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.