Guess what? Sometimes when we push ourselves to our limits and beyond, things don't always go according to plan and we can get hurt. Despite all our care and effort, stuff still happens. On those rare occasions when my clients get hurt, I want them to take care, focus on recovery and get back to what they love ASAP. So I say things like, "Don't let it get you down", or "Hey, you'll get back on track soon. Don't stress out." etc. Easy to say right? So when I got punched hard in the ribs last week by a very good boxer during a sparring session I had to remember my own words, and suck it up.
My opponent laid a clever trap for me. He attacked me one side, and when I moved to defend that side, he seized on a brief opening on the other side. Only, he went harder than he should have and I went down in pain. After that, even the slightest movements were excruciating. Even simple tasks like lying down in bed, rolling over, putting my shoes and socks on, getting in and out of the car, were agony. It's been one week and my patience has been seriously tested. My training has been going so well of late. I've been really motivated, pushing hard, having fun and making great progress. Now what was that stuff I'd tell my clients? Bah!!! Eat, humble, pie son! For a couple of days I just iced and rested. Then when I wasn't afraid to cough or sneeze anymore, I decided to try some movements in the gym. After carefully experimenting, I found some movements and positions that didn't hurt that much. The ones that did, I simply didn't do them. I was reminded of something in my nature that is always looking for ways around obstacles.
After knee reconstructive surgery some years ago, I was stuck on a couch for weeks and got depressed. Then I realised there were a whole bunch of exercises I could do that didn't require me to use my knee. After rupturing my lowest disc, I found some small things that I could do despite the pain, to make my core stronger and help me through the setback. I've used this skill to help many clients with various injuries or ailments work around them to get fitter, stronger, lighter and eventually beyond what they thought could have been possible.
This experience has reminded me how through any adversity, the human spirit and a deeply rooted desire to not give up can help do amazing things. No matter how bad things are for me or you, there's always someone in a MUCH worse situation, who has not used it as an excuse and has achieved astounding things. So if you have a healthy body and you choose to abuse it with bad food, self destructing habits and infrequent exercise, it can feel like a huge waste of a gift to me. Easy to take for granted until that gift is taken away. Just remember that we emerged from nature to move, eat natural, organic, wholefoods and drink water. If you've lost your way and miss feeling amazing every day, like you once used to, then try to add some of those elements back into your routine and watch great things start to happen.
I often say that the human body evolved to move and will reward you in countless ways when you do it often. Sure you'll get the obvious benefits like lose weight, gain muscle, improve fitness, stronger heart and lungs, reduced risk of disease, lower blood pressure, clearer skin, more energy, stronger bones, reduced aches and pains etc, etc, but you'll also gain a host of less obvious benefit that will greatly improve the quality of your life, like better sleep, improved mood, greater self-understanding, new friends, stress reduction, better self-esteem, better sex! What else do you want?!
So if you have no setbacks, what's your excuse. Go make a better life for yourself so you can be better, and also be a better resource for those around you that you care about. If you have setbacks, then be tenacious. Do all the right things to get back on track and try to find other things you can do to work around the setback, and you'll get your mo-jo back faster and in greater volume than before.
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