Training Around an Injury

If there is one thing I know, it's injuries and how to train around them.  Since 2008, I've had four major surgeries.  Not some little meniscus tear or getting your wisdom teeth out.  I had the labrum in my left shoulder repaired, then tore and had the ACL in my right knee reconstructed (as well as my MCL and meniscus the first time) three consecutive years, then last season I suffered a high ankle sprain with ligament damage, and then three months ago, I herniated two discs in my lower back.  All of these are considered serious injuries and in the case of the ACLs and disc herniations, some doctors and athletes might even consider them career ending.  Yet, I'm about to enter my fifth year at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where I'll continue playing football, and I haven't stopped training at ANY point in the last five years.

Bodyweight training less than two months after back injury

Now, I often talk to athletes and just regular gym-goers and will hear, "I can't train, I hurt my shoulder," or "my backs bothering me so I had to take a few months off," or "I have to get knee surgery I can't do anything."  I ask you, if your shoulder hurts, what's wrong with your legs?  If you knee is busted, does your upper body shut down?  If one of your ankles hurts, didn't God give you another leg?  The fact is injuries are just an excuse for lazy people to sit on their ass and get fat and out of shape, and then when people ask them why they're shrinking or gaining weight, they have a "legitimate" reason to help them rationalize it.
The fact is, there are NO legitimate excuses for not training when you're hurt or injured.  Only days after my ACL surgery, I was rolling off the couch to do pushups with my healthy leg as support.  If you have a serious shoulder injury, there is no reason you can't do bodyweight squats or lunges, or even do single arm training with your healthy arm.  If you have a bad back, there is no reason you can't use bodyweight training or tolerable weight training as I did three months ago when I injured mine.
Too many people hear their doctor say, "you need to rest," and think that is a free pass to do absolutely nothing for awhile.  When the doctor says that they mean rest your injury!  The truth is, studies have shown that the more active you are while injured, the faster your body will recover, and that if you continue to train your body or your uninjured appendage, that you will continue to make gains in strength and muscle in the injured area for a period of time.  You are doing your body and your mind a disservice if you use an injury as an excuse for not training.  I truly believe that my back healed much faster, (I'm back to squatting 355x3 and deadlifting over 400 pounds) due to the fact that I didn't take any time off, and began utilizing bodyweight and odd object training after the injury occurred.
The point is, stop making excuses because there are none and take action.  If you have suffered an injury and would like ideas about how to train around it, message me or email me.  If you still don't believe me about training around an injury, check out this video about a man who was given a bad break but has NEVER let it stop him.