Training around an injury means asking what you can do instead of what you can't — swapping movements that aggravate the injury for ones that don't, so you protect the habit of consistency while you heal. When I tore my soleus, the doctor told me no working out for eight weeks; I disagreed, because there are lots of ways to work out. In this Physical Friday I share how I have trained through injuries for roughly twenty years without missing a day, how I worked around a recent fall off the pull-up bar, and why staying in motion matters as much for your mental state as your physical one.
Watch now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Start by asking one question: what can I do? A broken arm does not stop sit-ups, flutter kicks, a stationary bike, running, or walking. Try a couple of things and see if the body allows it — if it does, move in that direction; if it doesn't, don't do that. You are not going to be stupid or do anything that prevents healing, but you can almost always find something.
In my opinion, complete inactivity is not a good answer for most small injuries. When you have built the habit of showing up — to the gym, to your run, to your workout group — stopping completely tends to spiral: you fall off your eating plan, your sleep slips, you feel worse. Keep doing something, even if it is as simple as walking, and you keep the whole chain of good habits intact.
Going to work out when you are hurt is more for your mental state than your physical state. Staying on the path keeps you from the unhappiness of being off your plan. A lot of times the physical side improves with motion too — moving can be very good for certain injuries, and your body will tell you clearly if it is not.
You are the one who ultimately determines that for yourself. What hurts, what doesn't hurt, did that make you feel better or worse — move toward better and stay away from worse. After my recent fall, squatting was very difficult, but the bike turned out fine, the ski erg was fine, and rowing was nearly impossible at first but workable a couple of days in.
Ask why you got injured and how to avoid it in the future, because an injury sets you way back. We are trying to get better, not worse — so stay on the path, train consistently toward your goal, and treat injury prevention as part of the program, not an afterthought.
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — practical training, nutrition, and mindset so you can keep doing what you love outdoors for life, including when you are banged up.
This is the process I use every time I get hurt — most recently after slipping off the pull-up bar and landing flat on my back.
I have not missed a day because of injury in roughly twenty years using this approach — the full story is in the episode above.
When I tore my soleus — the calf muscle that runs underneath your gastroc — in a race, the doctor told me no working out for eight weeks. I asked why. He said I couldn't run. Well, there are lots of ways to work out. He told me I should be in a padded room, and I didn't like that, because learning to train around an injury has real benefits. I tell the whole story in the episode above.
We have said it many times: the number one thing on your path to fitness is consistency. When you show up to your workout, you are more likely to stay on your eating plan, keep your sleep schedule, take your supplements — on and on down the line. Stopping completely over a hurt finger spirals the other way: now you are hurt and you are heavier, and you feel even worse. I unpack that chain in the episode above.
I recently slipped off the pull-up bar and landed right on my back, and for a week there have been things I could not do. The first thing I asked myself was what I could do. The bike turned out not too bad. The ski erg was fine. Rowing was almost impossible at first, then workable a couple of days in. I walk through exactly how I tested it all in the episode above.
Listen or watch: the full breakdown, with every detail, is in the episode above.
A lot of people think I am crazy for working out hurt, but staying in motion has protected both my body and my head through every injury I have had. The question is never whether you can train — it is what you can train.
I hope you stay healthy and never need this one. If you do get hurt, get creative, stay on the path, and remember the goal is better, not worse.
training around injury · torn soleus · consistency · pull-up bar · stationary bike · ski erg · rowing · sit-ups and flutter kicks · walking · swimming · habit building · injury prevention · Physical Friday · Saltwater Experience
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's Physical Friday series I share the training formats, nutrition habits, and mindset tools I use to stay strong enough to fish, hunt, hike, and keep up with my kids — short, practical episodes built for guides, anglers, and outdoorsmen who want to stay in the game for life.
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