As someone who trains with us at Krav Maga Dallas, you’ve probably seen an injury or two. Once you step out onto the mat, lift that weight, or begin your exercise regimen, there is a risk that you may overwork yourself. Sometimes, even the wear and tear you put on your body during training simply adds up, and the excessive stress on your muscles and tendons can lead to an injury. Since athletes encounter injuries all the time, they must find ways to train with an injury, or risk losing their progress so far.
Make a Plan
No matter what your training goals are, you will need a new plan that includes recovery. First of all, getting stronger and recovering from trauma requires confidence in your abilities. Training with an injury can only be developed through a structured program of consistent activity that allows you to see your progress.
Regain Your Confidence
Getting back to your pre-injury training can be tough, and you may feel disappointed that you can’t just pick up where you left off. In order to regain your confidence, sometimes just showing yourself that you can still do simple things well can do the trick while training with an injury .
If you are weight training, it may be better to do some push-ups instead of attempting to bench press with a barbell or chest pressing with dumbbells. Once you get your confidence in your range of motion back on track, you can start lifting heavier. You have to be mentally prepared to get back to physically exerting yourself.
Try Physical Therapy
Work with your physician to book a few physical therapy sessions with a trained sports therapist. While they will not push you as hard as you work in Krav Maga class, they will complete exercises with you that allow you to keep training with an injury. You never want to test your full range of motion in the gym alone, where you can re-injure yourself or disrupt the healing process.
Focus On Nutrition
It is best to work with your body’s natural systems and cut inflammatory foods from your diet while healing. Wheat, including the wheat that is hidden in hamburger meat and gravy, and refined sugars add to the inflammation that your body has already produced due to your injury. While a little inflammation is good because it signals your body to repair the damaged area, introducing additional inflammation can slow the healing process.
Consider Alternate Tools
Sometimes tools like isometrics, electrical nerve stimulation, and aqua jogging help create muscle contractions, yet they do not load the injured area like a workout would. Performing the same motions you would in Krav Maga, without bearing the weight, allows you to keep training with an injury.
Take Healing Supplements
There are many supplements on the market that promote healing. Lactoferrin and colostrum aid in fast body restoration. Curcumin and arnica work to alleviate pain and lessen inflammation. You can easily research which supplements can help your body recover from your specific injury.
Exercise the Uninjured Body Parts
If you injured your left arm, try working specifically with the right arm to keep training with an injury. There have been a number of recent studies that show that the growth of one arm or leg is mirrored in the other unused arm or leg. There may not be significant change, but the body is designed to attain balance, and this form of training will reduce the incidence of atrophy.
Try the Linear Training Approach
When re-establishing your strength after an injury, a linear program is best, as training with an injury requires excellent technique and confidence in your abilities. In weight training, add a bit of weight to the bar at every workout. If biking, add a bit of speed or distance at every practice. This approach will build the consistency and momentum you need to get back to your personal best.
Consider Target Training
Sometimes you can use your workout to decrease healing time and increase the mobility of injured body parts. If you suffer from lower back pain, try contracting your core to increase intra-abdominal pressure, decreasing the pressure on the problem area. If you have tendonitis in the elbows and shoulders, vary your workout, rather than performing the same exercises over and over.
Try High Intensity Intervals
If you can’t move a specific limb, just do whatever you can to keep your heart pumping strong. The blood’s ability to carry oxygen is a vital component of fitness and every bit as important as building strength. This is measured by your red blood cell count and it can be increased by high intensity, anaerobic intervals.
Krav Maga Training with an Injury
For many people at Krav Maga Dallas, their sessions with us are the only workouts they attend. If you’re dedicated to your Krav Maga workout and you’re unwilling to go without a class, even while injured, take precautions to minimize the risk of re-injury or a worse injury.
Krav Maga Techniques for Injured Participants
Many Krav Maga schools believe that any self defense training should be scaled to meet the needs of the person in training. Whether they are injured or even disabled, anyone should be able to meet the basic levels of competency within their own physical limitations.
While dealing with serious Krav Maga training injuries, a student may not be able to safely master the whole breadth of the discipline, but a highly trained instructor can usually make an accurate assessment of which movements and training are safe, depending on the injury, to allow a student to keep training with an injury.
Discuss Your Condition with Your Instructor
Once you come back to class, talk to the instructor and explain your concerns to them. The teacher may even offer you private sessions tailored to work around your issues. Once your instructor is armed with this information, they should be equipped to provide you with the best strategies and options for self-defense and strength training. Remember, the instructor does not want you to risk further Krav Maga training injuries, so most are willing to work closely with a recovering participant.
A Powerful Tool
Krav Maga is a powerful tool, and it is not just about building physical strength, it is also about forming mental agility and character. Focusing on physical limitations takes away from the core teachings of the practice.
Training with an injury can be tough, but if you listen to your body and work with dedicated professionals, you should be able to get back into the swing of things with ease. If you’re ever injured or you’re working through an injury right now, follow these tips on training with an injury to keep your workout regimen intact, recover faster, and get stronger.
Additionally, if you haven’t already, come in and try out a KravYoga class! In just a few classes you’ll be able to increase your flexibility and mobility, you won’t be sorry!
Original source: https://www.kravmaga.com/tips-on-how-to-train-with-an-injury/