Have you ever heard to stop working out when you have pain or an injury? This is the worst advice you can get.

Being in pain doesn’t have to keep you from exercising. One of the biggest myths to dealing with pain or an injury is that you need time away from exercise to let it heal. Completely resting is actually one of the worst things you can do. 

However, simply pushing through the pain or ignoring that the pain is there will not help you long-term either. These 5 strategies will teach you how to properly work out when you have pain, while still building strength and helping you recover from pain or injury even faster. I’ve helped hundreds of people over the last 5+ years get rid of pain without taking time off from exercise, and these strategies can help you do the same:

1: Same Movement, Different Variation

If you have pain performing a certain exercise, ideally you want to keep the movement as close to the original exercise as possible. For example if back squat causes pain, you do not want to stop squatting if possible. Instead of stopping squatting altogether, you might just need to change from a back squat to a front squat, goblet squat, or prop your heels up when squatting.

The first strategy should be to perform the same movement pattern, but a different variation. This could be subbing dumbbells for the barbell, subbing a machine for free weights, or changing variables such as grip position or stance width. 

2: Same Movement, Isometrics/Tempo Work

Isometrics (contracting the muscles without actually moving the weight) and tempo work (controlling the speed at which the movement is performed) are two of the most overlooked things someone can change when working through pain. Modifying these two variables can often have a dramatic impact on how the exercise feels. And as a bonus they can actually help you breakthrough some strength plateaus that were previously there.

The second strategy should be performing the same movement but utilizing isometrics and tempo work. This could be reducing the speed of the exercise on the descent or pausing at the end range of motion.

3: Same Movement, Modify Load/ROM

In an ideal world you would continue to exercise through a full range of motion without having to drop the weight down, but sometimes that needs to be done to help allow healing to take place. Try not to reduce the weight and reduce the range of motion simultaneously. If you are going to reduce the weight, try and keep working through the full range of motion. If you are going to reduce the range of motion, you can keep the weight heavier. Some common examples for this would be squatting to a box instead of below parallel or using a board/floor press instead of full range bench press.

The third strategy should be reducing the load or range of motion. This could be with the same exercise, but simply by taking some weight off or stopping short of the range of motion where pain is present.

4: Complementary Movement (unilateral)

Another great strategy is to find a complementary exercise that strengthens similar muscle groups that is slightly different from the original movement pattern that is causing pain. Going from two arms/legs to one works great for this (ex: barbell deadlift to single leg deadlift), as well as working on other similar movement patterns (ex: shoulder pain during an overhead press but not during an incline press). 

The fourth strategy should be to find a complementary exercise. This could be swapping an overhead press with an incline press or pushup, subbing out your squats for lunges, or holding on deadlift as you work on some kettlebell swings.

5: Sub Exercise Out

If the above strategies aren’t working, then it’s time to sub the exercise out temporarily until your pain is resolved. Ideally, you’ll still strengthen surrounding muscle groups or body parts. Maybe bench press and pushups cause pain, but you can still perform some machine chest fly or other shoulder exercises. Maybe squatting hurts but you can still perform some leg extensions and hamstring curls. You might have to get creative here, but the answer is still never to stop exercising.

The last strategy is to remove the exercise while focusing on surrounding muscle groups or other body parts. This is usually where most people start, but as you can see there are several other strategies that should come before removing an exercise altogether.

Having pain when working out is common if you’re continuing to push and challenge your body - but that does not mean it's normal or that it should last long. Pain is simply a warning sign of incorrect movement patterns or a poorly designed exercise program.

If you are having pain, begin to work through these strategies immediately to avoid losing strength or missing time at the gym due to injury.

If you think you need help with following a program that gets you strong, lean, and durable (without getting hurt) - that's our specialty at Inside Out Strength.

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