Training with and injury

From time to time we all pick up an injury and it's not always that easy to put it back down again. Depending on the severity of it you can often feel as if your whole life is over.  I don't care what happens to you - I can always find some way for you to train down at the gym, no matter what class you normally train in.  I hate to think of someone feeling they can't train and that they need to stop coming along to the gym. Sometimes, it's good to rest and take time off. Listen to your body. If your Dr has suggested this then that is absolutely what you need to be doing.  However, if you have been advised to start light exercise, and work on mobility and strength, then back down at the gym you need to be.  The girl in the picture, Clare, has a nasty wrist injury and is awaiting surgery. On top of that is a recent elbow dislocation.  It's not fun for someone who is very active and trains hard. So down at the gym recently we have been working on a lot of single arm pressing and core work.  In truth, Clare is great to work with but you have to dial her down a notch or two as she wants to do everything. I just want to keep her safe.  One minute I have her working low line kicking combos on the bags. I turn my back and there are heads kicks going in.  It must be the performer in her as she was a dancer.  Anyway, the long and the short of it is, if you are unlucky enough to get injured and you are worried about training or need advice on seeing a good specialist then just get in touch.

Is Pain Weakness Leaving The Body?

Is it really?? Or is it a sign you've made a tragic error and need to stop training. First off decipher what pain is and imagine on a scale of one to ten with ten being the most horrific pain you can imagine. Now if you are training and you feel sore during it is it muscular fatigue or is it pain a signal that something is not right. I think if I were training and it was a 4 pain signal then I would need to stop and look at my form and what I was doing. 

All too often you see people grimacing with the worst form in the world about to herniate a disc in their spine just to get that last deadlift in. What the hell is wrong with some people. They are usually the ones that tell you they train 5 times a week and have trained for ten years and still look like they started training a year ago. On the other hand some people who are only fatigued think they are dying. The body can take a huge amount of abuse and punishment it is normally the spirit that goes first. For a great many people they confuse the two and lose the will to continue training as they honestly believe that they cannot physically go on. As a coach you need to reassure them they can, dial it in a little, lessen the load and cajole them into continuing the journey. 

We all know our own bodies and we need to understand how they work. Most of us will try and find the easiest way to do something or get through a workout even if that means poor form. What we need to do is understand why we train, what we want from it and how our bodies are reacting to exercise. Then we can make the decision whether to keep on with the workout, lessen the load, call it day or in fact stop because you fear you are risking an injury in that session.