FITNESS-FRIDAY: Injuries Are Our Best Teachers

SpecialBlog Guest

For any fitness enthusiast, gym injuries are highly detrimental. Even a small injury can certainly lead to physical, mental and emotional discomfort. They are painful, debilitating, dreary and have the potential to push you on the back foot for weeks and months from your workout goals. Irrespective of any amount of strength and comfort nobody is immune to it. Everyone is prone to injuries when you are doing resistance training or when you are pushing your body out of its limit.

I, being no special guest suffered from the same. Returning to your exercise routine after an injury is never easy. So, prevention is important. Just because you hit the gym 6 times a week or go for a jog doesn’t make you safe either.

Exercise is a way of curing your body of all sorts of diseases or emotions whether it is memory loss, depression, low body fuel and so on. Imagine a situation where you have invested a hell amount of time in training your body and mind in a special manner and suddenly it stops due to an unavoidable reason. Your body gets a mild shock of the inadmissible variation which has been brought. Today I’ll be throwing light on how your body reacts when you don’t work out for 3-4 weeks and I’m writing this out of personal experience. Happy hours and outdoor brunches sound way more appealing when you are recovering from the injury, but the physical effects are way harsher and real.

The signs of deconditioning are invisible to the naked eye but internally it can affect you in some way or the other. If you don’t bring a variation in your diet plan, you could gain the few pounds in this time frame. Also, below-mentioned points are more antagonizing and surprising.

  • Muscle Size – Three to four weeks of no exercise brings a considerable drop in your muscle size, capillary size, bone density, flexibility and overall flow of the blood and energy in your body. This is not a good sign as you’ll have to start over again after your recovery. But meanwhile, do not hump yourself with bad food. It’s only the indication of rubbing salt on one’s wound. The reason being beyond size and strength your muscle simply won’t fire the same way they used to if you fill yourself with filth. BEWARE!
  • Brain – Since the flow of the blood is not as smooth as it used to be, your brain starts to act little cloudy or not as enthusiastic as it used to, post your workout regime. You begin to lose endurance capability as well as the ability to perform at higher intensities. Dopamine levels also drop as your days in the gym has become a past.

What is Dopamine level?

In the brain, dopamine functions as a neurotransmitter – a chemical released by neurons to send signals to other nerve cells. The brain includes several distinct dopamine pathways, one of which plays a major role in reward-motivated behaviour.

  • Immune System – After a week, your immune system becomes vulnerable. You start to notice changes in your mood and sleep cycles. Also, lack of exercise will lead to higher levels of energy in the body and reduce the need for deep sleep. This, in turn, could lead to restless or insufficient sleep.

Do not let injuries bog you down. They say injuries are an athlete’s jewellery. They are a sign of your strength to overcome hurdles and pain. Come out of the injury and push yourself harder than before. Hustle up!


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