No one likes having an injury. It’s no fun. For those who really love sports and moving, and even for those who live a more sedentary lifestyle, an injury feels like your freedom being robbed. Almost as if all the choices you once had, have become limited, forcing you to dampen your quality of life without remorse. And let’s not forget all the positive things your friends and family will try to say to get you out of that rut but in your head you’re just hoping…begging they’ll shut up 🤣
That was me back in 2020. Having broken multiple bones in my right hand and needing surgery you could imagine the despair an avid gym enthusiast such as myself would’ve had.
Life had to change.
I had to change.
Or rather I was forced to change.
Depression hit and it hit as if I owed it money. Being a personal trainer and working in a gym environment, whilst knowing you full well can’t train is a cruel pain. Imagine the thing you love most, being around you 24/7…but you can’t have it.
Despite this bitter feeling, I knuckled down and continued to work hard. To do my job to the best of my ability in the state that I was in. But when it rains it truly pours. Just as I was starting rehab from my surgery we entered our first lockdown and that was a state of shock for the whole world. Something unprecedented, that shook all of us to our core.
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, lockdown lasted a lot longer than we all expected. But I had utilised that time. Rather than sulking and sitting in the mud I focused on what I could do. Now I’ve always loved training but before I had this injury I admit I focused solely on weights. I was that guy who would walk in a gym, no warm up and just lift weights. I didn’t know what cardio was to save my life and best believe I was frighteningly stiff for someone who was 22 back then.
I increase my knowledge in other areas of fitness. Mobility. Flexibility. Proprioception. I started stretching more. Practicing mobility drills. Understanding my body, the body in a new untapped depth. My passion for fitness began to grow even deeper, truly being able to appreciate all sets of fitness. Dance, swimming, ice hockey, you name it, I was starting to see the body and understanding a lot more of its capabilities. Gone were the days where I thought only aesthetic bodies and brute strength were real measures of fitness.
Now I said when it rains it pours. But things also come in threes. Just when lockdown was lifted I tore the tendon of my middle finger in my left hand, rendering it immobile to use as I couldn’t even grip. Now for someone who has never had an injury in his life, to getting two in the same year back to back, you can understand them feeling like the world is against them. Nevertheless, this wasn’t foreign territory anymore, I had been here before.
This time round, I combatted this injury with poise and grace. Understanding there were still many forms of ‘training’ I could do even though I couldn’t lift weights. This second injury didn’t depress me. It solely motivated me. Day in day out I was becoming better. I started jogging, something I always felt I was too heavy and sluggish to do. My joints had become so mobile and strong. All the mobility drills had me discovering new ranges of motion in my body, making exercises I used to do 10x more difficult.
But I loved it. I learned to embrace training. I didn’t rush my reps as much when I began training at home. I took time to really hone my control. Making sure every rep I do, to make it look and feel as if it was the perfect rep. To make sure every time I’m training, whether I’m lifting weights, doing Bodyweight workouts, or simply stretching - to be fully present. To be intentional, aware and conscious of my current state and that made all the difference.
I trained consistently at home with a pair of 20kg dumbbells and resistance bands. I worked in high rep ranges focusing on keeping every rep with a 2-3 second negative. As my strength increased, I incorporated bands to up the load, and when that got easier I would further increase the tempo or increase the reps. Training became longer, since I was mobilising a lot more. I found that due to my increased range of motion I was gaining more full and dense looking muscles.
After 3 months of focusing on recovery, the tendon in my left hand healed and I got back in the gym with my training. With this newfound approach to training I saw a very fast increase in muscle mass. The first set of pictures was in June 2020, the last set of pictures was in August 2021.
Key tips to gaining muscle
⁃ Focus on your form
⁃ Progressive overload is essential
⁃ Increase your calories
⁃ Prioritise your protein intake
⁃ Stretch! It’ll increase your recovery rate
⁃ Tempo! Slow some reps down and own it