Injury/Pain

Pain and discomfort are unfortunate parts of exercise which become even more apparent the longer and more seriously you perform the endeavor. But despite the unavoidable presence of aches/pains, there is a threshold that — if exceeded — should lead to immediate program changes to prevent exacerbating the issue.

Once it is determined that a modification needs to be made, we recommend trying to stay as close to the intent of original prescription while staying under the pain threshold. 

Example 1:

You are programmed Barbell Back Squats- 3×8-12 but your knees are really painful at the very bottom of the ROM — so you switch to Box Squats- 3×8-12 and set the box height just above the paint point. 

Example 2:

You are programmed Barbell Back Squats- 3×8-12 but your low back is really bothering you from bearing the load — so you switch to Goblet Squats- 3×10-15 and slow the tempo down.

Evaluate the severity of the injury, and modify your subsequent sessions around it.

If you are limited by a particular movement or experience above-threshold pain multiple sessions in a row, larger scale changes to the program may need to be made.