5 Tips when returning to strength training after injury

Are you someone who wants to get back to working out after an injury but you’re worried about doing so safely?

Maybe you have tried to get back into your old exercise routine and your previous injury came back?

You know that strengthening exercises and lifting weights are beneficial for your health, but you’re not sure how to get started again safely after time away due to pain or injury.

If these concerns feel familiar, you are not alone! This is a common problem, so keep reading to better understand how to successfully build and sustain a strength training routine after injury and time away from working out.

When returning to strength training, the trap that I see patients fall into is either avoiding strengthening exercises entirely for fear of re-injury or returning to a workout routine including all the exercises that they can possibly think of (or close to it!). They immediately start completing lengthy and complex workout routines. These routines often end up being way too much and they quickly fall back into avoiding strength training entirely.

Here are 5 tips to help with a smooth return to strength training after injury (because everyone deserves to experience the many benefits of strengthening exercise!)

1 - Start with a maximum of 3 strengthening exercises

More is generally not better when it comes to returning to a strength workout routine, especially after an injury. When we have had time away from exercising consistently, our body loses the strength and fitness we gained. It takes time to build this back up. Allowing for this creates space for our body to build back its capacity and develop a consistent strengthening routine, safely and effectively.

Select no more than one exercise per muscle group and keep the strength workout at 3 exercises or less for your initial strength workout routine post-injury. There is time to add more later, but for a successful foundation, at the beginning, less is more.

2 - Determine the strength exercises that are low risk of aggravating your injury (or previous injury)

Fear of, once again, experiencing injury or pain is a massive and understandable barrier when returning to strength workouts after an injury. To help with this, I recommend identifying exercises and movements that are no-risk and low-risk of stirring up your symptoms.

A physiotherapist, or similar health or strength and conditioning professional can help with this if you are unsure what strengthening exercises are low risk for your specific injury.

Once you have determined the exercises that you can return to with minimal risk of re-injury, use this list to build your strength training workout routine from.

3 - Select one exercise that targets your previously injured area

Include one exercise in your workout routine after an injury that has the specific purpose of building back up the previously injured area, movement or body part.

This is an important aspect of returning to strength training after injury. It will help you to rebuild your body and return to full strength and function. Adding in an exercise to target your area of weakness will also, very importantly, help to rebuild the confidence you have in your body after injury.

If this tip leaves you confused and not sure which exercise is best for you, this is also where a health or strength and conditioning professional can be useful. They can work with you to identify movements and exercises to specifically target, rebuild and help to heal an old injury.

4 - Start small and build

For your first workout back, complete no more than 3 sets of 5 repetitions for each strength training exercise you have selected.

If you recall tip #1 of starting with a maximum of 3 exercises, this means that, at the most, you will be completing 3 exercises for 3 sets of 5 reps as your first strength workout back after injury.

Your first workout routine will be relatively short, and that is intentional. From here, at each workout you can progress and expand your program.

If, instead, you start with too many exercises, your chances of aggravating your injury or generally being too sore or tired to want to workout again anytime soon are very high.

This is the yo-yo pattern we want to avoid when returning to a workout routine after injury. By strategically starting small and building, you will slowly and steadily build back your strength and be in a consistent strength training routine once again!

5 - Have a plan for rest and recovery alongside your strength training plan

Similar to what often happens with New Year January fitness plans, people tend to make a returning to strength training plan including most days of the week, with long and demanding workouts.

The challenge with this approach is that we can only reap the benefits of strength training if we have the adequate conditions and capacity to recover from our exercise efforts. When factoring in previous injuries and other life stressors (both good and bad), long and demanding workouts often lead to fatigue and discontinuing your strength routine.

To avoid this, when returning to strength workouts, have 2 or more days a week when your priority is rest and recovery, rather than doing a strength training workout.

These rest and recovery days can simply be days without strength or intense workout plans.

They may also include habits or forms of movement that are restful and restorative, such as yin yoga, walking, gardening or a mobility routine.

Summary for safely and effectively returning to strength training after injury

While often scary, returning to strength training after an injury can be a smooth experience. To help make your return to strengthening workouts successful, here are 5 guidelines to follow:

1)    Start with a strength routine of 1 to 3 strengthening exercises.

2)    Make 2 of the exercises in your strength routine movements that do not involve your previously injured body part.

3)    Select 1 exercise to specifically target and strengthen your area of injury.

4)    Begin with 3 sets of 5 repetitions for your first workout and build up from there!

5)    Allow for rest and recovery by placing it as top priority 1-2 days a week.

These tips will help to avoid the yo-yo of trying to do either all of the strengthening exercises or completing none of the exercises. Instead, you will be on the slow and steady journey of building a strong and resilient body!

Joanna Marriott, B.Kin, MSc PT

Joanna works at RECLAIM PHYSIOTHERAPY on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.  She graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Kinesiology with Honours in 2007 and from Queen’s University with a Master of Science in Physical Therapy 2009.