How to Know if an Exercise Is Okay When You're in Pain
When something starts hurting, most people assume they have to stop working out. That makes sense. Nobody wants to make it worse, and pausing feels like the safe move.
But stopping completely is rarely the only option. There's almost always a version of your training your body can handle right now.
The hard part is knowing what that version is.
Two Checks We Use With Every Patient
With our patients, we figure it out by checking two things at every visit: tolerance and capacity. They're simple enough to use on your own, and together they give you a much clearer picture than "does it hurt?"
Check One: Tolerance
Tolerance is how it feels while you're doing it. You should be able to get through the exercise without significant pain. Some mild discomfort or awareness of the area can be okay for some people, but if the pain climbs, changes your movement, or forces you to stop mid-set, that's a sign the exercise is asking for too much right now.
Check Two: Capacity
Capacity is how you feel afterwards. You shouldn't be paying for it with a flare-up over the next few days. Waking up the next morning stiffer than usual, noticing the area is sore for a couple of days, or feeling more pain on the stairs the day after are all signs the exercise may have gone past what your body is currently prepared for.
Why You Need Both
You need both checks. Plenty of exercises feel fine in the moment and then leave you sore and achy for the next couple of days. That means you've gone past your capacity, even though it felt okay at the time.
This is why judging an exercise only by how it feels during the set can be misleading. The delay between the work and the flare-up is easy to miss, and it's one reason people end up in a cycle of feeling fine, overdoing it, and hurting again.
What to Do With the Results
If an exercise passes both checks, it's a good place to start, and you can build from there. Once it feels consistently manageable, you can gradually add reps, load, or range of motion.
If it doesn't pass, scale it back a little and try again. That might mean less weight, fewer reps, a smaller range of motion, or a similar exercise that feels better. The goal is to find the version that clears both checks, then build up from it.
An Example: Deep Squats and a Cranky Knee
Say deep squats bother your knee. You might try squatting to a box, going lighter, or doing fewer reps. Pay attention to how your knee feels during the set, then check in over the next couple of days. If it passes both, that's your starting point.
The same approach works across other activities. If running bothers your hip, you might shorten the distance or slow the pace. If a deadlift bothers your back, you might lighten the load or raise the starting height. In each case, you make one change, then run it through both checks.
Try It the Next Time Pain Has You Thinking About Skipping the Gym
Next time pain has you thinking about skipping the gym, try this with the exercise that's been bothering you. Make one change, then run it through both checks.
Changing just one thing at a time makes it much easier to tell what helped. You might be surprised how much you can still do.
When to Get a Second Opinion
This approach works well for a lot of everyday aches and pains, but it isn't a substitute for an assessment. If your pain is severe, getting worse, keeps you up at night, or comes with symptoms like numbness, tingling, or weakness, it's worth having someone take a look. The same applies if you can't find any version of an exercise that passes both checks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I stop working out if something hurts?
Not necessarily. In many cases, there's a version of your training your body can handle right now. Adjusting load, reps, range of motion, or exercise choice often lets you keep training while you work through it.
How much pain is okay during an exercise?
There's no single answer for everyone, but a good guide is that you should be able to get through the exercise without significant pain. If pain builds, changes how you move, or makes you stop, scale it back.
What does it mean if an exercise feels fine but I'm sore the next day?
It can mean you went past what your body is currently prepared for, even though it felt okay in the moment. That's why checking how you feel over the next couple of days matters as much as how it feels during the exercise.
How long should I wait to see how an exercise affected me?
Checking in over the next couple of days is a useful rule of thumb. Pay attention to whether you're noticeably more sore, stiff, or painful than usual.
What if no version of an exercise passes both checks?
That's useful information. It may be a sign it's worth having someone assess what's going on and help you find a better starting point.
How do I progress once an exercise passes both checks?
Once it feels consistently manageable, you can gradually add reps, load, or range, one change at a time, and run it through both checks again.
If You'd Like Help Finding Your Starting Point
If you're not sure which version of your training your body can handle right now, that's something we do with patients at every visit. At Momenta Chiropractic, we work with people around Bryn Mawr, the Main Line, and Philadelphia who want to keep doing the things they care about while they work through pain. If you'd like another set of eyes on it, reach out and we'll help you figure out where to start.
