Motivation After Injury

[VanillaSie]

I hit the ground running back in October 2008. I never missed a 5am workout, was very motivated to workout and eat well, and really developed an active lifestyle. I was able to recover from an eating disorder, and was on the road to building some serious muscle.

Three weeks ago I hyper-extended my left elbow. I am slowly making a recovery, but it will still be several weeks before I can lift with that arm again. At first, my motivation was still raging. I was making my plan to work legs, more endurance training, and modifying my diet. Now I feel my motivation slipping.

It's frustrating because I can't workout like I want to, and seeing my upper body deflate is a downer. As a girl, it is so hard to put on mass, and losing it appears to happen quickly. I know I will have muscle memory once I am able to workout that side again, but I am finding it harder to keep that drive right now.

When I do make it to the gym, it feels more like a chore. Once I get going it gets better though, but nothing like before my injury. Also, my diet has been slipping some. I'm falling into standard patterns of eating well during the day, then adding extra carb calories at night.

I realize I am probably way too hard on myself. I AM injured, but I am still very capable of working out in several ways. This injury is not bad enough to justify not working out.

I want to get that fire back, I miss it. It flickers, but never lasts very long. Reading this section does help, but it mostly gives me motivation to find motivation.....but does not give me the lasting motivation I am looking for (if that makes sense ).


I know if I slack, don't work out much, and don't eat well, it will just be harder to make a comeback - which keeps me doing some working out and food monitoring (I definitely haven't said eff it yet), but I feel like I have made a mountain out of a mole hill. And even though I know in my head it is just a little hill, I can't get the feeling of a looming mountain out of my head. Arg.

If you have ever had an injury, did it affect your motivation? How did you restore your former drive to workout and discipline your eating?

[sweet_lew]

I hit the ground running back in October 2008. I never missed a 5am workout, was very motivated to workout and eat well, and really developed an active lifestyle. I was able to recover from an eating disorder, and was on the road to building some serious muscle.

Three weeks ago I hyper-extended my left elbow. I am slowly making a recovery, but it will still be several weeks before I can lift with that arm again. At first, my motivation was still raging. I was making my plan to work legs, more endurance training, and modifying my diet. Now I feel my motivation slipping.

It's frustrating because I can't workout like I want to, and seeing my upper body deflate is a downer. As a girl, it is so hard to put on mass, and losing it appears to happen quickly. I know I will have muscle memory once I am able to workout that side again, but I am finding it harder to keep that drive right now.

When I do make it to the gym, it feels more like a chore. Once I get going it gets better though, but nothing like before my injury. Also, my diet has been slipping some. I'm falling into standard patterns of eating well during the day, then adding extra carb calories at night.

I realize I am probably way too hard on myself. I AM injured, but I am still very capable of working out in several ways. This injury is not bad enough to justify not working out.

I want to get that fire back, I miss it. It flickers, but never lasts very long. Reading this section does help, but it mostly gives me motivation to find motivation.....but does not give me the lasting motivation I am looking for (if that makes sense ).


I know if I slack, don't work out much, and don't eat well, it will just be harder to make a comeback - which keeps me doing some working out and food monitoring (I definitely haven't said eff it yet), but I feel like I have made a mountain out of a mole hill. And even though I know in my head it is just a little hill, I can't get the feeling of a looming mountain out of my head. Arg.

If you have ever had an injury, did it affect your motivation? How did you restore your former drive to workout and discipline your eating?

Many times... I have really bad ankles and whenever I play basketball for some cardio I usually end up rolling it (only sport this happens in... but I just love it so much lol). It sucks and with an ankle injury... there is very little you can do. It is very hard when you want to work out and can't, but everytime I just wait until it heals and then slowly start working out whatever I can without straining it. I find when I'm stuck at home and can't workout then my diet starts to slip. It definitely stalls my progress and I've done it about 4 or 5 times in the last 2 years. It screw up your rhythm but everytime I always fall back into it again... but thats just me.

[Napman]

You gotta do what you gotta do. I remember my summer in between my junior and senior year of high school I hurt my shoulder and being a swimmer, that's a fairly serious issue. I had to let it rest with no working out for 8 weeks until I could even see a therapist.

I woke up every morning of those 8 weeks for 5 a.m. morning practice. My pool was 30 min. away and I had to have breakfast so I ended up waking up at 4:15. Saturday was awesome because practice wasn't until 6:45 which meant I could sleep in. I wasn't able to touch weights during that time period but what I did do was kick.

While my teammates would swim, I strapped on fins and did whatever they were doing but with a kick instead. Then, 3 days a week, we would come back in the afternoon at 5 for another practice in the evening and I did it again.

Not only did I make it through my period of injury, but I flourished that year. I lead my team to a conference victory, something my school hadn't attained for 20 years. I finished top 8 at our state championship swim meet in 3 events along with my relay teammates.

I challenge you to wake up every morning and look at yourself in the morning. Do you see fire in your eyes? Because I can guarantee you that at 5 in the morning, my eyes were brighter than any flame you have ever seen. My passion was white hot with the intensity of a lightning bolt. You must refuse to let yourself down. If you really want something, and I mean really really want it, there is no force in this world that can stop you from working for it.

[johnderriLLL]

my knees have been hurting lately. i gained about 14 pounds in a week or 2 weeks from not watching my self.

i just have to leave the past behind. some times i feel like my hope has been shattered.

but i just think of all the things that really matter, like loseing 100 pounds.

i think about all the new chances that i have earned in life.

its time to take a stand.

im going to get visible abs no matter what.

[VanillaSie]

Thoughts:
Thanks for the comments everyone, reps to all. I have been thinking of ways to motivate myself and I have realized I often use a routine change to get myself fired up. However, since my injury I have been trying to apply old routine template but just tweaking it to allow for my injury. I think I have been trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, and my short term goals have become muddled because of it. So, the ambiguity of my goals and focus problems have affected my drive. If I am not sure where I am going, I don't want to punch the gas peddle.

So, I decided to have a sit down with myself and not only try to develop a new plan, but also have an honest look at where I wanted to go and things I wanted to do.

First Realization:
I realized I have been wanting to ride my bike more. I also realized that I have been forming my workout schedule around a normal 5 day work week, but I work 4 days on and 4 off - which is now compounding my motivational issues.

Second Realization:
I had to reexamine my goals. I did get hurt in wresting/fighting practice, and I want to fight again in late August/September. However, I think part of me is afraid that I won't be healed enough to fight, which is bringing down my motivation. When I thought I had 4 weeks to prepare for my first fight (which would have been May 16), I was rocking the gym like never before.

What do I want?
From an athletic perspective, I still want more muscle. I want better endurance. I do like pushing myself, it gives me a sense of accomplishment that I crave.

From a physical perspective, I want to be a bit leaner because I want more definition. I feel I have more realistic expectations of my body now, so I am not looking to be shredded year round. I do want abs (a solid 4 pack would be good, 6 pack would be great but it's not a short term goal) and some leg definition.

My Plan:
On my 4 days off, ride my bike the 2 miles to the gym and do weight routines all four days alternating lower body, upper body.

On my 4 days on, ride my bike at least 2 days to work. The ride is about 8 miles one way. When I am working day shift, I won't have to wake up as early as I would to go to the gym. Also, the trail I spend 5 miles on (W&OD) is beautiful and I know the ride would really boost my mood.

I find that when I am really staying active, it is easier for me to eat right because I know my body needs good food for fuel. It's when I am laying around being lazy that I tend to snitch extra fun food (which is really not the time to be doing that). So if I just get the activity plan in working order, the food should easily follow.

Now that I have a plan, I am excited to start it, which is a good sign.