If you lift heavy things regularly, setbacks are almost inevitable. They can be minor—bloody shins from deadlifts or a shoulder niggle—or serious, like a disc issue or other injury. Getting hurt is frustrating, and trying to train around an injury can be even more so. I’m not a fan of simply surrendering to two to four weeks of rest. There’s plenty that can be done even with an injury, so the idea is to build your Trainable Menu and focus on what you CAN do rather than what you can’t.
Find Your Entry Point
Entry points are a practical way to guide your return to a specific lift after an injury. Dr. Michael Mash’s Barbell Rehab emphasizes this approach as a way to regain meaningful training with less pain.
Take the bench press as an example. If someone feels pain during a straight-bar bench press, the entry point is a small adjustment to the lift that still delivers the training effect. For those who learn best visually, consider this: if shoulder pain persists on a flat bench, switching to a decline bench can reveal an entry point with much less pain. From there, options might include DB floor presses or even a loaded push-up, depending on the individual. The goal is to TRAIN, not to retreat to a movement that is pain-free but ineffective.
Sometimes the entry point is simply tweaking grip or another component of technique rather than changing the entire lift. Rehab doesn’t have to mean endless corrective exercises.
For the squat, the entry point might involve using a different bar—such as a Duffalo bar or a Safety Squat Bar—if the shoulder is the issue, or perhaps squatting above parallel if the knee or hip is bothering you. In some cases you may combine approaches: not using a straight bar and not going below parallel. The key is to identify the least painful setup that still provides a meaningful training stimulus.
Rest and rehab aren’t mutually exclusive with continuing training. With the right entry points, you can keep training while you recover, and everything can turn out fine.
