Are you afraid to start training again after injury? Me Too....

Do you feel overly cautious or incredibly frightened about re-starting your training even after being cleared by your doctor or physical therapist? Injury recovery is as much a mental process as it is a physical one. .

I am going to let you in on a BIG secret, I have been cleared by the Neurologist to start training gently on my spin bike or elliptical for over two weeks.

Over 2 weeks, I remember a time I would have been on that bike the second after I left that office.

Things have changed, after my brain injury and the surgeries in 2018, I am scared to death to do anything. I really do mean anything. I have felt very safe tucked in my blanket, living a somewhat secluded life from everything I have identified with in my past life prior to 2018.

Somehow my brain (my thoughts) associated training with injury and I do not want to re-live these past few years of my life this way ever again. So, it turns out my thoughts have created the result I am living which are: I have let fear dictate what I do and do not do.

Is this a way to live???

Is this how you are living??

I have made excuses while working in therapy to heal my brain that I am not well enough, I needed all the tech stuff to sit on my bike, I needed to record this ride or it didn't happen, I want to see how may watts I am putting out while pedaling, I better watch my heart rate since I haven't ridden in forever, my bike tires need air. All the excuses which were just disguising my FEAR.

Are you kidding me, I said to myself. I am just going to gentle spin until I feel sick or symptoms come up, I am not riding a race, I don't need to measure my power as it is just an easy spin, I don't need zwift hooked up as I am listening to a podcast, my heart rate isn't going to rise that much with a very basic spin.

Do you see what was happening in my own thoughts? When I chose to realize I was really experiencing fear, I put all those excuses aside and I did what I could to change my thoughts. When I changed my thoughts something amazing happened, I RODE my spin bike this am for 30 minutes. It was all about overcoming a mental battle I was having with myself. I RODE for the first time today in I honestly don't know how long. I am going to celebrate today so hard. I am staring at this water bottle on this bike as a symbol of freedom today. I did it, it is a baby step, but it is exactly what I need right now. I am trusting this process.

If you need some help overcoming your fears while returning to sport, Feel free to reach out to me. I have done it, I am doing it and I have over 5 years experience with Mental Rehab and how it benefits your physical rehab by getting you back in the game faster and stronger.

sarah@borntoendure.com

Certified Return to sport coach