I became a client at Vision Personal Training just over 10 years ago and it has slowly transformed my life!
The small studio where everyone knows your name, the setting of really meaningful goals and the fact that my trainers ONLY want me to achieve the results we have agreed together has had a massive impact on my life and there are plenty of people in our studio who have had the same experience. For all of them, like me, it has been a roller coaster ride at times as I have worked my way through tough some tough life experiences and injuries.
What do you do when you get injured or are finding it really hard to come to sessions?
There have been plenty of times when I have developed a slight injury or am just not feeling that motivated to keep on training and when it was easy to text Jamie and say "I won't be in tomorrow." There was an element of truth in every time I did that. I was usually very busy and sometimes training was painful due to an injury or just being really tired and emotionally stressed. However, every time I did that, I was saying to myself that it was OKAY if I did not train!
Do you find yourself doing that?
Since I have become a Vision, I have come to understand that ALL of your trainers only want to see you delivering the results you together have agreed. They are selected by Vision PT because they pride themselves on doing just that and are exceptional at what they do! THEY ALSO CARE! If you believe you cannot come to your session because you are slightly injured in the first place, they have the expertise to work around that injury. Then, if you really cannot do any training then ask them to spend half an hour focusing on how to improve your nutrition or education around your eating is impacted by your emotions and addictions. Be creative and continue to look for value for you from your Vision PT trainer.
So, What Can you Do to Keep Your Success Going When You Are Injured?
- Modify Your Program - talk to your trainer before your session about the best way to modify your regular training session so that you are challenged but working around your injury. For example, if you have a sore knee get your trainer to focus on top half weights or if you have sore knees do low impact cardio on the X Trainer or Bike.
- Nutrition, Education and Food Plans - if you cannot train then use your session opportunity to explore your emotions around food as well as the food and drink you have been consuming. Spend some time talking through your nutrition, eating and drinking habits and plans with your trainer. Come armed with some great questions!
- Be Accountable - to achieve your current health and fitness goals encourage your trainer to keep you fully accountable.
- Don't complain - not many around you want or need to hear about your injuries! However, staying positive can have a significant impact on your speed of healing. Work on your mindset not to allow your injury to stop you from achieving the goals you have set for yourself.
- Be Patient - do not allow your training to do actions that will injure you further. It is not a problem for you to allow yourself to heal and to work easily to get back to your fit state.
- Keep Your Routine - there are real benefits from sticking to a routine. If you regularly have sessions at the same time each week use those times to have nutrition sessions or other discussions with your trainer that are not linked to your exercise program. This is always better for your mind and body than doing nothing and getting out of your regular habits.
- Sweat - do try to do some exercises each week that produce a bit of a sweat. These help you maintain your aerobic base and help you feel good about burning some kilojoules.
- Do Weights - no matter what find a way to continue to lift weights twice per week. Lower weights and much higher repetitions of up to 15-20 per set will continue to give you maintain overall fitness and muscle tone. Work this through with your trainer.
- Stay Connected - to the people in your studio community. We have an awesome collection of clients in this studio and when you are injured it is a great idea to come along so some of the less intense group classes like walk club and to be re-energised by the Vision PT community. Everyone in the studio is there because they want to transform their lives. That enthusiasm rubs off on everyone who regularly is part of the community.
- Do Something Every Day for Your Health - while injuries can be markedly different, most of them respond extremely well to rest and self-treatment. If there are things I can do - see a chiropractor or have a massage - I do them, even if they seem like hard work.
- Eat Properly - as far as you can, plan and track your food using MyVision to ensure that you deliver your macro targets every day and can remain focused on achieving your health and fitness goals. This is really important for you to stay positive and on track.
- Focus on Today - by not setting strict deadlines, you won't get frustrated when you miss them. More importantly, you won't start exercising too hard before you're ready.
What Should You Keep in Mind when you are Over Your Injury?
- If a serious injury has prevented you from exercising for more than a few weeks, start like a beginner. Work with your trainer to ease back into your full program.
- If the injured area hurts then stop. Continue to work with your trainer to work around your injury.
- If you're returning from an overuse or muscle inflammation injury, ice the trouble spot after every session.
- Stretch gently and thoroughly after each session with special focus on your injured area.
- Troubleshoot the injury you just suffered with your trainer. Why were you injured in the first place? Was it something you did or that happened previously? Whatever caused the injury, avoid it next time.
Hopefully these guidelines will help you maintain your long term health and fitness. Good luck on that awesome journey!
*Disclaimer: Individual results vary based on agreed goals. Click here for details.
