Injuries: Take Care of Them!
Getting old sucks. I know, I know, we are only in our late twenties. But, our bodies just don't do what they used to. And, as you create more consistent workout habits, injuries are bound to pop up. So today we're talking about what to do about it!
1. Stretch. When Ronnie started training for a half marathon in her early twenties, she started experiencing horrible knee-pain. She started stretching really well before and and after her runs and it made a huge difference. Never underestimate the power of a good stretch.
2. Listen to your body. If something hurts, stop! I recently experienced nerve pain in my shoulder during a lift. Initially I shook it off and tried to push through. My husband could tell something was up and said some really inspiring words of wisdom ;) “Changing the lift or stopping all together doesn’t indicate how good of shape you’re in.” Wow, sometimes we all need the voice of reason to step in! Was he right? Ummm, YES! Could I have caused more serious problems had I continued? Almost certainly.
I changed from an olympic lift to a front squat (genie style), box jump, and glute bridge. I still had a great workout, but saved myself from unnecessary pain and possible injury.
3. Take care of injuries right away. Letting injuries linger can lead to more damage and pain as well as impact your ability to continue working out for the long-term. In the case of the injury I mentioned above, I went home from the gym and iced my shoulder. I HATE being cold, so it’s always a struggle to convince myself to ice, but I did it any way. I popped some ibuprofen, and took it easy the rest of the night. I repeated the ice and ibuprofen for 3 more nights and felt good as new by Thursday. If I didn't do this, there's a good chance I could still be dealing with an injured shoulder.
Remember, we only have one body. If we want it to do great things, we need to do great things to it. So stretch, listen to your body and take care of your injuries so you can spend your days soaking up the amazing endorphins a good workout gives you!
- Kelsey