dense to prevent any cracking next time the wind blows. This is how your body responds to weightlifting.
4. Take Rest Days: Rest days are important for recovery and to prevent further injury. Make sure to take rest days and listen to your body if you feel any pain or discomfort. Active recovery is still a rest day. Hike, go for a bike ride, a walk, do some yoga, play a sport, etc.
At the end of the day, I want you to ask yourself these questions: Is my nutrition dialed? Is my sleep dialed? Is my supplementation dialed? Have I done everything in my power to resolve my mobility issues? Have I avoided any movement that causes pain during workouts, and substituted it with a different variation? If you’ve done all of this for 30 days straight, and are still in pain, then maybe you should consider going through the steps to get a deeper look at your issue. Maybe an X-ray, MRI, and two or three different opinions from referred orthopedic surgeons that are not aggressive money hungry come one come all surgery prescribing physicians. Surgery should always be last resort. And, if that is the route you choose be prepared to put in work to rehab it properly.
If you skip these questions and go straight to seeing a doctor, then you are unwilling to put in the work yourself and you’re looking for a shortcut to resolve your issue. Your body is a miracle, and designed to be very resilient and strong. Please do not put limits on what your body can achieve, if you get your mindset right and put in the effort towards helping it thrive!
In conclusion, exercising through discomfort is essential to achieve your fitness goals. It is important to understand the difference between pain and discomfort. There are many resources and tips for you in this article. Bookmark it, and share it with friends/family. It’ll be one that you’ll want to keep handy for future reference.
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Coach WW
