Tuesday, April 29, 2014

360fit Blog Why to Train Through Injury

Two week ago I had surgery week in my family. My mother and ex wife both had hysterectomies and my brother had had stomach surgery. It was a crazy few days.

But the thing I noticed  is how quickly hospitals and doctors want people back moving again. Gone are the days of lying in your bed doing nothing so you can recover.

My mother was up the next day walking the halls under doctor orders. She went some three days later. My brother was up and around in three days and home in four.

The reason for this is simple; you heal better when you move.

This is because you have better blood flow. The more blood flow the faster the rate of healing and the more quickly you will be back to your regular self.

The same thing applies with injuries from sports or working out. The rule should always be train around the injury. If you have a bad knee then squats aren't the best idea. However working other parts of your body and range of motion exercise (without weight) will help a great deal.

As long as you are smart you can work around almost every injury. Even a shoulder or back injury, which are part of most upper body exercises can be worked around.

When injured, use exercises that keep the injured muscle out of the movement, or keep it stable in the exercise. For example with a shoulder injury do  pushups from your knees rather than toes to take  pressure off the shoulder but making it move. Another option would be to move your elbows in or out during the pushup to take the shoulder out of the movement more.

So next time you are injured don't take the time off and do nothing. Keep moving. You will be happy you did.

Devin Sherrington is seven time Best Personal Fitness Trainer Halifax award winner, and owner the award winning fitness studio 360fit in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He lives in Fletcher's Lake with his girlfriend Lauren and children Reign and Journey.

Click here for a FREE personal training session at 360fit!

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