A couple days ago I tweaked my back. I was walking on the treadmill with a weighted vest and afterwards when taking the vest off I felt a twinge in my upper back. I did a light leg workout and was done for the day. That night and yesterday morning my back felt felt sore.
That morning after (yesterday) I did a really slow walk (without my weight vest) and then had a long stretch. Rather than continue with my plan to work out my upper body, I just did a bit more legs, and spent time stretching my back and massaging it on the corner of a doorway. The whole day my back felt tight. It didnāt hurt but it felt like I was trying to show off my lats even when my back was as relaxed as I could get it.
Today Iām almost back to normal.
A decade ago if something like this had happened I would have spent a week in pain. I would have had to spend days feeling like a knife was stuck in my back. I would have had to completely stop working out, and I might even have had to miss some work.
This is probably the greatest reward for building a regular fitness regime. I recover from an injury so much faster. My muscles still protect my back by tightening up, but not to the point where they seize. I donāt go into a full back crash because I slipped and missed a stair, or because I took off a weight vest in an awkward position.
My back is far from 100%. It will always be a work in progress. But my ability to avoid injury or to reduce the long term effects of an injury are so much better. And I know this is because of the work Iāve put in⦠and will continue to put in.
Maintaining good fitness habits has paid incredible dividends to my overall wellbeing and my ability ti keep pain at bay.