agardner
Thursday, September 6, 2018 - 17:42
Just when you’ve started making consistent exercise a priority and working toward reaching your goals, injury can strike. The mental pain of losing your exercise habit and fitness gains can be almost as hard to cope with as the physical pain of your injury.  Before you throw in the towel and resign yourself to losing your fitness, let FitClub keep you on track physically and mentally while you recover.


  • Be patient with yourself. Once you create an exercise habit, you may enjoy the endorphins and stress-relief of a good workout as much as you appreciate the physical changes your body is making.  An injury that knocks you out of your routine can be stressful and depressing.  Learning to be patient with yourself is a challenge, but it is necessary for your recovery.  Pushing yourself to get back to a challenging workout can leave you sidelined even longer. If you’re finding the mental aspect of your injury and recovery difficult, drop into one of FitClub’s meditation classes.  Clearing your mind, allowing thoughts to come and go, and developing a better relationship with yourself and your body can set you up for a far more endurable recovery phase.

  • What can your body do? While you may not be able to engage in your favorite workout while you’re injured, there are probably still ways you can maintain your fitness.  Check with your medical professional to see if it’s safe for you to participate in other activities.  The elliptical, stationary bikes and swimming all make great low-impact activities that can relieve the stress on your joints that may have caused or contributed to your injury.  Finding new ways to work out will allow you to maintain your habit and come back to full strength with your fitness intact.

  • Don’t give up. If you find yourself falling into a pattern of sitting, sleeping, or eating too much, stay as active as you can while you recover.  Remember how hard it was to start an exercise habit?  Keeping yourself active, even if that means taking an easy walk or stretching every day, will make it far easier to jump back into the habit you worked hard to create at FitClub.

  • Hire a personal trainer. If you’re not sure what you should or can be doing while you recover, talk to a personal trainer.  FitClub’s personal trainers are trained to help you develop fitness and healthy habits and can work with your body’s limitations. They may be able to teach you moves that will increase the speed of your recovery.

  • Return to exercise slowly. After suffering an injury and enduring recovery, you may be tempted to throw yourself back into the same challenging exercise you enjoyed before you were injured. Remember your body has been working hard to repair itself.  Respect your body and return to exercise slowly and gradually to ensure that you won’t find yourself reinjured.


Being injured and taking a necessary break from your regular routine can be frustrating.  Stay engaged and patient while your body works itself back to full strength.