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It's all happened to us at some point or another.
We've gone for a tackle, or a shot, or maybe a sprint, and we felt a sharp and intense pain in one of our muscles.
Or maybe we've collided with another player, and busted our knee in the process, maybe have had a concussion or two from a few head collisions.
And if you haven't experienced the unlucky break we call injury, then prepare yourself, because sooner or later, it will happen.
And that's not to sound pessimistic or anything like that. It's just a given. If you're serious about the sport of soccer, or any sport for that matter, you will go through a point where you push too hard, or have an unlucky moment where you face a trial of injury.
As much as we can prepare our bodies and minds to avoid injury, none of us are 100% injury free.
Even Cristiano Ronaldo, who is known for his strict lifestyle and crazy workout routine, has gone through a few serious injuries throughout the course of his career.
We all remember Dimitri Payet's shocking challenge on the Portuguese Superstar that forced him out of the final of the Euro 2016, and even made him miss the start of the season for Real Madrid:
If someone like him can get injured, then none of us are safe.
And to an extent, I personally think that injuries are an important part of your journey as a footballer. Not that I wish that any of my followers or that any new visitors that stumble across my content have an injury, no I don't mean that.
Personally, I feel like I learn a lot when I'm injured, whether it's about my body, or maybe a flaw in my training or gym program that's causing me to not reach my max potential.
Let me give you all a quick example before I jump into the actual meat of this blog post.
Back in late 2018 going into 2019, I found myself suffering a 6-month long injury to one of my knee muscles, the vastus medialis, or better known as the inner tear drop muscle.
I injured that muscle by performing a SL RDL incorrectly, and not activating my glute as I was trying to hinge, which ended up causing my knee to overcompensate and pull in the process.
During these six months, not only did I itch to get back on the field and outwork my opponents, I also learned a lot about my body, what areas were weak, what areas needed to be worked on, and how the amount of training I was doing was causing my body to be over-trained.
I learned a lot about the type of gym work I should be doing, the type of training split I should follow so that my body could feel it's best, and what muscle groups needed to be worked so I could build a balanced and stronger physique.
Once by knee injury had subsided, I was able to put everything I learned into action, and within a month's time (maybe a little more) I was already a better player than what I was before my knee injury.
As much as that injury was a depressing experience for me, I have to acknowledge that it's one of the highlights in my journey that has allowed me to have the most growth in knowledge.
If I didn't have that injury, I probably wouldn't know the things I know today, and I would be committing the same mistakes I was doing before my injury.
Now, enough story telling, time to to talk about what you came here for.
How Can You Improve While You're Injured?
During my 6-month injury, and even during other setbacks, I did a few things that helped me continue to improve at the sport, even If I wasn't physically able to do training with the ball.
Here are a few things I recommend you try when you are injured in order to still be able to see the smallest bit of improvement as a player.
1) Improve Your Football IQ
For those who don't know what this is, your football IQ is basically your intelligence when it comes to game of soccer. It is how much you know about the different roles and tactics of the eleven players on the field and the formations they play.
Players like Andrea Pirlo, Sergio Busquets, Luka Modric, and Andres Iniesta are all excellent examples of players who perform their role exceptionally well because of their high level of intelligence on the pitch.
They know how to play their role extremely well, and their knowledge of the different movements of the players around them and the different tactical elements of the formation they play help them with their decision-making when on or off the ball.
If you already feel technically and athletically proficient, then imagine how much better you would be when you learn the in's and out's of your position and how to perform when in a certain formation. Your positioning, awareness, vision, and decision-making would see massive benefits from improving your IQ.
So How can you Improve Your IQ?
Unfortunately, because you're injured, you're not gonna be able to do the single-handedly best way to improve your IQ which is going out and playing matches.
Playing matches is one of the best ways to improve your IQ since you are gaining experience in the role you are playing in when under match speed, which will force you to think quicker, and have to make decisions under pressure; which is a part of what helps a player improve their consistency in their position.
However, there is also another magical thing you can do while you're injured to improve your IQ, and that magical thing is called Game Analysis.
By watching and studying a player and their decision making, you will learn new things that you can then apply to your game when you step back out onto the pitch!
If you would like to know more about how to analyze a soccer match and how you can improve your IQ by studying film, check out this blog post: How to Analyze a Soccer Match | Simple Guide to Soccer Game Analysis
2) Train Around the Injury
You may not be able to train for soccer, but that doesn't mean you should completely take a break and let loose. This will lead to bad habits over time, and it will just prolong your journey to return to 100% as quickly as possible when you injury heals.
Your goal when you're injured should be to decrease the amount of time you spend sidelined as much as possible, and to stay as fit as your body lets you.
Let me give you another example to clarify what I mean when I say this.
On the second to last game of my season with my current semi-pro team, I unfortunately suffered an ankle sprain after a player literally fell on top of it.
The injury lasted for about 2-3 weeks, even though it looked much more serious at the start. I was able to reduce the time I spent sidelines by following the proper protocol for injury, which is the R-I-C-E Method (Rest - Ice - Compress - Elevate). I also spent my time making sure I wasn't loosing fitness or staying inactive.
Sure, for the first few days, I didn't move too much at all, since it hurt to walk, I simply let the ankle heal itself to the point where I can walk and put some weight on it comfortably.
Once I was able to do everyday things normally, then I started my rehab process, while also performing other workouts to make sure I was staying fit and strong.
This included things such as low-impact High Intensity Training, such as Tabata Intervals on a bike, some bodyweight metabolic conditioning, and some Upper Body Strength Training.
I was making sure I was staying active while recovering from my ankle injury, and improving other areas of my game, such as my strength and athleticism.
Maybe you're not able to run, or bike yet, but you could go for a 30 minute walk to burn off some extra calories and to get the body moving, which would help promote the recovery process.
If your lower body is injured, work on your upper body and core strength, work on some mobility and practice some Yoga.
The point is, find a way to stay active and to find new ways to continuously improve other areas of your physique.
It might be demotivating or hard at first, but trust me when I say you'll feel a lot better after your workouts, and that you will certainly appreciate the actions you took while injured to ensure you're not coming back unfit from your injury.
If you'd like a challenging Upper Body Circuit that will surely get your heart rate up while also ensuring upper body strength, then check out this video on the GoGrind Soccer YouTube Channel:
3) Focus on Your Nutrition
The last thing I'd recommend that you focus on to make sure your are improving while you are injured is to make sure you are eating well and providing your body with healthy nutrients and macros in order to promote the recovery process while also not putting on any extra weight.
The last thing you'd want when returning from injury is to have put on some weight and feeling slow and sluggish because you used your injury as an excuse to have a terrible diet.
Make sure you are consuming quality foods like lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, and healthy sources of fat to make sure you are providing your body with the sufficient nutrients it needs to help repair the damaged muscle tissue.
It could be tempting to stray away from eating healthy when injured, and it's okay to eat your favorite cookies or joining your family for a night out here and there, but make sure you keep the indulgences to a minimum to ensure you are healing quicker and not putting on too much extra fat weight.
Summary
Being injured sucks, and I can tell you that from personal experience. Being injured is very mentally draining, because all you want to do is get out there on the pitch and work on yourself and become the best player you can be.
However sometimes injuries are necessary to learn more about the mistakes you are making in your training, and what you could improve once you bounce back and recover to then become an even stronger player.
As much as it could be tempting to just let loose and play video games all day to pass the time while you're injured, I urge you to actually practice healthy habits to make sure that those bad habits you are doing don't become the new normal.
When Injured a few ways you can continue to improve in soccer are:
Studying Match Footage and Improving Your IQ
Sticking to your Rehab and Training Around Your Injury
Sticking to a good Nutrition
By following these good habits consistently, you'll be able to recover much quicker from your injury, as well as learn new things and even improve other aspects of your athleticism that are important for soccer as well!
I hope this blog post has helped you, and if you are injured, I wish you a speedy recovery!
Thanks for Reading! Get Up. Go GRIND.
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