We help people make their comebacks after injury. I’ve been doing it now for almost seven years. In doing so, I made the foolish mistake of acting like it couldn’t happen to me just like it happens to my clients. Here’s an excerpt from my “unretirement” email to our past clients:
“The end of 2023 brought with it the toughest decision I’ve had to make in recent memory, which was retiring from bodywork. I was much worse off than I let on in that email to all of you. I couldn’t lift my head off the pillow each morning. Both arms hurt to bend at the elbow. I couldn’t form a bicep on the left side. My left ankle hurt every day and I was hobbling around like a man twice my age. In other words, I had done the exact opposite of what I preach to our athlete clients. I was doing way too much. Not just too much work. I was trying to lift, do martial arts, AND perform at work. I was broken. And just like I tell all of you who do too much, these overuse injuries took 6 months to heal fully. So please, I beg of you, don’t overdo it, ok?”
Looking back, it’s all so clear how I ended up in that situation. The daily physical demands of massage and body work, plus lifting weights several days a week, and practicing martial arts was too much. I am my clients and they are me. Too stubborn to quit. Too proud for an off day. Grind till we die.
But not anymore. I’ve come back with a strict, shortened schedule to keep me from going off the rails. I like helping people get better. But if I do too much and hurt myself, then I can’t help anyone. I lift three days a week instead of five. I use my assistants more efficiently when teaching martial arts. As a result, I was able to make my comeback.
A key change to my thinking has been this: What is the minimum amount of input I can do to get the majority of the result? For example with weightlifting. I have been lifting since I was 14 years old. I don’t have much further to go in terms of maximum muscular potential. I don’t compete. So huffing and puffing at the gym for an hour is wasteful in my case. I only need 20-25 minutes of focused effort about three times a week to maintain and add a little weight on the bar here and there. I’m doing much less now and I feel better. It didn’t kill me to do less. I actually kind of like it even.
For seasoned runners and cyclists who compete, there’s a point in the weekly mileage where doing more miles doesn’t give a positive training effect. The extra “junk” miles only break the body down more than necessary and make it harder to recover. What’s the minimum you can do in a week and still improve your time?
What are the ways you can cut back? You may not think you can, but if you feel run down, exhausted, bedraggled, etc. then you should ask the question. Take a step back and see where you might be doing or giving too much.
Looks like we all need to get a little better at playing the long game. If we play the long game well, we may be able to avoid making the big comeback after injury. If you didn’t get this message in time though, we’re here to help!
