Fitness: Returning to the gym after injury

Africa Melane speaks to personal trainer Matthew Cornish about the physical and psychological keys to returning to exercise after injury.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Because some journeys are better taken together.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Let's walk to talk seven notes, nineteen minutes. Night is
two five o'clock. Matthew Cornish is a personal trainer training
me on the line now and we'll talk about returning
to training after an injury. Matthew A very good morning
and welcome to the show. Do you mind picking up
Matthew for me? Please? Thank you?

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Hey, Matthew Adi, how are you?

Speaker 2 (00:22):
I'm very well, thank you very much. How are you?

Speaker 1 (00:25):
I'm good, I'm feeling good.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
They take on the day out of interest. Do we
see more injuries during the winter months in South Africa
or do they happen more in the summer months.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
I think there is quite a trend in the winter months,
just too to our cold it gets and how much
longer it takes us to warm up. And I do
see a very popular pattern of individuals not warming up
and taking a chance of just jumping into the activities
which you can't get away within the summer, but definitely
not in the winter.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
And we can get away within the summer because really
the bodies are warmer, right, so therefore it will take
I don't know, a five minute routine to warm up
as opposed to attend fifteen minute routine in winter.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Exactly exactly, but nevertheless it's still an important habit to
carry on through from summer to winter because that kind
of routine can prevent injuries from happening, not always one
hundred percent, but like a bigger percentage then when not,
because no injury is a hundred percent avoidable.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
There are some people who have a high tolerance for pain,
and I might see an injury as a niggle more
so than actually, there's something excruciating you wrong here? So
what is the difference between a normal soreness as Robin
puts it on my notes in front of me, and
a sign that you are pushing too heart?

Speaker 1 (01:50):
So that's a very very good question, and it's also
a very important point because a lot of individuals that
I engage with will have a legal or something that's
caused a difficulty, and the first thing that I ask
them is does it provide you with tightness or like
a dull, generalized feeling, or does it come across as

(02:12):
this acute, sharp pain. And I think that's the two
ways that you can differentiate, because when it's dull and generalize,
you know that can significant that can signal like a
bit of fatigue or a bit of tightness, which means
that you just need a bit of a rest before
you go for your next set, or before you go
for your next exercise, or into your nex main exercise.

(02:34):
But if you're getting this really acute and sharp sense
of pain, then you know that you must have either
over exerted somewhere within your workout, and once you've reached
that point, you can't really go back with a good
level of capacity within your workout.

Speaker 2 (02:52):
As an aside, I know somebody who will take like
a panado or something similar head of going on a run,
and I always ask her why because surely, if you're
anticipating pain and therefore taking the medication for it, when
your body tells you I am in pain because of

(03:13):
an injury, you won't stop. Because I can tell you
this much. The minute I feel something out of sorts,
I stop doing whatever I'm doing and I walk out
of that exercise and either seek professional help if it's
too acute. As you say, oh, I'll just go rest
my body up until I feel better again.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
Yeah, it's so important because the thing is that our
body knows based right, and having the right nutation. Having
that I routine, it allows your body to be at
its most away point, and when it does give you
the signals, it's best for us to take note of
it and listen, because then it prevents us from having
a more serious injury or being left you know, for six,

(03:56):
I mean up to eight weeks out of doing any exercise.
Reach doesn't leave some people happy. It actually leaves you
quite miserable.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
As it should now. Obviously, depending on severity of injury,
I imagine you would advise a very easy, casual return
to the gym right.

Speaker 1 (04:16):
Hundred percent, very very slow pace oft back into your
routine with some more revice points on what you didn't
do before. So that's where I engage with the client
of the individual and we try and find what we
didn't do that was in our control that we can
implement to allow for more preventative approach. Because if we

(04:41):
eat a speed bump and we don't learn from that,
then it's a wasted it's a wasted opportunity to learn
and to improve, and that's the really fifty percent of
being better than before. So yeah, super super slow with
new routine and new implementations.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
Because of course a good personal trainer will adjust an
amend any exercises to minimize any further damage to whatever
was the cause of the injury, but at the same
time do it to such an extent that you're not
overcompensating that you end up having a new bad routine
because you are covering up for I don't know, an

(05:21):
ankle that might have been injured a year ago kind
of thing.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
That's one hundred percent, and it's so important at all individuals,
all the day, all the time before we start that exercise,
while I'm in a session with them, and then after
it's another problem if they're uncomfortable, like I'm not going
to take it personally, and I'm not going to feel
offended or have any sort of other behavior than trying
to make them feel more comfortable. So the communication line

(05:46):
is so so so important. You won't come across as
a weak individual. If you're struggling with a movement. It's
way way better to just be open and honest about it,
say that you struggling with a movement, prevent that from
becoming worse and moss it eventually when you come back
to it.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
All right, Matthew, thank you very much indeed for your
time and your insights. This morning, Matthew Cornish is a
personal trainer, talking to us about returning to the gym
after you've experienced some injury.