Why you keep experiencing nagging injuries

We all have that friend who starts going back to the gym (rather aggressively), is super gung-ho about their gains after the first couple of months and then somehow gets hurt or experiences some freak injury that just happened, “out of nowhere!” That person might even be you and you just can’t figure out why. It really is tough - especially if it’s been a while since we’ve trained - because we want to get back in the gym and get after it like we did before. It’s a mentality that’s hard to get away from, because we FEEL just as capable as we always have been and we refuse to consider the possibility that, right now, we just aren’t. That is the situation of those who usually have great progress to start, but always have to start over again due to an injury. If this is you, the likely reasons you keep experiencing nagging injuries are 3 fold:1. You’re not building a foundationWhenever you’re just getting back into the swing of things, you need to make sure that you’re warming up appropriately. If you are doing things right, at first your warmup should feel like a workout in and of itself, because we often need to retrain our muscles to activate in the right way and at the right time. Some of these things might seem basic (because they are), but it is imperative that we do not skip this step as we want our good movement patterns to take over when we get into more complex, multi-joint exercises.Many people tend to jump right into the strength phase of training, which I certainly do not advise, especially if you’ve been out of the game for longer than usual. Make sure you focus on building endurance and capacity before you really push volume and weight. 2. You’re not recovering hard enoughWe all tend to have that “pump lust” or feeling like we need to leave the gym feeling dead or absolutely drenched in sweat for it to have been a good workout. While I certainly understand the need to feel like you’ve done something, oftentimes we can achieve the same adaptations from significantly less impact. Killing ourselves consistently in the gym only makes it harder for us to recover and then perform the following day and the day after that. It’s not about how hard you work, it’s about how hard you recover!! Think about how much you are sleeping and how to change the intensity of your workouts to allow for active recovery. 3. Your nutrition isn’t rightWe all know that nutrition plays a major major part in overall health and fitness of course, but are you familiar with how macros and micros interact with your body to consistently produce the results you desire? Protein not only builds muscle, but it also plays a significant part in recovery and maintaining hormonal balance. Carbs aren’t bad for you, friend. If you time it correctly and at the right amounts, it’ll help you feel more energized for your workouts. If you time it wrong, you’ll end up gaining fat or feeling more lethargic. Eating the right type of fat can help you fight fatigue, sharpen your memory and mood, and lower your blood pressure. Of course, all of this plays a part into the longevity of your performance, which is what we ALL should be concerned with. Sustainable growth over time is certainly better both mentally and physically than aggressive growth that almost always ends with you having to start back at square one.As Bruce Lee said, “Long term consistency trumps short term intensity”Questions about your training regimen or nutrition? That’s why I’m here. Topics you want to see covered? You’re probably not the only one. Shoot me an email. I’m here to help!