Seriously, fire your physio if they tell you to the quit the gym. In fact, fire your doctor, your Chiro, even your mother! Anyone who tells you to stop doing something that is so important like strength training, is just plain bad for you!
It’s no secret that I own a gym so you could call me biased as to not wanting someone to quit. But I honestly don’t care if you quit my gym, just go to a gym that does similar to what we do – strength and conditioning following a structured program – and keep training.
Over the years in the industry, I’ve had to talk to many people who have been told that they should quit the gym, mainly from physios. No matter the injury, it’s literally the worst advice you can be given – here’s a short podcast about how we deal with injuries at Defy
Rehab – the action of restoring someone to health or normal life through training
That description above is what should be the number one goal of your physio *to restore you to normal life* if your normal life includes training at a gym (which it should), then their number one job should be to get you back to the gym!
Injuries occur in the gym, there’s no doubt about it. But, more injuries occur outside of the gym either from playing sports or being weak in areas that you needed to be strong in (ie when you pick something up wrong and hurt yourself or hurt your knees from running).
Building and maintaining muscle is best thing you can do for longevity and health as you age. It is not something you want to stop doing, no matter what happens. I’ll say this until I’m blue in the face but THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE! There are so many different movements that can be used to help you get back fighting fit.
And that’s why the suggestion of quitting is the worst advice that could be given. A physio that truly cared about you would do a few things:
- Understand exactly what you’re doing at the gym. Not every gym is the same. Most physios have no idea what happens at your gym – a good one would try all the local gyms and meet with all the owners. It would be in their own best interest.
- Ask you what your dream outcome is from the work you do with them. If you want to climb Everest, they should help you get to that point.
- Share their findings with your gym. A list of movements that can be replaced, a list that will be beneficial and any other feedback that can help your recovery
- Give you a legit program to follow to help you get better. A once per week treatment with no other focus on the rehab will do absolutely nothing to get you better. It’s a waste of time (and money).
Ok, now you have to take some responsibility:
Personally, I would never go and see a physio unless I needed a quick fix. Last year I tweaked my hamstring a week out form a HYROX race and some needling helped a tonne to allow me to race. But, I’m a fan of fixing injuries by experimenting with different movements. I explain it a little more in the podcast linked above but fundamentally focussing on quality movement at intensities that you’re able, will get you back to health – it can take time but you’ll be fixed.
You have to take responsibility for fixing your body. I have programs for knees, hips, ankles, shoulders, elbows – all the areas that people tend to get niggling chronic pain. I’ve sent them to numerous people (let me know if you need them) but the truth is, 99% of people DO NOT DO THEM often enough, if at all.
If you had sore knees 1,2,3 years ago – and they are still sore now – you’ve not put in the work to get them better. It’s boring, it’s sometimes painful and it’s not fun – but it works. I like to do extreme things with my body and it sometimes breaks. It’s unfortunate but with the right rehab I come back stronger and don’t usually have the same problem twice.
I hope this blog came across as a rant, because I feel so passionate about this topic. I’ll leave you with a final note that’s arguably more important than the injury side of being told to quit the gym:
Training is one of the best things you can do for your mental health. Our members have legitimate friends at the gym that they connect with in and out of Defy. Being told to quit the gym by a person who is seen as an authority in the space is someone who is being very irresponsible with their prescriptions. I’ve seen many people fall into a big decline mentally when they stop training for whatever reason.
Remember, fire your physio if they tell you to quit the gym!
