DO you relate to this scenario?
You injure your shoulder… and get pain whenever you try to bench or shoulder press.
But every time you take a break from the gym: Your pain subsides and you start to feel better.
This leads you to wonder
“Hmm… maybe rest will help me recover?”
And so you rest.
Over time your pain reduces… goes away… you feel better.
And then? You’re ready to get back in the gym.
But the moment you try to bench press or shoulder press again, your pain comes back. Aaand – you’re out of action again.
Sound familiar?
I’ve been there too. “Frustrating” is an understatement.
And if this experience teaches you anything, it should be this:
“Rest is a sh*tty rehab tactic”
It does NOT work.
But if that one reason isn’t enough…
Here are 5 more reasons why rest is THE worst thing you can do if you want to heal a chronic injury:
1/ Strength & Muscle Loss
Prolonged rest leads to muscle loss. Why? You’re not using your body… it’s not being challenged…. And because of that you get weaker, and you lose muscle mass.
Ps. You gain fat due to inactivity too.
2/ Joint Stiffness
Muscles become “lazy” or deconditioned when you don’t challenge them. When they’re deconditioned (weak), they feel tight. This is your body saying “hey, this muscle is fragile, we need to be careful!”.
3/ Psychological Impact
Inactivity doesn’t just have negative physical effects, does it? Waiting to get back to training is frustrating, and it encourages feelings of depression or anxiety, especially for those who are used to being active.
4/ Increased Fear
It’s only natural to avoid pain-causing movements. Problem is though… and as time goes on, you become more anxious and fearful of doing those activities. This makes it harder to get back to the activities you love.
5/ Delayed Recovery
All of the above means you become a more unhealthy, less fit, and more fearful version of yourself. So naturally, this extends your recovery time (sometimes by years).
SUMMARY
Here are 5 reasons why rest is an awful idea:
1/ Strength & Muscle loss
2/ Joint stiffness & “tightness”
3/ Psychological impact
4/ Increased fear
5/ Delayed Recovery
So what must you do instead?
Well, I can only suggest what has worked well for myself and my clients… And that’s strength training.
When I injured my shoulder in 2014:
- I tried physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, stretches, massage, graston and more. My shoulder didn’t get better.
- I decided to build my own system by studying biomechanics (anatomy and physics specifically)
- It worked. For example last week I did heavy benching, dips, shoulder presses, and deadlifts.
As for my clients:
- My approach saved one client from a stressful £7523 rotator cuff surgery.
- Another client got faster results (4 weeks) than his 12 week £3000 physio program.
- A 3rd client found my program more effective than the £750 he wasted on cortisone.
And that’s just 3 clients…
Who would have saved a total of £11,273 if they signed up to my program BEFORE trying these other treatments.
Now I don’t say any of this to boast:
But to demonstrate how effective the right strength training program can be if you want to return to pain free training.
Food for thought.
Ollie Emberson
