Sustaining an injury interferes with one’s ability to continue working out. Fortunately, you can return to exercising after an injury. However, before then, you should follow your doctor’s advice regarding the safe exercises to engage in and for how long during each session. Fitness trainers and therapists can also help you return to working out safely.
If you’re recovering from an injury and want to get back to fitness, here’s how you can do it without affecting your healing progress.
Table of Contents
Get Your Doctor’s Go Ahead
After the injury has healed, you might feel energetic and ready to hit the gym. However, things aren’t as they seem. Your injury might have improved but not enough to start working out. That said, ensure to consult your doctor before getting back to fitness. They’ll advise you whether or not to go ahead.
Your doctor might also prescribe particular workouts to ensure your healing process isn’t interfered with. At a particular point, you might also require professional help, such as physical therapy Williamsburg. Therapists will tailor customized workouts based on your requirements and physical abilities to help you regain strength.
Prepare Yourself Mentally
After your doctor or therapist has determined you’re good to hit the gym, think about why you got injured and if you need to do things differently. Figure out if you did too much or you failed to wear protective equipment. While these might not have been the cause of your injury, you’ll learn a thing or two from it and prevent other injuries in the future.
After thinking the injury through, it’s time to stay positive. Avoiding thinking that you might not be able to work out like before. Instead of concentrating on your injury, focus on what you want to achieve and how far you’ve come regarding healing. Positivity will encourage you to regain courage, strength, and speed with time.
A Step At A Time
Regardless of your positivity and strength level, you should start slow. While you might want to return to where you were before the injury as soon as possible, being hard on yourself might weaken you, increasing your chances of getting another injury. You should also understand that you’ve not been working out for some time, and performing better on your first day might be challenging. That said, take a step at a time while working your way toward extreme workouts to avoid awakening the pain.
Start With Walking
Understandably, you wouldn’t want to go from heavy lifting to walking. However, this might be the ideal starting point after an injury. Walking is a natural movement. You don’t have to train or require help unless the injury is severe. If walking isn’t challenging, start with gentle walks as you increase the pace. You’ll experience improved energy and stamina for strenuous exercises as time passes.
Know When To Stop
Avoid living by the saying, ‘no pain, no gain.’ You’re still recovering from an injury. If you experience some pain, understand that your body is trying to communicate that something’s wrong. Therefore, you must stop and determine where you’re going wrong. Remember, a recurring injury is more severe than an original one, and you can prevent it by stopping when you should.
Consume Healthy Food And Stay Hydrated
Recovering from an injury is a process. What might seem or feel like a recovered injury might still be in the recovery process. Now that you’ve decided to return to the gym, a balanced diet and hydration are vital. Eating well and drinking enough water will help you recover, regain energy, and strengthen your joints. Avoid alcohol and unhealthy treats, eat whole meals, and drink mineral water instead of sweetened or energy drinks.
Prevent Further Injuries
After returning to the gym and start working out, don’t forget why you’ve missed exercising. Work towards avoiding putting too much pressure on the healing injuries or developing other physical issues.
To begin with, allow your body to rest and recover between workouts to avoid overusing an injury. It’s recommended to wait 48 hours before exercising the same body parts.
Secondly, plan workout sessions targeting various muscles to allow recovery. Lastly, watch your movements and postures throughout the training sessions to avoid putting too much pressure on particular parts.
Conclusion
Regardless of why you sustained an injury, the fact is that you haven’t been working out. Fortunately, the injury has improved after perseverance and treatment, and you’re ready to return to training. However, you should understand that your body might not be the same as before, and you might not be able to work out as you did immediately. With that in mind, it’d be best to take precautions to prevent further injuries once you return to the gym. Consider working closely with your doctor or physical therapist so that they can advise you when to return to the gym, the ideal exercises to participate in, and when to stop.
