"OH MAN I TWEAKED MY BACK"

We hear this all the time.

Pain is incredibly common in the gym.

Lets talk about how to sensibly address it

[Thread]

This system comes from a Barbell Medicine Lecture

I began using it with myself, my trainees, and athletes

People panic at the onset of pain

Shutting down training to "heal"

Then after taking weeks off, the pain hits them again

The cycle continues and progress stalls

How to INTELLIGENTLY manage pain

1) Don't Panic.

Fear plays big roll in pain.

Negative thoughts attack immediately at the onset of pain

Reassure yourself you are not fragile

Assess if its a debilitating injury

If so, go get it checked

If not, continue to step 2

2) Adjust Load

Did the pain happen in a squat at 315 lbs?

Figure out what you CAN do.

What is that entry point?

See if it still hurts at a lower load.

Doesn't hurt at 255?

Perfect, work there for multiple sessions and slowly build back up.

3) Adjust Range of Motion (ROM)

Say you lowered the load, and no matter what you are still having pain

Pain happens at the bottom of the squat?

Figure out what you CAN do.

Adjust range of motion.

Cut off depth in squats.

Work at the ROM that doesn't cause pain

High-Box Squats
Pin-Squats
Half-Squats
Block Deadlifts
Board/Pin-Bench Press
Pin-Press

Figure out ways to limit the range of motion

Work there for a couple weeks, then slowly add ROM

Gives the body and mind time to desensitize from the fear of pain

Slowly build back up

4) Adjust our Exercise

Reduced load, reduced ROM doesn't work?

Pain is there no matter what

Try an exercise variation

Back squat is causing pain

Try Front Squats, SSB-Squats, Belt Squats, Goblet squats, Leg press

Work back until you find one you can tolerate

Find the tolerable movement

Work there for a little while

Then make jumps up back to the original lift

Example:

You find the leg press doesn't cause back pain but any squat variation does

Back Squat -> Leg press-> Belt Squat-> Front Squat -> Back Squat

The whole idea behind this

Is to KEEP TRAINING

We learn that it is okay to keep training despite pain

There is always something you CAN do

We learn how to make adjustments

We learn how to not panic during this process

Thats why I find this system so awesome.

So to keep it simple and learn how to manage pain in the gym follow these steps:

1) Don't Panic - Reassure and Assess
2) Adjust Load - find tolerable load
3) Adjust ROM - find tolerable ROM
4) Adjust the exercise - find tolerable variation

BOOM.