Injury can feel like an unwelcome roadblock on your fitness journey, but it’s also an opportunity for growth—both mentally and physically. Whether you’ve been sidelined for weeks or months, coming back to fitness post-injury requires a thoughtful, strategic approach to rebuild strength and confidence. After experiencing this a handful of times myself and coming back to fitness after having a baby, here are a few tips I’ve accumulated to do so in a healthy way.
The first step in any recovery process is acceptance. It’s tempting to compare your current state to where you were before the injury, but that mindset can lead to frustration or even setbacks. Instead, focus on the progress you’ve made since the injury occurred. Celebrate small wins, like regaining range of motion or completing basic exercises without pain. This isn’t to say limit your mindset on what you’re capable of but in order to achieve the level you believe in, you need to first see where you’re starting.
Start with the basics. Your body needs time to adjust to the demands of fitness again, so prioritize rebuilding foundational strength, mobility, and stability. I find this to be the hardest one. Many of us go on vacation, get sick or injured and have a week or two off of fitness. When returning, we dive back into where we left off resulting in injury. When I was initially post-partum, I spent over 6 months completing all movements strictly before adding in plyometrics. This can be applied if you’ve taken time off for any number of reasons. Adjusting your intensity might look like building aerobic conditioning and simply being able to move in zone 2 for 30-40 minutes, foundational strength training such as ring rows, push ups, lunges, squats etc as well as mobility to bring strength through your range of motion.
It’s crucial to strike a balance between pushing yourself and respecting your limits. Pain is your body’s way of signaling that something isn’t right. Pay attention to these signals, and don’t hesitate to modify or pause an exercise if discomfort arises. Now, there’s a difference between anticipating pain and actual pain. If you’re afraid to complete a movement, test it with bodyweight or a decreased intensity and then work through progressions to gain confidence to assess whether the movement itself truly makes your symptoms worse. Movements that cause no change or positive change to the existing pain could possibly be continued. However, if that changes then reassessing your movement pattern, adjusting intensity or putting that specific movement on pause until the area is less pissed is best.
As previously mentioned, after an injury, it’s natural to want to jump back into your pre-injury routine. However, gradual progression is key to long-term success. Here are additional principles to help set guidelines for this:
Recovering from an injury can feel isolating. Whether it’s working with a physical therapist, hiring a coach, or surrounding yourself with knowledgeable and encouraging people can make all the difference. Your words are powerful so remember to be kind to yourself and remind yourself that no one has a perfect body 100% of the time. Your physical state can be improved in some way with the right attitude and approach.
An injury can teach valuable lessons about resilience, patience, and body awareness. View your comeback as a chance to improve not just physically but also mentally. Celebrate each milestone, no matter how small, and remember that setbacks are part of the process. I’ve found that injuries and the process of rebuilding have taught me so much about patience and addressing comparisons/expectations. Whether it’s through social media, societal norms, peer pressure…make sure your environment supports you with where you are. You don’t want to be coddled and be limited in your growth but it’s also your life and being happy is important in life so surround yourself with support, encouragement and knowledge.
Returning to fitness post-injury is more than just regaining lost strength—it’s about building a stronger, more resilient version of yourself. By taking a patient and mindful approach, you can turn your recovery into an empowering chapter of your fitness journey. Stay consistent, stay positive, and trust the process—you’ll be back stronger than ever. Just remember, 1 week is a blink of an eye vs the realistic/sustainable approach of typically 3+ months to build a foundation that lasts. Those CrossFit competitions, leaderboards etc will be there…let’s make sure getting back to them stronger and better than ever is the priority, not just getting back to them.
