Getting Back in the Game After an Injury

 What happens when you get an injury? You stop working out. The longer it takes to heal, the more motivation and sense of routine you lose. Pretty soon you lose progress- you can see it in  the changes in your body. You begin to resent the way you look, you get depressed. Does any of this ring true?

So what do you do? Do you allow yourself to go down the rabbit hole? Bury yourself in the self loathing and wallowing? OR do you claw your wake back up to the top?
 
I struggled with a foot injury for the greater part of last Summer. I tried to work through it- teaching classes, keeping up with running, doing my daily workouts. I would wake up every morning unable to even walk. It came to a head in the Fall and I knew I couldn't continue at the rate that I was going. I stopped the running, I cut back on the daily workouts, I was having to cancel classes. After a few months of PT, night braces and foot orthotics I was finally healed back up. So I jumped back in at full intensity, eager to recover any progress that I had lost. Guess what happened? I re-injured myself. Another setback.

So now I am in the precarious predicament of trying to scrounge up some motivation and put the fear of re-injuring myself behind me. I thought I would share some helpful tips that I am implementing to get motivated in the New Year.

Find a way to ask for help. Seek the help of a like-minded peer. They will help you break out of the cycle of self-pity and try to motivate you. Enlist a friend to keep you accountable to workouts, healthier eating, or even drinking more water.  Having someone to remind you of your goals or keep you on task is a helpful tool. Its easier to say "no" to yourself but a little harder to say no to a friend, peer, or family member.

Make it a date. Schedule your workout like you would a doctor's appointment or a job interview. You are less likely to skip it.

Have a light, healthy snack. Fuel your body before a workout so you are less likely to skip a workout due to fatigue or hunger.

Put on your workout clothes.  If you lay out your workout clothes the night before, pack a gym bag, or even sleep in them you are more likely to go workout.

Drive to the gym. Getting there is half the battle. Even if you get in there and only workout for 10 minutes, its only 10 minutes more than you did the day before.

Reward yourself. Set small goals and reward yourself for meeting them.  Reward yourself with fitness related treats for hitting the gym a certain amount of times a week, meeting water goals, or heathier eating. A new water bottle, a new workout music mix, fitness apparel or sneakers, or even trying a class at a fitness studio.

These are just some ideas to get you moving and motivated to a happier and healthier New Year. A couple of clicks on the internet will have you swimming with more ideas to motivate yourself if you don't find any of these helpful.

To get started you should write down the goals that you would like to accomplish. Here are my goals:
1. Quit drinking soda. 
2. Drink more water.
3. Cut back the carbs and sugar.
4. Workout 5x a week.

Now its your turn.