I recently attended the Barbell Rehab Method certification in Central London. The Barbell Rehab philosophy is heavily focussed on the idea of integrating strength training and injury management. The end goal is to allow you to train hard whilst respecting your injuries.
This is a philosophy that is very close to my heart and my training style. This weekend course was validating and eye-opening at the same time. Here are some of the lessons I took from my time with Dr. Michael Mash of Barbell Rehab. I’ve included some tips for you too.
1. The Gap Between Rehab and Personal Training
The gap between personal trainers and injury specialists is currently too wide. There are too few trainers who can design sensible programmes around an injury, and too few injury specialists who can confidently load their clients with strength exercises. This often makes it feel like strength training and injury management are mutually exclusive.
Most of us will deal with some form of injury or pain in our adult lives. This is especially true if you work out. If you can’t find a way to train around an injury, then it can stop you from taking part in physical activity. Not only will this prevent you from properly retraining an injured area, but it will also rob you of the many amazing benefits of strength training.
By closing the gap between personal trainers and injury specialists, we remove the barriers between strength training and injury recovery. This will help you stay strong, healthy, and pain-free in the long-run. The Barbell Rehab approach involved finding ways to allow you to keep training without making your injury worse.
Tip – if you’re looking for an injury professional, make sure it’s someone who has a long term plan to help you get stronger and more active. If you’re looking for a personal trainer, make sure they’re comfortable working around injuries. Avoid the “no pain, no gain, no excuses” mentality when it comes to injury.
2. Options are Important
When it comes to strength training with an injury, one of the most important factors is having a variety of movement options at your disposal. This can help you find an exercise variation that is more comfortable or places less load on an injured joint or tissue.
I’ve spoken before about how exercise selection and technique can have huge ramifications for the overall workout experience, and this course really drove that point home. If we can make subtle tweaks to a workout plan, it means we’re less likely to be thrown off course when we’re injured.
To be stronger, fitter, and healthier than the majority of the population, you have to train consistently for a long time. A flexible, adaptable training approach will improve your consistency and reduce training disruption caused by injury. This will pay dividends, especially as you get older and reap more of the rewards of strength training.
Tip – make sure you know why you’re doing each exercise in your programme. This will make it easier to find alternatives when you need them.
3. Words Matter
In the fitness industry, we don’t always do a great job of discussing concepts like injury, pain and fear with the amount of nuance they deserve. A brief look around social media will provide you with a laundry list of things that you should absolutely never, ever do because it will make your joints explode.
It’s unsurprising, then, that many of us come to the gym with a fragility mindset. We’re scared that if we don’t warm up properly, or if we bend the wrong way, or if we sleep funny, then we will become broken people.
In addition, the world of injury management is fraught with it’s own collection of boogeymen; many clinicians will tell you your whole future based on the results of one tight muscle, joint manipulation, or MRI scan. These professionals will often fail to mention that pain and injury are incredibly multi-layered. Many pain-free, healthy people have exactly the same diagnoses as people that are in pain, so pain cannot be as simple as one scan or test.
The way we talk about strength training and injury has a massive impact on the way we think about these things. Our mindset is a huge factor in how we experience pain and how we respond to stress; this includes training stress.
Tip – it’s important to remember that people are robust, adaptable, and full of powerful potential. While it’s still important to optimise the training process as much as we can, you are not as fragile as you might think.
4. Never Underestimate the Psychological Benefits of Strength Training
Following on from my last point, you should never forget how good strength training makes you feel. One reason so many people are wary of lifting heavy weight is because they have no idea how it feels to fully realise your strength and resilience.
It’s no understatement to say that a serious commitment to strength training is transformative. I’m not necessarily referring to your appearance, either; while the gym can change the way your body looks, the benefits of strength training go far beyond that.
I’ve trained regular gym-goers who were once afraid to touch a barbell, who are now capable of putting their bodyweight on a bar and either picking it up from the floor, or putting it on their back and squatting it. If the thought of doing that makes you wince, cringe, or worry about your back, then you are exactly who I’m talking to when I say: you would be amazed to find out what you’re capable of.
Once you’ve lifted, pushed, pulled, and carried an inanimate hunk of metal around the gym for an hour, you start to get a sense of what you can handle outside of the gym. You start to get a sense of your capabilities, and things that used to be a challenge will become basic, simple tasks. This is the biggest thing that people miss out on by either a) harbouring unfounded fears about the gym or b) not having access to a sensible, structured injury plan.
Tip – take the plunge and find out what you’re capable of. Find a way to get yourself to a gym and start lifting!
Conclusion
The Barbell Rehab Method Certification gave me additional skills to progress a client from an injured state back to full strength with minimal disruption. These skills remove a lot of the barriers from strength training and allow you to start lifting and moving with confidence – and the importance of this simply cannot be overstated.
If you’re a trainer who is interested in attending the certification yourself, click here. If you’re someone that wants to reap the rewards of strength training and push past that nagging injury, you can use my form below to get in touch.