You feeling lucky? Well...do you?

In October I injured my Achilles tendon while training for a race. I have to admit that I didn't listen to what my body was telling me, "hey your foot is feeling pretty tight, maybe we should check it out." I replied back, "get behind me satan! There's nothing wrong, it will feel better in about a mile or so." That decision resulted in an injury and long recovery, which is still going on today. But last week I was feeling pretty good I was walking without a limp for the first time in a while. I was feeling so good that I thought I'd try to get back into doing barbell back

squats.

In my previous post, Let's Band Together for Squats, I talked about how a number of factors contribute to a successful squat, one of these factors is ankle mobility. Since my injury, I've lost a lot of range of motion on my left side, but I didn't let that stop me!

I was feeling lucky but my luck ran out...

I stepped up to the squat rack, loaded the barbell, and went to work. The first set wasn't that great but I made it through. I should've stopped there. My Achilles did not appreciate the second set and told me so with shooting pain in my heel. I had to stop.

Being injured is a frustrating experience, often we think we are healing well and can go back to our regular activities. What I should've done is listen to that voice inside that was saying, "don't push it, take more time to rest." In fact, this is the advice I would give to a class participant or client who is injured. You'd think I would follow my own advice!

Since the barbell back squat wasn't going to fly, I changed the placement of the load (from the back to the front), which my body tolerated much better.

If you're injured, do what I say not what I did. Take the time you need to recover fully or learn how to modify the exercise you're performing. In my classes, I want everyone to feel successful so I make sure I provide options for the activity or routine so that you feel safe in your workout.

Have you experienced an injury and did you rush back to your activity too soon? I'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment or find me on IG @ghanagirlproductions. This is your girl signing off.

-GhanaGirl