Neeed motivation after almost 4 months of not working out

[beaR1114]

I had injured my shoulder about 4 months ago at work and it was bad enough that I couldn't use it for even the simplist things. I got benched at work (Fire Fighting) and basically life sucked.

Anyways I got medically cleared and am back to work and am medically allowed to do upper body work again. I had gone to the gym and started my first chest workout in 4 months. I was really weak at everything. It came to a point where I needed to use the smith machine to bench 80lbs. Could barely dumbell press 35lbs also. I felt like everyone was looking at me not knowing the real reason why. I basically feel like I need to start from scratch in the gym, and considering I was very strong to start with I really have no desire to workout anymore knowing that I have to, expecially for my job.

I was just wondering if anyone else happened to be in my situation and could give me some advice.

Thanks.

[snake0331]

Hey boss it does suck having to take all 4 months off but now more then likely you will be able to hit it even harder an come back stronger. But now more then ever you gotta WANT to get back to where you were an pas that. The mind is the key here. So go get it man quit thinking an just go kill it.


Side note as a ff myself I would hate to have to pull roofing with a pike poll with a lame shoulder best of luck bro

[OfficerJimLahey]

I've had a shoulder surgery and two leg surgeries in the last 3 years. I have nerve problems in both legs but squatted and deadlifted for the first time in two years yesterday. It was pretty humbling as i kept everything pretty light. But it was also motivating as well. I felt muscles in my legs straining that hadn't been in a long time.
I felt a few people staring but just remembered I'm there for myself. Like i said it felt great to even do some of those lifts. You'll get your strength back quick man, just stick with it.

[vsebi]

One positive thing you have going is muscle memory, you will get results quicker than last time so don't stress Who cares if others stare at you or not. Like Officer said you're in there for you, not them, who gives a ****. After every single set of any body part I do I flex that muscle for 10 seconds, always, I don't give a **** if people think i'm flexing to show off in the mirror...I do it to build a good solid muscle/mind connection and help with growth...this is about you, not them.

Start light, work your way up, and get back at it bro, never step back.

[StimFlow]

i fractured my collarbone last summer and was out for 3 months. I felt like I had to start over too since my left shoulder was so weakened... It will take a while but your strength will return. And it will return much quicker than you will expect... Keep in mind that your basically rehabilitating your shoulder... that mindset helped me justify the low weight. Sooner rather than later, you will be plowing full steam ahead...

as for others in the gym... let them think whatever they want... I was self-consious at first too.. first few weeks i would do some lifts and then grab/massage/fiddle with my collarbone to give the impression that something was wrong with it lol. After a while I stopped caring what people thought and just did my thing... so play the card you've been dealt, things will get better.

[Amine999]

I can't say much here, since my injuries were never so major that I couldn't work out, but good luck mate.

[ImZander]

I've been in the same situation after in my prime of lifting tearing 3 legiments in my knee had me out for a while. And even when I healed up I just wasent lifting the same. Now I'm about a month deep into lifting again and would consider myself in the best shape of my life. Starting off again is always tough. Set the pace early. Work hard and get to where you were. Your injury was just an obstacle attempting to hold you back. Now that youvv beat your injury, take back what's yours. Get after it in the gym. You know you got it in you.

[Lastman13]

You can remain sub-par... or you can bust your ass and rise above the rest.

[LifeofRiley]

One of my psych profs in grad school was the team psychologist for the U.S. Men's Gymnastics Olympic team in '88 and '92.

One of the guys who did the parallel bars had a shoulder injury and couldn't work out for 6 mos.

What My prof had him do was dress everyday with the team and do SOME of the stretches (basically his routine). Then he had the guy go sit in a corner, close his eyes and go though his routine mentally in real time over and over performing it perfectly every time (from a first-person point of view).

A year later the dude won bronze in Barcelona. Raise your hand if you got one of those. Anybody?

Mental imagery is huge. It helped me hit the curve ball in college. Neuro programming is an outstanding, deeply researched highly tested, heavily documented method for performance enhancement and injury recovery. I use it with clients in therapy. It kicks ass.

Go through your workout in your head. dress like you were going to the gym. See yourself nailing your reps with perfect form. You can even imagine people walking up to use and telling you they're impresse3d with your results. Drink a shake when your done. Your muscle won't grow, but they WILL still receive the electrical pulse required for muscle memory just as if you had done it.

It takes practice and focus.

Google NLP, neuro-linguistic programming.

[BlackWolf111]

**** the people man..Just do your thing and always be positive about it. Remember, its just a matter of time. Every time you go to the GYM think about the weight you can push, your abilities. You have done it once already, you can do it again.