Injury & Recovery, Pain & Progress - Niki's Story - #439

<div> <p>Injury and recovery are no fun and not why we train. They're a part of life, and come with training, especially if you push yourself over a long period of time. How do you adjust programming and mindset to keep training and keep improving.</p> <p><a href="https://barbell-logic.com/team/niki-sims/">Niki Sims</a> shares her story of an injury that altered her training, identity, and pursuits, which ultimately caused her to not only alter reps and sets and exercise selection, but her approach and mindset regarding training and physical activity.</p> <p><em>GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE!<br /> Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: <a class="autolinked" href= "https://bit.ly/3EJI18v" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-behavior="truncate">https://bit.ly/3EJI18v</a> </em></p> <h3>Tweaks and Tribulations</h3> <p>Niki was trucking along nicely, <a href= "https://barbell-logic.com/chasing-numbers-episode-387/">hitting squat and deadlift PRs</a>, improving in BJJ. Enter pain and injury.</p> <p>She heard a pop during some deficit deadlifts. Her approach in the past had always been to do what she could, as much as possible, so she continued to pursue PRs. She hit a nice squat PR soon after that.</p> <p>Performance continued to improve in the gym, and pain increased in intensity and frequency. One morning, she woke up and was in so much pain she couldn't see straight. She deadlifted later that day in a friendly competition.</p> <p>She started to realize that looking at her lifting shoes was inducing anxiety, and the time that had been fun and solace and a welcome break every day - her gym time - now came with pain and anxiety.</p> <p>She wasn't ready to stop lifting. Reduced intensity and doing as much as she could only increased pain over time. It wasn't working.</p> <h3>Injury and Recovery: Mindset Matters</h3> <p>Niki had built an identity around performance, competit