Posted by: Tim Hilley, CPT | PT&C Gym
Categories: Injury Recovery, Corrective Exercise, Training Tips
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Don’t Stop Training—Train Smart
Getting injured can feel like a major setback in your fitness journey. The natural instinct is to stop training altogether—but that may actually slow down your recovery. At PT&C Gym, we take a smarter approach.
Let’s get one thing straight: working through pain is not the same as working around it. If you’re trying to “push through” sharp, tearing, or stabbing pain, stop. This is not about being mentally tough. It’s about being strategic and anabolic.
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What Does “Anabolic” Mean—and Why It Matters
Anabolism is the metabolic process in your body that builds new tissue—like muscle, tendon, and even bone. The opposite is catabolism, where your body breaks down tissue, often due to stress, lack of nutrition, or inactivity.
When you stop moving entirely during an injury, your body leans more toward a catabolic state. You’re breaking down more than you’re building up—and that’s not great for healing.
But when you keep training the uninjured parts of your body (say, doing upper-body workouts while your leg heals), your body enters a state of systemic anabolism. That means the whole body benefits, even the injured area.
> Science-backed fact: Resistance training increases the release of anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormone (GH), which directly support tissue repair and regeneration.
Source: Kraemer et al., “Hormonal responses and adaptations to resistance exercise and training,” Sports Medicine, 2005.
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Example: Healing a Broken Leg—With Arm Workouts
Let’s say you broke your left leg. It’s in a cast. You can’t walk much. That doesn’t mean you stop training.
By doing bicep curls, pushups, or upper body strength circuits, you’re sending anabolic signals to your body. These workouts don’t just benefit your arms—they cause a hormonal response that boosts healing everywhere, including your leg.
So no, we’re not training the pain point. We’re keeping the rest of the body in motion so the injury heals faster and better.
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Posture: The Silent Saboteur
As a Corrective Exercise Specialist, I see this all the time—someone gets injured, starts favoring the uninjured side, and ends up with even more issues.
Let’s go back to that broken leg example. You start putting all your weight on your right leg for weeks. Your hips shift. Your back compensates. Now your “good leg” hurts, and your posture is misaligned.
This is what we call a compensatory pattern—and it leads to long-term dysfunction if left unaddressed.
> Definition: Compensatory pattern — a change in normal movement or posture due to overuse of a body part to protect an injured area.
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Train With a Plan
We train through injury—not with reckless intensity, but with precision.
We use strength training and posture-based programming to prevent your body from adapting in harmful ways. That way, when your injury heals, you’re not stuck undoing three months of bad habits.
Training also helps you transition seamlessly back into full movement patterns. Your body won’t feel like it’s relearning how to walk or squat—it’ll just be sliding back into the correct alignment you’ve maintained throughout recovery.
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Key Takeaways:
Never push through sharp or tearing pain. That’s not mental toughness—it’s self-sabotage.
Keep training the uninjured parts of your body to keep your whole system in an anabolic state.
Your hormonal environment during training directly affects how fast you heal.
Watch your posture. Favoring one side too much can cause more long-term issues than the original injury.
Work with a coach who understands corrective mechanics to build a plan that keeps you strong and balanced—injured or not.
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Final Thoughts from Tim
Healing is not passive. It’s active, intentional, and strategic. At PT&C Gym, we don’t believe in sitting around and waiting to get better—we train smarter so you come back stronger.
Want a custom recovery plan? Book a session today and let’s get your body healing from the inside out.
