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@ Jordan Laster
2025-04-08 12:27:36How I’m Training Around An Elbow Injury
My right elbow is a mess.
I hurt it wrestling with a friend on a wooden deck.
It's easy to avoid injuries in wrestling...if you only wrestle on the mat. I guess I don't like it easy.
To take it a step further, I made it much worse by doing straight arm ring exercises.
C'mon Jordan!
Straight arm ring exercises while your elbow already hurts...pure buffoonery.
Alas, here I am.
I could sit out from jiujitsu, but instead, I’m adjusting how I train so I don’t lose progress.
Injuries are part of the game, but how you adapt defines your progress.
Most people see injuries as setbacks. But they're actually opportunities to refine your game.
These opportunities force you to find ways to keep improving even when things aren’t perfect.
Things don't need to be perfect if you have some G.R.I.T.
Let's break this approach down.
G – Grapple (Smart)
Don't stop training. Modify it. Drill with a dummy, watch tape, or do technique you can handle. Buy a brace if need be. Stay in the game.
There's nothing worse than forgetting everything you worked hard to learn. So don't let it happen.
Keep rolling. Do what you can without pain. Buy a brace if you think it will help. I wear Anaconda's Elbow Brace when I roll to make sure my elbow stays safe and pain-free.
I stop if I experience pain and don't allow myself to go 100%. Ignore your ego and give your body the pain-free work that it needs.
On days when it's fatigued, I drill with my dummy and watch instructionals so I can improve my technique.
Don't sit around. Grapple. But do it smart.
R – Restore Movement
Move the injured part pain-free to get blood flowing. Restore function over time.
If you sit around and don't move your injured body part, it will heal slower.
Healing requires the nutrients that blood brings. And blood won't bring as much of the goods if it's not recruited.
Rehab your injury to give it the blood boost it needs.
I diagnosed myself with Olecranon (Elbow) Bursitis. I've been doing exercises recommended here to help it heal faster.
I only do the exercises that are pain-free for me right now. And I'm moving on to more difficult ones as my elbow condition improves.
Waiting for an injury to heal is a slow, frustrating process.
Be patient and stay consistent with your rehab.
I – Integrate Strength
Once pain-free, begin light strengthening. Train around the injury, not through it.
Instagram recently sniped me with an ad for something called The Torque Bar.
The benefits from using it are endless:
- It's a single tool that targets forearms, wrists, elbows, biceps, triceps, and shoulders.
- It has a thick knurled handle that enhances grip strength and forearm activation.
- It improves rotational strength (supination/pronation) for sports.
- It helps with tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, wrist tendinitis, and rotator cuff issues.
- It strengthens stabilizing muscles to reduce joint hyperextension and strain risks.
So of course I had to buy it.
A couple weeks of these torque bar exercises and I'm hooked. It's strengthening my neglected arm muscles and my elbow without any pain.
It's a key piece of my routine going forward and I highly recommend it for others.
The best part is that it doesn't agitate my injury and it's helping me get stronger.
That's the goal here.
T – Thrive with Nutrition & Sleep
Eat clean to recover faster. Sleep well. Don’t waste healing energy on processed junk.
This is the number one lever to pull in your healing journey. And also a great way to live.
Eat Clean
I eat healthy foods like ground beef, wild caught salmon, fruit, and more whole foods 80% of the time.
The days I eat clean are the days my elbow feels it best.
The other 20% of the time – when I eat some processed, junk food – my elbow aches. It makes me feel like I'm back at square one. The consequences of junk food are astounding.
I've put the 80/20 rule on hold and changed it to 95/5 to help this injury heal faster.
Sleep Well
My sleep has been horrible.
My daughter was born 3 weeks ago and she's been fussy. I'm getting 3-6hrs of sleep a night. It's definitely not helping my elbow.
Sleep is the most important piece of the human equation.
Bad sleep can result in
- Low energy levels
- Increased risk of injury
- Poor eating habits
- Lack of productivity
It sets the tone for each day.
If you take anything away from this, let it be that you need to optimize for sleep.
If you're in a situation like me, control what you can control.
I have more control over my food than my sleep so that's why I'm being more disciplined with it.
Once my sleep improves, I expect everything to be firing on all cylinders.
The Bottom Line
Injuries are opportunities to refine your game.
But you need to have some G.R.I.T. to do it.
- G – Grapple (Smart): Don’t stop training. Change it. Drill with a dummy, watch tape, or do technique you can handle. Stay in the game.
- R – Restore Movement: Move the injured part pain-free to get blood flowing. Restore function over time.
- I – Integrate Strength: Once pain-free, begin light strengthening. Train around the injury, not through it.
- T – Thrive with Nutrition & Sleep: Eat clean to recover faster. Sleep well. Don’t waste healing energy on processed junk.
Do the above and you'll be back better than before.
Injured and not sure what you can still train? Send me a message – happy to help however I can.
Original post is here