Jes Reynolds…Your Fitness Coach

Jes asked me to say a few words about dealing with injury.  She asked the right person.  (I am so proud –sort of.)

I’ll start with my so-called “credentials.”  Over the years I’ve hurt so many parts of my body – running, jumping, twisting, and crashing into an assortment of people and things that didn’t move out of the way fast enough – that I haven’t bothered to keep a list.  It would be too long.  Not enough paper.

(Thats Cliff…Doesn’t He Look Cool???)

My first meaningful sports injuries came in 11th grade, when I separated a shoulder playing basketball and not long after, just before the state track & field finals, hurt my lower back while triple jumping.  The shoulder more-or-less got better on its own (although it was never the same after that), and we treated my back with deep heat, ultrasound and acupuncture.  This was a long time ago, so my recollection is that we didn’t do some important things to manage the back injury, such as physical therapy, that would be typical now.  I competed and managed to do alright – a kid isn’t going to miss his chance at alleged high school glory unless he’s in a body cast – but that injury launched me on a lifetime of managing injury.

Jump ahead, ahem, a few years.  Since I started working out with Jes in 2008 (yeah!), I’ve had elbow tendinitis, foot pain (thanks, Mom, for the bunion), a strained quad muscle, a shoulder impingement, and most seriously, a condition called osteitis pubis, or OP.  OP is fairly common among runners, soccer players and other athletes, and involves inflammation of the joint at the front of the pelvis between the two ends of the pubic bone.  It often causes acute and chronic groin pain, and unlike many injuries, heals only with rest.  I’ve had it twice.

In the case of EVERY one of the above injuries, I’ve continued working out with Jes and on my own – carefully, but consistently and with intensity.  Jes has done an incredible job of understanding the nature of each injury, checking my status before each workout, and designing each individual session in consultation with me to ensure the best possible workout while protecting the injury and allowing it to continue to heal.

Other than the people I’ve specifically told about my injuries, nobody has known along the way that I’ve been dealing with them.  Why? Because I haven’t stopped working out, staying in shape and maintaining my weight and muscle tone.  I’ve had to change up a lot of things along the way – not running for a few months, for example – but never had to (or, of course, would) become a couch potato.  My body hasn’t changed.  Neither, I hope, has the look of pleasure I have on my face every time I’m at the gym and fantasizing that I’m cooler and buffer than I really am.

I know I’m in great company.  We’ve all had aches and pains and, sometimes, full-fledged sports-related injuries.  The best advice I can give is, don’t sit down.  Remain positive.  Why shouldn’t you?  Even if you have to sacrifice doing something that you love for a period of time, you can still stay in shape and feel good (and feel good about yourself), and then, when you’re better, come back and kick butt again.  Taking this simple advice pays huge dividends.  In many cases (there are exceptions, but not many), there is no reason why you can’t keep safely working out and pushing yourself, even if you have to work around, or strategically through, an injury.

Go ahead and curse your damn hamstring, lower-back, foot or elbow/knee/shoulder.  I’ve been known to do that.  But remember that, even while you’re dealing with the challenge – and maybe getting help from health care practitioners, such as a good physical therapist (thanks, Probility!) – you can stay (or get) strong and maintain a high level of cardiovascular fitness.

When all is said and done, I deal with my injuries but don’t obsess about them.  That’s critical.  You are you, the injury is not you.  Keep doing your best and having fun – with expert support and guidance from Jes – and move ahead!  Can’t run?  Bike.  Can’t bike either?  Get on that elliptical or step machine.  Those don’t work either?  Get in the pool.  Hit all of the weights and other routines permitted by your injury.  (I guarantee that Jes will find plenty for you to do.)  There are always challenging and effective things that you can enjoy to stay fit and feel good, both physically and emotionally, while overcoming an injury.

One of my favorite exercises to do is the single arm shoulder press using a stability ball.  It took me kind of a while to develop the core strength that would allow me to push the weight I wanted to push, but once I had the idea in my mind, and I had already completed the standard shoulder press while kneeling on the ball, I made this exercise a regular part of my workout routine.  In this post, I will explain how I go about doing this exercise and how I use it in my own fitness regimen to continually challenge myself, develop core strength, and have fun.

As you can see in this demonstration.  The exercise requires a number of different things.  First, you must have the ability to kneel and balance on the ball.  While it seems like this could be difficult to learn, it’s really not that hard.  Especially when you are using the stability ball at our gym since it’s almost deflated (haha!)  OK, all kidding aside, kneeling on the ball is pretty easy once you get the hang of it (but see my warning below about taking appropriate caution).  I think that, once you develop the requisite physical skills, mostly you just need to believe in yourself that you won’t fall and break your face, and that you can actually do it. It isn’t uncommon for people to overestimate their ability to do this stuff.  Please be extremely careful and try to do the things that are only within your ability, things you can believe you are able to do. Trying this is not worth breaking your face!

With that lead in, let me take a moment to inject a note of caution.  This exercise requires a significant amount of control that can take years to develop, particularly if you have not been training to a high level of fitness.  For this level of exercise, I recommend working with someone knowledgeable who can guide you and help you set sane limits within your abilities as you progress.  It’s not worth serious injury.

Once people are ready to attempt this exercise, there is a process for learning how to kneel on the ball and balance.  It’s similar to the processes I’ve described in other posts and it involves developing a certain level of core strength and the ability to balance as well.  Once you develop the ability to kneel on the ball, the next step is being able to lift your arms over your head without falling backwards (or falling at all, really).  

After you can lift your arms over your head, start with a weight that is lighter than one you would typically use for a shoulder press…or anything for that matter.  And then just see how it feels to hold the weight.  As you get stronger, things will progress from there and you should be able to perform the lift and integrate it into your workout routine.

I personally use this exercise as part of my regular regimen.  Either during a shoulder workout or during a total body workout.  I have a lot of fun combining it with other things as it increases the overall challenge dramatically.  If you are interested in developing the core strength and balance required to be able to perform this type of exercise correctly, I would be happy to train you. Please contact me at jesreynolds@gmail.com.

I also offer monthly training calendars to help keep my clients on track toward their fitness goals. Even if you aren’t interested in extensive personal training, you should consider a monthly training calendar to help build your skills. The cost is the same as one personal training session, and you get a plan for the whole month.