As an athlete, I’ve had my fair share of injuries. I can tell you each one sucked.
When you’re injured, you feel debilitated. You can’t move and everyone tells you to take a break. But when you start to see that you’re making progress, stopping is the last thing you want to do.
I hate it when I get injured. My mind starts to spiral and think about my progress might fade away. After a few days of not lifting, my mood actually goes down and I get upset (that’s how much I love lifting weights).
However once I’m done acting like a baby, I take a breath and realize that my body needs me to relax and recover. And I realize I’m not the only one going through this.
So here are a few tips that I’ve developed along the way on how you can deal with your “setbacks”:
1. Don’t call them Setbacks
Acknowledging them as setbacks instantly puts a downer on the whole experience. Instead, just think of it as a time to reassess.
Nothing in life is really a setback, it’s just another path that you have to go through in order to achieve greatness. You got injured for a reason so now is the time to think it through and prevent it from happening again.
2. Recovery Is Your Friend
When you’re injured, the worst thing you can do is train through the pain. Whoever said that is stupid and needs to stop! However, that doesn’t mean just standing still and doing nothing.
There are tons of recovery workouts as well as physical therapy sessions to make sure your injury recovers well. Take a walk (if you can) or do some yoga. Never underestimate the power of stretching!
3. Calm your Ego Down
Let’s be honest: the reason you’re injured is probably that you either went too hard in a workout or you messed up your form. This goes back to Tip #1. Once you’ve figured out what went wrong, understand you’re not going to start off at the weight you use to.
And that’s OKAY!
Tell your ego to take a back seat when it comes to recovery. The last thing you want is to be injured again, so make sure when you are ready to go back to take it slow.
Obviously, these things are easier said than done. I’m writing to you while recovering and it’s still a struggle for me. But it’s not impossible! It takes practice and patience to get your body back to normal.
So be kind to yourself and rest up. If you still feel an incredible amount of pain from your sprain or injury, definitely consult your doctor and have it checked out!
How do you deal with setbacks in your life? Leave a comment below and let me know. Also if you like this post, make sure you share it with friends and family.
Til next time friends,
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