Returning to the Gym after injury.

If you're lucky then this should never be an issue. If you're injury prone, this might be useful. Injuries happen. To reduce to severity of these injuries it's important to return to training properly - here are 3 tips to help you return to exercise after taking some time on the shelf.

Warm up.

Every workout should start with a warm up, 5-10 minutes of full body cardio (Cross Trainer, Rowing or Treadmill) and some light dynamic stretches. This helps get the blood flowing around the body and quite possibly could've prevented your injury in the first place.

Besides when you stretch and warm up you get more from your warm up. This is known as the "Stretch Reflex" where the muscle spindle stretches and nerve activity increases. When you prepare your body then there's a lesser risk of injury. IF you ever hear of anyone talking about how "warming up is dangerous" then let them know they're wrong, unless your warm up involves fighting a live bear.

Take it easy.

When you return to the gym or any form of exercise, your normal instinct is to go back to what you were doing. This is a recipe for disaster and has a risk of aggravating your injury. When you do return take it easy and work your way back up to what you were doing.

In a weight lifting sense it can be as simple as changing the movements you were doing to make them less taxing on your body. lower the weights and train accordingly. *Jackanory Time* When I injured my shoulder I found that doing press-ups was a great way to train my chest without the pain of a heavy load. I could control the movement more and get stimulation to the right parts of my body.

Cardio is a bit different, you still need to work yourself back up, walk before you run - it all goes back to the same point of being more mindful with your approach to working out and your body will thank you.

Know your limits.

Your limits have unfortunately changed, this is one of the downsides to having an injury. This does depend on the severity of the aforementioned injury. But listen to your body. If the warning signs are flashing and the injury feels aggravated then it's either too early to return OR you're doing too much.

Take a step back and look at what you're doing and if it seems like too much then you're going to have to keep changing and experimenting with what you're doing to find something that does work.

*See a Professional* 

This goes without saying, if you have a serious injury then see a professional. Doctor, Physiotherapist, Personal Trainer. Allow them to assess how you're doing and the injury. Ask for advice on what you can do to get back into the gym. but trust me, it's better than reading a blog.

Most importantly have fun!

#beahero

Photo by Marlon Lara on Unsplash