06/23/2026
Level 1: Training unaffected limbs.
Yes. Always. No questions asked. Injured leg? Your two arms, core, and other leg are begging for attention. 💪
Level 2: Training unaffected volumes & intensities.
Loading heavy hurts, but light load doesn’t. That means there’s some degree of intensity that’s tolerable. Train that. Maybe 2 sets is good, but 3 is iffy. Get 2 good sets.
No matter how brief or light it feels, bad outcomes = too much. 🌡️
Level 3: Training unaffected range of motion.
Even some of the worst issues will still give you a few degrees of pain-free motion. This video is a good example, where my hip isn’t tolerating deep flexion well. I’m able to get a much greater intensity here than I could have with a full range squat. 📐
Level 4: Training unaffected velocities.
This might be the biggest one. Small ache/pain? Try a slower tempo. An annoyingly slow tempo. It’s amazing how often that resolves a lot of things. 🐌
Still having issues? You might be able to tolerate the slowest movement of them all; ISO holds 🧊
Static positions can actually provide immediate relief of pain symptoms, and contribute to the long term healing of the tissues, depending on the issue at hand.
So “train what’s trainable” should be analyzed across all training variables, not just exercise selection. Always a way to get after it.
Knowing that if over days/weeks symptoms are trending negatively, that one of these variables has been mis-managed and needs to be adjusted (no matter how conservative you feel you’re being with it).
And with all of this, of course consulting a professional about how to navigate a serious injury.
