If you’ve been running for more than one yearday, odds are the injury bug has crept up and bit you. If so, you know it’s not an easy situation, especially if a race is coming up!
The good news is that even while injured there are various activities you can do to remain active and keep fitness levels up. Here are some of those activities that can help when you’re dealing with injuries. Note: Please consult your physician to get clearance for activities while injured – doing too much or the wrong thing could result in a more serious injury. Be sure to follow their rules for recovery (ice, appropriate rest, etc.)!
- Lifting Weights – While this should be part of your regular routine as a runner, it is important to keep it up during injury to avoid losing critical muscle mass. Find which leg lifts you are able to perform safely and focus on those. This is also a good time to focus on upper body strength (which may be neglected most of the time), since injuries typically occur in the lower body for runner. It should also be noted that “lifting” does not always need to include weights, many body weight exercises are great for runners! I would also group core exercises into this category – do not neglect your core!
- Cross Training – Definitely a key ingredient to maintaining fitness. Find something you can handle and get to it! It doesn’t take long for fitness gains from training to fade away with inactivity, so if you are able try to start cross training within 2-3 days if practical. Biking, hopping on the elliptical, rowing machine, stair-stepper, and simply low impact walking/hiking are all great forms exercise that can help maintain fitness while injured. It can also be a great time to catch up on your favorite podcast, audiobook, etc. if running with headphones isn’t something you normally do.
- Stay Positive – This is probably the most important aspect. It’s easy to get down on yourself and let negativity creep in…but don’t let it! You have been sticking to a training plan and feeling the benefits of doing so. By remaining positive you can see all of the hard work that has been put in. In this state of mind it will be easier to stick to your lifting and cross training while being injured!
- Stick to Your Routine – If you usually run in the morning before work or during a lunch break, use this time to get your cross training and lifting in. Routines help form habits and habits help us achieve our goals. Sticking to your usual routine will help ensure the cross training actually happens and continue the mood-boosting benefits that comes with exercise.
- Watch What You Eat – Even with cross training you will most likely be burning fewer calories than when you were running. Be mindful of this. If you don’t change your eating habits during this downtime you could find yourself gaining more weight than you would like. Know how this could affect your state of mind and don’t let things get outside your comfort zones.
I recently experienced a non-running related injury that kept me away from the trails. For two weeks I simply hopped on the elliptical at work and made sure I mimicked my usual “time on my feet” each day. Yes, this included the Wednesday long-run I usually get in…podcasts helped me out big time!!
Sticking to a routine felt great, even if I wasn’t getting my run in. I chose to exercise on the elliptical because it involves similar movement and eliminated the stressful forces of running. It also helped that my employer has two of them, which was very convenient.
This break can help increase your motivation for training when you do get back to running on all cylinders. I certainly missed running while I was sidelined, but it was a nice mental break. Now that I’m back running again I’m loving it more than ever and can’t wait for what 2019 has in store!