Overcoming injuries
I could write a book on this subject.
My football career ended after 3 operations that failed to repair a groin injury and simply, I was done.
Actually, it was a relief for me when it was over, but that's a story for another day.
In 2018 to get out of bed, I had to pull my legs over with my hands and brace my whole body to stand up out of bed, I was in constant pain and felt like forever and ever I would struggle to get through everyday activities. I was going to be another ex footballer in their 40s whose career in the game had ravaged their bodies beyond repair.
Training was virtually non-existent and getting through a gym session seemed impossible, the pain was just too much.
What I realised after time, was there were some aspects of training that I upped. I could do some exercises that involved machines that meant I didn't need to move too much, I didn't have to use certain muscles that caused me pain.
My capacity to train wasn't great. I could maybe do 20-30 minutes but then I was either out of breath or had simply done enough based on my capabilities.
But…what I was doing, was building a capacity. Think of it like filling up a bottle. My bottle was getting fuller every time I trained, maybe only one rep or one set or maybe one minute, but it was growing.
Normal function was still difficult, and there were still many things I couldn't do or wouldn't try due to fearing I would injure myself again.
As I continued through and started to feel better, started to notice my capabilities improving, I really started to notice a difference in doing exercise that worked for my body. This is so key as there is no best exercise, just a best exercise for the individual person.
For one person a back squat is a great exercise, for someone else a machine squat is more beneficial, for others it might be a goblet squat or bodyweight squat. My point here is that there we all are individuals and avoiding things that hurt simply makes sense.
There's no other way to put it, I am a big advocate for people doing strength based exercises, exercises that build a muscle through a range of motion overload, but, if you're a man over 40 reading this then the chances are you'll have some sort of long term, or short injury or ailment.
My advice here is to obviously try and see a physio to get proper professional advice, but in the main, do what you can with what you have.
Don’t not train because of an old football injury from 10 years ago, because if you don't, where will you be in another 10 years? Probably worse off, more injured, in more pain, and this can contribute to less activity and ultimately decrease your health.
My life has changed. I have no pain in anything in my life, I have worked up since 2018 and now I can do activities like Hyrox, Tough Mudder and i’ve climbed Ben Nevis. This from someone that couldn’t get out of bed a few years ago seems unbelievable.
Do what you can when you can, build up slowly and avoid anything that aggravates anything. If I can return from where I was then anything is possible.
Injuries will unfortunately happen, giving up or stooping when these things happen is not what I recommend, it's important to get proper advice and guidance to help you.
For me, listening to my own body at the start helped me start, listening to my own body allowed me to progress and I feel better and fitter now in my 40s than I did at any stage of my life.
Training is a massive part of my life and I would never want to not do it. Not only for my short term physical and mental health but for my long term health, I don't want to be immoblie, I don't want to hurt and want to be as active as I possibly can through the rest of my life.
Training with injuries and working round them is unfortunately part of the journey and part of the process to becoming stronger and fitter.
I am a prime example of someone that is injured but not in pain. That for me is one of the biggest wins when it comes to exercise, getting stronger and improving my health.