SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone tell me that their physio thinks that CrossFit is making them rich, I'd be a lot richer than those physios....
During my masters thesis, I saw a lot of research that based their findings off correlation rather than actual causation (ie. just because something existed, didn't mean it was responsible for the effect).
Who do you think the average patient at a physiotherapist is?
People who are active, or who want to become more active. Not a lot of inactive people going to the physio. Think that might alter the bell curve a little?
If you plan on moving your body a lot during your life, it's going to need looking after, it's going to require regular maintenance, and at some point, despite your best efforts, it will quite likely require repairs of some sort. We're a big lump of biological tissue moving around in a mostly inorganic world, breakdown is inevitable.
If I was greedy, I might also take a dollar for the amount of times I've heard that a doctor or physio has recommended that someone do nothing when they are injured. But it's a fact that movement and mechanical load is how our body makes adaptation. Ever seen an arm after 6 weeks in a plaster cast? It's shrunk!! The body has claimed the muscle back, seeing as no one was bothering to use it...... (it's a very efficient system that way...)
The long winded point is that life (and progress in the gym) is not linear. If you want to go up, you have to be willing to deal with the down.
The way we do it here is either;
simple substitution of movements during group coaching (with the assistance of a coach) to ensure a positive adaptation, without causing regression in the injured area
Or,
Follow the Silver Lining Playbook.
Yes, I like a good romantic comedy, so sue me!
In this movie, Dr. Patel does his best to convince Pat to keep taking his bipolar medication, as further violent outbursts might mean institutionalisation. But Pat tells him that he has a new outlook on life: he attempts to see the good, or silver linings, in all that he experiences.
Do you know what you can do if your shoulder is causing you discomfort?
You could pay some 'health professionals' to tell you to do nothing...
Or you could make an appointment to see Coach Fred (he's also a physio, but he'll fix you not fleece you).
And then get really awesome at squats and deadlifts....
If you tweaked your calf doing the Auckland Marathon, you could try our pull-up improvement program!
Hurt your back in one of those freak, "I just picked up a pencil" incidents that make no goddamn sense! Have you ever thought about getting good at benchpress? Would you like to learn how to do a pistol? Maybe a full blown midline strengthening program to prevent this happening again? Heck this might be a good time to start training MORE often, depending on your new goal. Perhaps you could add on some private training to complement your group coaching and injury rehab.
We've got the knowledge, we've got the equipment, we've got the experience, we've got enough room for you to come in, no matter what is going on, to do the work that is going to make you happier, and healthier. In our eyes, fitness is a constant. It's not applied sporadically, unless you want sporadic results.
Aches, pains and niggles are going to happen. But don't treat them like a death sentence. See the bright side instead, spend time on a new goal, and keep moving up!