Working Out with Injuries

I started to get discouraged after last week’s pregnancy setbacks, especially the groin pain and the dislocated shoulder. I did take a day off from working out after I dislocated my shoulder, but I knew that I needed to figure out some workouts I could do this week without aggravating anything further. For me, working out is such a great stress reliever and truly sets

the tone for my whole day. When I workout in the morning I find my patience levels are much higher and I’m in a better, more positive mood in general. This is especially true on workdays since I sit for the remainder of the day at a desk.

Here’s an idea of how I tweaked things to still get workouts in even with a few minor injuries (on their way out:)). I did shorter workouts and mainly focused on my buddy, the Arc Trainer. I’m not a huge fan of cardio equipment, but it’s great for a few things:

• Intervals
• Warming up/Cooling down
• Sweating
• As an alternative to running when you’re injured (or like me, just can’t run because you’re pregnant and it’s not comfortable anymore)
• Flush Days

Next week I’ll get back into some more strength training.

Monday

I completed 30 minutes on the Arc Trainer using varied levels of incline and intensity.

Tuesday

My shoulder was feeling a lot better so I started with some rehabilitation exercises to help strengthen that area and then completed this quickie 25 min workout:

• Arc Trainer – 5 min
  • 1 min easy
  • 3 min of intervals (40 seconds easy/20 seconds hard)
  • 1 min easy
• Kettlebell Swings – 5 min
  • Intervals (30 seconds of swings/30 seconds of rest)
• Arc Trainer – 5 min
  • 1 min easy
  • 3 min of intervals (40 seconds easy/20 seconds hard)
  • 1 min easy
• Kettlebell Swings – 5 min
  • Intervals (30 seconds of swings/30 seconds of rest)
• Arc Trainer – 5 min
  • 1 min easy
  • 3 min of intervals (40 seconds easy/20 seconds hard)
  • 1 min easy

Wednesday

• Arc Trainer – 5 minutes Strength Program Level 7
• Easy Strength Workout (30 sec work/30 sec rest for 21 minutes straight which meant I did each exercise 3 times)
  • BW Lunges (R then L)
  • 3 Point Rows (R then L)
  • Overhead Walks with Kettlebell (R then L)
    • Note…this is another way to build strength back up in my shoulder. I stuck with very light weight and assisted with my other hand to get the KB overhead.
  • Planks
• Arc Trainer – 5 minutes Strength Program Level 7

Always ask a trainer or physical therapist what you should do and/or what you should stay away from if you have an injury or are just feeling off. Stay away from anything that causes pain in your injured area. Remember that if you have an injury you likely need a bit of rest, but you probably don’t have to become a complete couch potato.