We live in a world of inevitabilities: summers in Florida are hot, winters in New England are cold, and training often comes with a little discomfort. You might feel a twinge after a heavy squat or a sore shoulder after several weeks of bench pressing. Rehab after an injury can be painful and frustrating. Pain isn’t pleasant, but should you train through it?
It depends. If you have something life-threatening, like a knife wound, you should go to the ER. For the usual training scenarios mentioned above, my answer is often yes — with important caveats.
Moving drives change. When we move, our tissues respond and begin to heal. Pain, when dosed correctly, can be beneficial during exercise. Pushing into a bit of discomfort often yields better short-term results than avoiding it. In practice, I use a pain-threshold approach with clients and athletes in rehab. On a 1-10 scale (1 = no big deal, 10 = unbearable), aim for a workout that sits around 2-3.
A simple way to picture this is Tim Latham’s stoplight analogy: 0-3 on the pain scale = green light — go. 4-5 = yellow light — proceed with caution and modify range of motion, technique, sets/reps, etc. 6-10 = red light — stop and revisit later.
Let’s put this into action. Imagine a client who had ACL surgery a few months ago and is cleared to start more aggressive strength work. There will be some discomfort, but we shouldn’t avoid it entirely. A little pain can be acceptable and even necessary to drive progress. Often, underloading the rehab process slows recovery. Tendons, muscles, and bones need appropriate loading to heal and come back stronger.
In this scenario, I might start with a deadlift, as long as pain stays in the 0-3 range. If pain rises to 4-5, we don’t drop the exercise. We adjust: elevate the bar to reduce knee flexion, slow down the tempo, tweak the foot position or stance, or reduce volume and progress more gradually. If pain reaches 6-10, we stop that exercise and regress.
No system is perfect, and there is some subjectivity. But this approach aims to keep training productive without ignoring warning signs. Pain can be a meaningful part of the healing process.
