So if you injure a part of your arm how do you still train your upper body? I admit that can seem tricky, but with just a little bit of creativity it can be done.
Bands Bands Bands
Bands are a great way to still train the upper body. You can attach them at any angle for resistance. Plus you can attach them to your arm without having to hold them like a weight. If you have a caste simply loop the band around your forearm like this. With this method you can perform flys, pulldowns, rows, and presses.
Isometrics
If all movement hurts your injury opt for isometrics instead. This type of training may be the most overlooked area in current strength and conditioning.
You can do them without any weight or use a band, the floor, or a wall for resistance. In fact, building muscle can be as simple as flexing the desired muscle. Choose a muscle and hold a max contraction in that specific area. Don’t think this sounds hard? Go for it right now! Mimic a bicep curl by squeezing your forearm to your bicep as hard as you possibly can. Hold this for 20 seconds. 😳 You can create isometric exercises like this or try resisting force at many angles you would normally miss in a training program. (As an example try this shoulder internal rotation exercise.)
Sometimes we don’t think we can train an entire half of our body when injured, but with a little creativity you can get a lot of work done.
PS.
According to multiple studies like this one training the opposite side appendage actually helps keeps strength on the other side. So if you can’t find “normal” exercises you want to do with the injured side simply do the single arm version with your healthy side.
