Pain gets a bad rap. Most people think pain means something is wrong. That they should stop. That they should be scared. That’s a reason to quit.
But here’s the thing… It is not the problem, it’s the signal.
Pain is your body sending a message. It’s feedback, data, information designed to help you make better decisions.
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Pain is intelligence from your body.
This is how your body says:
- “You’re compensating here.”
- “Hey, something’s off.”
- “You’re overusing this joint.”
- “You’re not ready for that load yet.”
It’s not an enemy. It’s an alert system, one that’s trying to keep you safe and functional. But only if you listen.
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The real danger? Ignoring the signal
Too many people do one of two things when they feel pain:
- Run from it (avoid training, avoid movement, over-rely on rest);
- Blunt it (pop Advil, foam roll the spot, push through it without investigating).
Neither of those strategies fixes the root cause.
If you ignore or mute it without addressing it, your body doesn’t adapt; it compensates. And that compensation creates downstream issues:
- Chronic tightness
- Movement dysfunction
- Nagging injuries
- Systemic fatigue
Flip the script: use it as a tool
What if you listened to your pain instead of running from it? It can:
- point you toward better biomechanics.
- show you what patterns need cleaning up.
- guide your recovery, your mobility work, your training volume.
It is useful. If you pay attention and take action.
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Tolerance ≠ resilience
This is critical. Building tolerance to pain without solving its cause is just numbing the warning light. That’s like duct taping over your dashboard instead of fixing your engine. Eventually, something breaks. Resilience doesn’t mean pushing through everything. It means learning the why behind your pain, then working to fix it at the root.
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What to do when pain shows up
Acknowledge it. Don’t ignore it. Don’t catastrophize it. Just notice it.
Ask questions. Where does it show up? What movements trigger it? What makes it better or worse?
Find the root. Is it a mobility issue? A stability issue? Overuse? Poor patterning?
Get to work. Pain is the start of a better plan. Not the end of your training.
Best,
Coach Collis Stutzer
