How to Get Back to Playing Your Sport

You’ve sufficiently rested and feel pretty good. Your injury doesn’t bother you anymore, so it’s time to train again.

Have you thought about what your training will look like?

Sure you could start back from where you left off. Chances are you’ll get hurt and have to stop again.

Why risk it?

Here’s three things that will help you avoid backtracking.

1. Start gradually

Reduce your intensity and duration and slowly build up again. It won’t take long to rebuild if you’ve been off for a short period of time. 

Think of it like having the flu or gastro. You wouldn’t eat a big plate of food once you got your appetite back. No, you would slowly build up portions as the days went. 

It’s the same idea for an injured region, you absolutely need to start using it but gradually. It’s still in the process of healing so pushing too hard can backfire.

2. Use a proper warm up routine.

You might think I mean stretch before you run but I don’t. I’m specifically talking about doing a  few exercises that “wake up” muscles that you need or that may be weaker. 

A 5-10 minute warm up is a great place to start. It shouldn’t be so challenging that you're tired before you start.

I’ve linked my favourite warm up routine. It’s not a specialized warm up but it can definitely get you started.

3. Rest between training days

While you might be excited to start back up again, it’s important to give your injured region time to recover. Even if you’ve lowered the intensity and time, it still needs rest days. 

Consecutive training days make it hard to notice if the previous days training was too much. Another way to look at it is you’re giving your injury time to recover and build before pushing its limits again.

I know it’s frustrating to feel like it’s a step back, but imagine having to take more time off because you rushed a return.