Post-Injury Workout Routine


For the last 8 months I’ve been dealing with a combination of injuries that pretty much put me out of action entirely. Firstly, an ankle issue stopped me from performing my usual cardio routine and then shoulder bursitis (the inflammation of a small gland in the shoulder) stopped me from doing most bodyweight exercises.

I made some mistakes on my road-to-recovery and experienced a few abortive attempts at working out, generally doing more damage to myself and adding another couple of weeks to my recovery time. It was frustrating and I only had my own impatience to blame.

I’m taking it steady now, building my strength slowly and carefully. My physiotherapist recommended a couple exercises to correct a muscle mismatch in my shoulders (the root cause of the bursitis) and a podiatrist made new insoles for my shoes to rectify the ankle issue. Thanks to their help I’m running again and performing light calisthenics exercises everyday.

I’m going to share my current workout routine to give you an idea of what a post-injury workout looks like, but my primary piece of advice to anyone suffering an injury is this: Take your time. Don’t rush your recovery. Seek professional help if possible. Things will get better. You Got This!

Start Workout

I start with a light warm up jog to get the blood pumping. 15 minutes of casual jogging is enough. Then I warm the upper body with the following exercises:

  1. Star-jumps – 20
  2. Wall Press-ups – 4 X 15 (this exercise is targeting the cause of my bursitis)
  3. Star-jumps – 20

Once warmed up, I perform a full-body workout routine. This is because my muscles have deteriorated and I need to improve my holistic strength before I start focusing on specific groups of muscles.

Full-body Workout Routine

  1. Pushups – 6
  2. Sit Ups – 15
  3. Squats – 10
  4. Supermans – 10

Repeat the set 3 times – [Stop immediately if any pain occurs]

  1. Pull-ups –  4
  2. Hip Thrusters – 10
  3. Lunges –  5 (each side)
  4. Dips – 5

Repeat the set 3 times – [Stop immediately if any pain occurs]

Once the workout is complete I spend a lot of time stretching; this helps to avoid further injuries.

At the moment I do this routine 3 times per week. Twice per week I focus on reps, following the routine listed above, and once per week I focus on strength by halving the number of reps, doing the exercises more slowly, and adding an additional set (or two, if it feels right).

When dealing with an injury, always take the advice of professionals over what you read on the internet. I’ve shared my experiences and showed you the route to recovery I’ve taken, but every body is different, as is every injury, so seek expert advice to avoid hurting yourself further. Good luck.

Thom

Personal Trainer, Calisthenics Practitioner, & Owner of ModernCalisthenics.com

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