One lesson for injured lifters, every Monday
Short, direct writing on pain, load and getting back to heavy lifting. Read every issue here, or get the next one in your inbox.
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Quinn deadlifted 585 pounds last week. He’s got a powerlifting competition next weekend. His first meet since last February — the day he deadlifted 600 and tore his bicep clean…
Most lifters use two rules during recovery: Pain = stop No pain = go It feels logical. It’s also why progress stalls. Because rebuilding tolerance does not happen at zero…
There’s a moment every injured lifter reaches: When rest has failed. When rehab hasn’t delivered. When fear hangs heavier than the barbell. And the question becomes: Do I accept a…
Latest issues
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Schedule Your Flare-Up
You’ve been playing it safe for months. You skip the heavy sets. You stop the second something twinges. You tell yourself you’ll push again once it feels 100%. It hasn’t felt 100%…
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Bring Me the Flare
Earlier this week I spoke with someone who wanted to book an assessment. Just not yet. They wanted to wait until their flare-up calmed down first. I get the logic. It feels…
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Pain Is Data, Not Damage
Third set. Something bites in the low back. You rack the bar. Then you spend the rest of the week deciding whether you have just set yourself back three months. Most lifters…
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What Imaging Actually Tells You
You got the scan because the pain would not settle. The report came back with words on it. Degeneration. Bulge. Protrusion. Annular fissure. You read them, and something changed…
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The Single Point of Failure
Ask a serious lifter who they are. Most answer with a number. A total. A bodyweight class. A best single. When the barbell is the only thing holding up your sense of…
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The Comeback Nobody Planned
Someone called me this week. Postop shoulder — rotator cuff, labrum, and long head of the biceps, all repaired. Their surgeon and physio handed them the same verdict. You’ll never…
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The Three You Actually Control
When you’re injured, you fixate on the wrong things. The diagnosis. The MRI report. How long it’s been. Whether your back will ever feel “normal” again. All real. All out of your…
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Your Spine Was Built To Bend
Somewhere along the way, you learned that bending your spine is dangerous. Round your back under load and something snaps. So you brace. You stay neutral. You treat flexion like a…
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The Free Stuff Is The Point
Last week I offered a lifter some help. He’d been hurt for six months. Tried everything. Nothing worked. So I sent him a few free resources — no pitch, no catch. He…
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When “Just Rest” Is the Whole Plan
You tweaked something. You went to get it looked at. And the plan you walked out with was: rest. Stop lifting for a few weeks. Come back when it settles down. Here’s…
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The Cost of Waiting for Clearance
You felt something go. So now you’re waiting. Waiting on the MRI. Waiting on the appointment. Waiting for a doctor in a white coat to tell you it’s okay to move again.…
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The Plan You Never Ran
Someone reached out this week wanting to try physio for one week. One week — to decide whether it would work. They’d been injured for five months. I was physio number seven.…
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