How to stay sane while injured

It happens to us all at some point. The more physically active you are, the more likely you are at some point to sustain an injury. Add to that getting back into shape after a period off or even just the simple process of aging and it's bound to happen at one point or another.

Natural as it may be, it still sucks. There's no two ways about it. It's hard to get into a good routine with working out and when that routine gets derailed by an injury it's really frustrating.

In my case, I'm currently nursing tendonitis in my calf. It's been about a month so far of modifying my workouts to avoid cardio and I'm hating every minute of it. It took me a few weeks to accept that the pain wasn't going away on its own with Aleve and ice so I finally broke down and went to PT. Now, according to my PT guy, I'm looking at about a month recovery time which is frustrating but better than the alternative of pain when I walk, workout, make the bed, you name it. 

So as you might have gathered, I'm not good at that whole rest thing. It pains me to take a rest day but I do it because I know my body and mind need it. You can imagine what being hurt is doing to me! I've been modifying to accommodate but it's still hard! I workout to stay in shape and be healthy but I also workout to stay sane and balanced and somehow a good sweat session does that for me. I didn't realize until recently just how much I've come to appreciate my daily cardio as a way to sweat my stress away. Now that I've had to ditch the cardio for low impact workouts and weights only, it's been a bit of an adjustment. Yes, I'm still getting a great workout so physically my body is being challenged but it's been messing with my mind a little bit to not have that feeling of a great burn. 

It's taken a little bit of a mindset shift for me but fortunately that's something I've done before so it's familiar territory. So I've put away my Insanity Max 30 in favor of another round of Body Beast with some Piyo added in for a good low impact workout and some much needed stretching and strengthening.


I'm doing my best to focus on the positive and find the silver lining in being injured but it definitely takes a strong mindset to get there. Fortunately I've spent the past year and a half learning how to effectively retrain myself away from focusing on the negative towards the positive. 

Here's the positives I'm choosing to see in this period of forced recovery:

1. One silver lining to this forced break from cardio is that it's helping me to focus more on other muscle groups and a different kind of training, one that is equally beneficial for my body and possibly a little better for my mind too. There's no denying that workouts like Insanity can take a toll on your body with all of those jumps. For the next few weeks my joints are getting a break as we stretch and strengthen without all of that impact.

2. As I tell my challengers all the time, if you're going to choose one thing to focus on, diet or exercise, diet is the way to go. 80% of your results come from the work you put in in the kitchen. So while it may be frustrating not to be able to workout, I do still have control over the piece that has the larger impact. While it's nice to be able to eat that pumpkin whoopie pie and then know I can go burn it off with some cardio, I'm doing what I can to limit the sweet treats and to really hone in on my nutrition. We control what we can control, right?

3. While I may not be working out in quite the same way that I'd otherwise like, I am still getting up, pressing play, making those workouts happen and not making excuses. I tell my challengers this all the time, especially those who are new to working out or who'e been away from the game for a while, modifications or not, effort matters. The work you put in every day matters. In my case it may not be heart pumping burpees or plyometrics, but the time I'm putting in on my yoga mat, stretching and lengthening my muscles and those weighted reps will pay off in the end as I build strength and lean muscle.

4. Staying connected to my network of friends, challengers and coaches, is helping to keep me sane. Together we cheer each other on when we're at our best, our worst and somewhere in between. On those days when I'm feeling a little crazy, when I don't want to workout, when I'm frustrated because my standing split looks a little more like a deranged inflexible kickstand move, or when I'm trying hard not to eat the entire kitchen, I have a team of supporters to help me along. They're there for me in the same way that I'm there for them.

Lastly, breathe. Healing takes time, breathe deep and rest and you'll be back at it in no time, hopefully better rested and stronger in new ways.