Injuries suck there is no getting round that. But, this does not mean that an injury should completely interfere in your training and nutrition goals. If you follow some very basic principles, you can avoid losing any significant body composition gains you have made, and potentially progress in some areas.
- The obvious- don’t do anything that hurts
This is so blatantly obvious, but I feel it has to be stated. If you have a broken leg, don’t fucking squat. Torn bicep? No curls. You get what I mean. If you are performing an exercise with optimal form and you are still experiencing pain during and/or after the exercise, you would be clever to avoid doing it. Direct training onto an injured muscle or joint isn’t wise.
- There is no exercise you HAVE to do
No exercise is essential, so don’t get banged up if you cant squat for a few weeks. Some exercises which are seen as staples simply aren’t necessary for people who cannot perform them. Take squats for example. If you have a screwed lower back, it is not necessary to squat in order to make lower body gains. Think about is as a cost benefit analysis. Is the benefit of squatting outweighed by the cost? If your injury prevents squats from performing their optimal role as a leg builder and causes further discomfort to the injury, the costs probably outweigh the benefits. You are much better off finding an exercise which provides optimal benefit to cost in terms of your goals and injuries. For example, take the squats situation. Why not leg press? Yes, it will take you longer to gain the results you would if you were squatting, but you will also avoid any stupid injuries (hopefully).
- Understand the concept of relativity
Lets start with an analogy. When fully fit, David can squat 140kg for 10 reps. However, David has developed a nagging lower back injury, and now struggles to squat 100kg for 10 reps. Now, when injured it is totally unreasonable for David to expect to work to his full fitness potential. So, from a completely relative stand point, if David went on to squat 80kg for 15 reps, relative to his health that is very impressive. Granted, relative to his full fitness levels that isn’t so, but this is an attitude you must escape when injured or recovering from injury. Take into account where you are, not where you were.
- Proactive Recovery
The world is a reactive place. We tend to react to external stimuli with preventative measures, instead of working to be preventative in pre-emphasis of said stimuli. By proactive recovery techniques, I mean working to prevent further injuries before they reoccur. Adequate rest, and appropriate diet, and appropriate warm ups/soft tissue work are key to those on the comeback from an injury and, really, to everyone into their training. Upon aging and recovery from injury, the required time for proactive recovery obviously increases. I tend to devote about 15% of my total workout time to proactive injury prevention. For example, before a strenuous pressing routine (ie a chest and shoulders routine), I always make sure to warm up my rotator cuffs. On top of that, I like to practise rotation around the entire shoulder girdle, as well as activating the middle and lower traps. I also practise transverse abdominis work in between every set of my first pressing exercise. Proactive injury prevention techniques are absolutely key. Take the time to do them, you will not regret it in the future.
Remember, training when injured or recovering from injuries requires a great amount of relativity and proportionality from a mental standpoint in order to achieve top results. Obviously, being clued up on general physiology is also key. But just remember, get your head into the right place before you start.
Patrick Chapman Fitness 
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