I’ve recently come off my longest-ever running injury of almost 10 weeks.
It was a difficult period, where I could barely do any running. And I had to withdraw from my main race of the year - The Tooting 24 hour track race.
But during this time, I focused on some key activities that meant my overall fitness stayed high.
And it has meant that I have been able to return to running quicker than ever before.
This article gives you specific tips about how to stay fit during an injury. All of which I personally used.
For further information on this, take a look at this article which gives a psychological approach to dealing with your injury.
Have You Been Frustrated by A Running Injury and Confused About What to Do Next?
A coach can help you decide when is the right time to push through an injury. And when is the right time to ease off.
I’ve been a runner and triathlete for over 10 years.
And I’ve also coached many athletes. Many of these athletes have had to deal with injuries, which I’ve helped them to overcome.
As a coach I’d help you with many aspects - injury prevention and recovery, creating training plans, advising on nutrition, cross-training, psychological strategies, race strategies, race preparation and many more things.
This all means that you can spend less time worrying about whether your plan is right. And more time celebrating your successes.
And because I’m still an active competitor, I’m always learning new things to improve my own performance. Which I can pass directly on to you.
If you’d like to find out more about how I could help you improve your performance, read my coaching page.
First, Things, First - Evaluate Your Running Injury
Most of this article will focus on specific activities that you can do to keep your fitness levels up whilst injured.
But before you get to that point, it’s important to understand how bad your injury is.
The things that you can do whilst injured will depend on how seriously you’re injured.
For example, if you have a slight ankle injury, you will be able to do a lot more than if you have a broken leg.
There are a few things to do at this stage:
1) Get A Second Opinion
The first thing that you should do is to get a second opinion on your injury.
As an athlete, you can be tied up in the emotional nature of an injury. And you will always want to get back into training as soon as possible.
A coach, or a professionally trained person, like a physio, osteopath or doctor, can be helpful, to give an objective view.
Failing that, a running friend can also offer an honest viewpoint.
2) Take A Break from Running
Taking a rest from running is an important part of recovery.
Whether you need to completely stop running, or lower the volume and intensity, is dependant on the injury.
But pushing through an injury by doing the same training as before, is unlikely to be the right thing.
I was given advice by a physio who specialises in helping endurance athletes (@theEndurancePT on Twitter). He said that you should never be pushing through if the pain is 4 out of 10, or above.
When I look back at why I was injured for so long, it was because I pushed through an injury in a particular session.
Which is stupid when I look back at it. And hopefully a mistake I won’t be making again.
Bear in mind that there are some injuries where it’s advisable to keep up mild activity. And a complete rest is not right for recovery.
A trained professional will be able to advise on whether your injury believes that’s the right approach or not.
Activities to Do When You Have A Running Injury
So, you’ve evaluated your injury, or you’ve got a second opinion.
And you believe that you need to take some time off from running.
But the good news is that you can do other forms of activity. So what are your options?
1) Use Cross-Training To Keep Fitness Up
There are a number of good cross-training activities, which are great for maintaining, and possibly improving, your fitness.
Depending on the level of your injury you could do any of the following:
Swimming - Very low impact, but a very good workout
Aqua-jogging - Again, very low impact. And aqua-jogging can also help you improve your running form
Cycling - Low impact, but has a high impact on your fitness. You can use it despite most injuries. I spent a lot of time on the watt bike at my gym during my injury
Elliptical Machine - This is a great option as it closely resembles the movement of running
Walking - This is a good way of easing back into running. And it’s also good if you prefer getting outside, rather than being in a gym
Hiking - If your injury allows you to do more strenuous activity, hiking up hills could be a really good, and enjoyable, option
It’s surprising how much you can keep your fitness levels up, just by doing something different.
Your body won’t be used to these types of training.
And so the adaptations that you see will be much greater than usual.
2) Use Strength Training to Improve Weaknesses and Protect Against Future Running Injuries
Light weight training (or heavy weight training, depending on your injury), is a great way to improve weaknesses you may have.
During a period when you’re injured you could focus on areas that you know are weak, but never usually have time to work on them. Because you’d rather be out running.
For example a lot of runners have very weak glutes and hips.
And by focusing on these areas when you’re injured, you will see big improvements in running form and efficiency when you return.
I specifically used the free Nike Training App and found a simple 20-minute workout that focused on my hips and glute. It was called the ‘Glute and Hip Strength’ workout.
I did this workout 3 - 4 times a week during my injury. And have found that my form has improved a lot.
If using any type of weight training, you need to start off slowly and build up very, very gradually.
I’d advise starting off with exercises that just use your body weight, rather than actual weights. And make sure that yo'u are focusing on good form, rather than the amount of weights you are lifting.
3) Use Yoga to Improve Your Core Strength, Conditioning and Your Mind
Yoga is a very under-used activity by most runners.
There is a lot of scepticism towards how it can help running. And it’s usually the first activity that gets dropped, even when athletes intend to do it.
And so introducing yoga into your routine when injured could be a perfect opportunity to try it out.
There are a wide range of running benefits from yoga - Including fitness, mobility, flexibility and it can help with your breathing patterns and general focus.
Again, using the Nike Training App, I introduced a new 20-minute yoga workout. It was called the ‘lower body strength yoga’ workout.
I’m now going to keep using it as part of my regular morning routine.
4) Maintain (and Introduce) New Habits to Improve Your Own Life
And speaking of routines, just because you’re injured, doesn’t mean you have to stop doing everything you usually do.
Just because you’re injured it doesn’t mean you should…
Lay in until 7am - when you’d normally wake up at 5am to go running
Go to bed later - Because you don’t have to get up as early in the morning
Have a poor diet - When you’d normally eat and drink very well
By all means, you should take this opportunity to recover and relax. But don’t break your usual routine completely.
I continued to get up at 5am every morning, even when injured. And it has made the transition back into running a lot easier.
In fact, it might be a great time to introduce some new good habits and routines.
I came across the idea of ‘priming’, during my injury. Essentially, the concept is that what you do first thing in the morning gets your body and mind in a good state for the rest of the day.
I have specifically introduced doing push-ups when I first wake up. And I’ve taken this a step further by giving myself a simple goal of doing one more push up every day.
But there are lots of other ‘hacks’ that you can do. Cold showers and meditation are two of the most popular forms of ‘priming’.
Summary
Injuries are one of the worst parts of running.
But you can use this time to focus on other areas to improve your overall fitness.
Once you’ve evaluated your running injury to understand how serious it is, you have a number of other options.
Use Cross-Training - To keep your overall fitness up
Use Strength Training - To improve weaknesses and protect against future running injuries
Use Yoga - To improve your core strength, conditioning and your mind
Maintain (and Introduce) New Habits - To improve your own systems and processes for the future
What’s Your Advice for Dealing with A Running Injury?
Let me know in the comments at the bottom of this blog, on the Contact Page or on social media below.
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