A few weeks ago, I injured my back while warming up on rack pulls. This was odd because the weight on the bar was light and the form was not the suspect as well. So what’s wrong? My suspicion was too much physical stress from all the activities I had been doing, but more on that later.

Being injured sucks! The first 4–5 days were brutal. Turning over in bed felt like being stabbed. When the pain hit, I’d freeze, immobilized for minutes at a time. Getting out of bed? Harder than a personal record deadlift. I even resorted to using my wife’s hairdryer to pull up my underwear (don’t tell her!) and asked my daughter to put on my socks.

This experience taught me two things:

1. How much we take for granted when our bodies work as they should.

2. How fragile we feel when they don’t.

Why Do Injuries Happen?

Injuries happen in two ways:

1. Accidents — things beyond your control, like twisting your ankle on uneven ground, falling off a bike, or dropping a 15kg weight on your toes.

2. Preventable injuries — the kind that feels like it shouldn’t have happened, like getting hurt during training.

It’s ironic, isn’t it? Lifting weights is supposed to make you stronger and help with chronic lower back pain, yet sometimes injuries happen. Many people immediately blame bad form:

“Bad form = Snap City.”

While it’s true that bad form can contribute to injuries, it’s not the whole story:

Bad form doesn’t always cause injuries.

Good form doesn’t always prevent them. (like my injury this time)

The Role of Form

So, why do we emphasize good form?

Good form optimizes efficiency, which boosts performance and ensures replicability. If all five of your reps look the same, your form is consistent. Consistency allows your body to adapt to stress predictably.

On the other hand, inconsistent form introduces randomized stress. For example, when form breaks down, you lose mechanical efficiency, requiring you to suddenly put a much higher effort than needed e.g. the barbell drifting away from you on the deadlift. That additional “surprise” stress might increase the risk of injury, especially if the “planned” stress is already high. The “surprise” stress might exceeds your body’s ability to recover.

Stress, Recovery, and Adaptation

In a perfect world, you’d apply the right amount of stress, recover well, and reap the rewards of adaptation. But there are two common pitfalls:

1. Too Much Stress or Not Enough Recovery

Injuries often occur when stress exceeds recovery capacity. So, there are two possibilities. Either we are putting on too much stress (too much training load and/or external stress), or we are not “recovering” hard enough (insufficient sleep/nutrition).

In my case, I was pushing my limits with both lifting and had two hard sessions at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) on Monday, two days before the injury; showing signs of high stress. And even though I took extra naps on Tuesday and Wednesday, I could barely sleep on Monday night (it often happens if I train BJJ in the evening), so recovery has not been the greatest as well.  Combination of these two negative factors, my body protested and gave up during what should have been a warm-up lift.

2. Too Little Stress

Stress below the minimum effective dose doesn’t drive adaptation. Imagine you have a headache and break a paracetamol tablet into quarters—will it work? Probably not, unless you’re a child.

People might suggest:

“Just train to maintain your strength.”

But here’s the problem:

Why You Can’t Just “Maintain” Strength

There’s no such thing as training to “maintain” strength. Why? Because of entropy—the natural tendency of things to decline over time. As we age, our muscles weaken, our bones deteriorate, and our bodies decline.

The only way to combat this is to build reserves—more muscle, more strength—so we’re prepared for life’s curveballs.

Think of it like finances:

1. If you spend exactly what you earn, you’ll never save.

2. If an unexpected expense comes up, you’ll go broke.

In health, those “expenses” are injuries, illnesses, and setbacks. Without reserves, your health can spiral downward quickly.

The Plan

To prevent injuries, build strength reserves. A stronger body makes you more resilient to accidents like falls. Strength improves balance, reduces the likelihood of falling, and increases your chance of walking away unscathed if you do fall.

Rather than training for every possible injury scenario, focus on general strength. Barbell training is ideal for this. It allows for measurable progress while minimizing injury risk—so long as your training stress doesn’t exceed your recovery capacity.

Signs you’re not recovering:

1. Persistent soreness.

2. Growing fatigue.

3. Specific body aches.

4. Declining performance (can also happen due to lack of stress).

When these signs appear, evaluate recovery factors like sleep and nutrition, and adjust your training load. Not all situations require reactive countermeasures; even if you need one, small adjustments are usually enough to get back on track.

Recovering From Injury

If you’re already injured, shift your focus from “building reserves” to recovery. Take my back injury as an example—a soft tissue injury like this can take weeks to fully heal. I tracked my progress through milestones, such as:

Day 4: I could cross my leg to put on socks.

Day 6: I squatted 10kg and deadlifted 30kg (full range) after a long warm-up.

Day 9: I could stand up from bed without discomfort and squat/ deadlift 80kg.

Day 11: I could load 25kg plates without pain.

Day 14: I deadlifted 140kg—just 10kg shy of the weight that injured me.

Even now, I still feel some stiffness after sitting too long, but the milestones show clear progress.

Why use barbells in recovery?

Barbell training during rehab might seem counterintuitive, but it works!

Reasonable barbell training promotes recovery by applying manageable stress, which stimulates healing through the process of mechanotransduction. This biological mechanism allows cells to sense and respond to mechanical forces, leading to tissue remodeling and strengthening. The load from barbell training will also trigger anti-inflammatory responses to reduce stiffness and pain. This is inline with Mark Rippetoe’s explanation that recovery comes from adapting to training stress, especially when dealing with chronic injury.

With that, in order to use the barbell training effectively for your rehab, we must follow a progressive approach. Depending on the situation, we might need lighter weights or a shorter range of motion to allow the injured tissue to adapt without excessive strain. I typically focus on returning back to full range of motion before gradually adding the load and the volume as we heal.

Being slightly conservative during this recovery phase is a good idea as rushing back into heavy weight or high training stress situation can lead to re-injury (which I unfortunately had). Be patient!

Final Thoughts

Don’t let injuries or setbacks stop you from being active. Train smart, recover well, and don’t be afraid to use barbell training—even in recovery. With the right approach, you’ll come back stronger.

Good luck!