Workout Journal: An Approach to Injuries

The best injury advice I’ve heard is to back off to the point of no pain. If weighted lunges hurt, reduce the weight. If they still hurt, drop the weights and just do bodyweight. If they still hurt, reduce the range of motion (ROM). Still in pain? Reduce the ROM even more. The point is to continue doing the exercises that cause pain, but regressing it to the point where it doesn’t hurt. You don’t want to eliminate the movement, you want to build up your strength and ROM until the pain stops and you’re able to progress pain free.

I used this technique recently and found it to be very effective. My right shoulder has been bothering me when I put it into certain positions, and when I load it with excessive weight. Even though it’s weight I’m able to press, because of the injury, which is likely due to overuse, it causes pain. So I’ve mostly been avoiding strength training, but recently I’ve been jonesing to move some weights, so I did a workout the other day and used this approach to get through it.

Flat bench dumbbell press felt ok as long as I kept my elbows tucked in. A form and ROM modification. When I flared them out, just to feel the difference, even slightly, I felt pain immediately. So I kept them tucked, which put more emphasis on my triceps and front deltoids, and eliminated any pain.

Incline dumbbell flys were in my workout as well, and at first I planned on subbing them out for a gentler and more stable movement. But I decided instead to use the injury advice above. I reduced the weight by 10 - 15 lbs per dumbbell, and I greatly reduced the ROM. To the point where, especially on the first few reps of the first set, it barely looked like I was moving. But by the last few reps of the last set however my ROM had increased almost to normal. And I felt very little pain. Just slight discomfort.

It was my first time really putting this advice into practice and I was really impressed with how well it worked. While it made sense to me when I first read it, there’s nothing like experiencing it for yourself.

In a way I’ve been doing the same thing with my running. Running long and fast (attempting to anyway) causes me great pain because of a chronic injury I sustained a few years ago. But I badly wanted to get back to running regularly. So, I’ve embraced this idea and embarked on a new easier program. I’m running a 5k five times per week on relatively flat ground, with no emphasis on the speed at which I run. I’m just trying to push it right now to the point before pain. 5k seems to be that number and so far it’s working.

A body in motion stays in motion. When you start to avoid certain activities is when your body starts to break down. Avoiding certain exercises starts to atrophy muscle endurance, strength, and mobility. That’s why I agree that it’s important to proceed with the movement that’s bothering you, albeit in a cautious manner. Rest is for broken bones, torn ligaments, and open wounds from surgery and the like, that can only heal with rest over time. For everything else, figure out the limit of the movement and work on getting stronger and more mobile. 

Workout Journal: Running Far and Fast

I’ve been wanting to get back into endurance shape, mainly running, but I have not been willing to put the work in. I’ve been telling myself a number of excuses that have kept me from doing it. All of them sounding legit and very believable.

My main excuse was that I didn’t want to give up strength training. My first true love. Even as I write this, all I can think about is that there is no comparison to the feeling of lifting weights. Something about it feels almost primal to me. But it’s that love and unwillingness to give it up that was also keeping me from getting back into running.

At the time I really started thinking about getting back into endurance training, I was lifting a minimum of 3, but more typically 4 days per week. Hard sessions too. So it left no time or energy to also build my running endurance. Whenever I went for a run I was too sore and my leg muscles were too fatigued to be able to make any progress.

The second excuse I told myself had to do with the injury I sustained a few years ago and never fully recovered from. It was an injury to the achilles tendon on my left foot, that became a chronic hip flexor, glute medius, lower back, and psoas injury on my right side. The pain I often experienced after running was always enough to make me think twice before my next run.

The third excuse was part of my ego. Before I ever got injured I could run fast. Sub 7 minute miles over a long distance was the norm for me. But now I’m lucky if I can run sub 9 minute miles for 3 miles. My run gait is too labored to get up to those old speeds.

But despite these excuses I wanted to so badly be able to walk out my door and go for a run. I wanted so badly to get back into a consistent pattern of running. While weight training is my first true love, running, especially over long distances at high speeds, is a very, very, very, close second. The high you experience after a good run is everything. And I desperately wanted to get back there. So, a few weeks ago I finally said fuck it, and started back on the road to running.

A few things did help me finally pull the trigger though. One, all that regular heavy lifting over the prior 2+ years finally got me burnt out. All of a sudden I found myself unable to imagine lifting weights. Just the thought of it made me tired and made my body ache. I needed a break. Plus, winter in Colorado rolled around and my garage gym became almost unbearable to hangout in and do a workout. It turned into a very different atmosphere than the one I had gotten used to over the warm spring, summer, and fall months, working out with the garage door open, the sun shining through.

Second, my injuries started to feel better, thanks in large part to a kettlebell class I started taking with the world renowned trainer Beth Lewis. The predominant exercises in the class are kettlebell swings and Turkish get ups. By learning the techniques and good form needed for these exercises, my mobility and range of motion began to improve, and a lot of my pain started to alleviate in the process. I discovered that one of my main issues was that I could not properly hip hinge, which meant that I was loading wrong, and by loading my weight incorrectly, I was causing issues throughout my body. These class began to correct that.

Lastly, I stopped worrying about being fast. I stopped worrying about running far. I remembered a saying I heard years ago. In order to run fast, first  you have to be able to run far. So, I went back to an old challenge my buddies and I did a few years ago. 30 days of 5k. Every day for 30 straight days you run at least a 5k. I modeled my new program around that. Not looking at the time, and not worrying about the distance. As long as it takes to run 5k, and stopping right there.

It’s been a few weeks now, and I’ve been consistently running 5 - 6 days per week, and I fucking love it. In total I’m hitting about 16 - 20 miles per week, averaging maybe 9:30 min/mile, and I feel good. I run even when it’s 0 degrees outside or when it’s snowing. Since I know it’s just ~30 minutes I’ll be outside it’s easy to convince myself to get out and do it. 

I’m still not lifting weights the way I was. Instead I’m working my kettlebells technique twice per week to supplement my running. Skiing or hiking when I get the chance. I’m thoroughly enjoying it, and I’m hoping that by the time the summer rolls around, I’ll have built up enough endurance to run far, and eventually run fast.