Never Miss – 101: Injury Management and Mindset

When I began my 101-day fitness challenge, I wasn’t just up against a packed schedule, I was also facing a lineup of long-standing injuries. Torn ligaments, shoulder problems, carpal tunnel, and a hip surgery that was recommended over a decade ago. Most people would say that’s a solid reason to stay away from the gym. But I saw it differently.

Over the years, I’ve been through it all, physio, chiro, acupuncture, massage, ice baths, stretching, and a million YouTube rabbit holes looking for relief. I’d been benched more than once. So, before this challenge, I built a plan around injury prevention. I stretched every day. I made warm-ups non-negotiable. I listened to my body and adjusted as needed.

The pain didn’t magically disappear. In fact, there were days it screamed. But I didn’t let that stop me. I shifted my mindset: instead of aiming for personal records or chasing perfect form, I focused on showing up, moving with intention, and staying consistent.

This wasn’t just about fitness anymore. It became a test of how far I could push, adapt, and stay disciplined, despite the setbacks. And that mindset? It’s the same one I use in my health and safety work. Real success comes when we stop waiting for perfect conditions and start making progress anyway.

One unexpected outcome of this journey was a deepened understanding of ergonomics and its connection to return-to-work planning. Going into the challenge, I thought I had a decent grasp of ergonomics based on my formal training and field experience. But this experience showed me that my knowledge was fairly elementary.

Now, after spending 101 days living inside my own biomechanics, feeling how each machine targets specific muscles, and learning what certain joint positions stress or support, I've developed an intimate understanding of anatomy in motion. I now know exactly what a certain movement demands, which muscle groups are being loaded, and how subtle shifts in posture or form change the risk profile.

That shift is going to be a game-changer for how I approach return-to-work programs. I can now better assess what someone can or can’t do post-injury, not just from a textbook perspective but from lived, practical knowledge. This deeper insight will help me build safer, more accurate plans that support people getting back to meaningful work, confidently and safely, based on what their bodies are actually capable of doing at each stage of recovery.

This experience also reminded me of the power of continuous learning, not just through formal education, but by learning from others, from influencers, from reading, and most importantly, from doing. Applying what I’ve learned in real time, and watching how my body responded, created a feedback loop that no classroom ever could. I began to see the gaps in my knowledge, and that realization alone has made me more effective in my role.

I believe that’s the direction health and safety needs to go in, closing the gap between those of us in offices and the people out there doing physically demanding work. We can’t design effective return-to-work programs if we’re disconnected from the reality of the work itself. The more we understand the body, movement, and recovery through direct experience and continuous curiosity, the better we’ll be at getting people back to work safely, and with dignity.