The REAL Reason You’re Still Injured (Even Though You’re ‘Doing Everything Right’)

Most people think injuries are only a problem for people who don’t train or who are “out of shape.” The truth? Even the strongest, fittest women get injured — especially when we push through pain, ignore early signs, or follow cookie-cutter workout programs that don’t take real life into account.

And nothing derails progress faster than trying to train normally when your body is asking for something completely different.

I learned this the hard way.

My Wake-Up Call: The Injury I Tried to Ignore

About four years ago, I developed severe bicep tendinitis in my right arm. And I’m not exaggerating when I say severe.

I couldn’t lift my arm above shoulder height. I couldn’t open heavy doors. I couldn’t even lift a gallon jug — and this was while I looked muscular and lean.

My arm had zero strength left. It was scary.

And here’s the honest part: I was in denial. I kept telling myself, “You know what you’re doing, it’ll pass. ”I kept training normally, modifying things just enough to convince myself I was being “smart.” But I was being stubborn — and I made it worse.

When I finally went to a doctor, the only solution they offered was a cortisone shot. It did absolutely nothing. That’s when reality hit me: I had to stop training normally. I had to scale back. I had to rehab — not push through it.

For two full months, everything from the waist up became rehab, mobility, and corrective work. It wasn’t glamorous, but it worked. I reversed the injury, regained full strength, and I’ve never had an issue since. That experience completely changed the way I coach and the way I look at injuries.

This Is Why Standard Training Programs FAIL Injured Women

Most standard programs — even well-written ones — assume the person doing them has:

• healthy joints

• balanced movement patterns

• proper mobility

• no inflammation

• no compensation

• no pain

And when you’re injured, none of that is true.

The real reason You're still injured is:

1. You reinforce dysfunctional patterns

The body will always protect you.If something hurts, another muscle group will take over — even if it’s not supposed to.

2. You overload tissues that are already irritated

Inflamed tissue + load = setback. Every rep pushes the injury deeper.

3. You build strength on top of dysfunction

This is how you end up with chronic pain. You’re strengthening the wrong pattern.

4. You slow down healing by months or even years

What could be resolved in 6–8 weeks turns into a long-term issue when you don’t address the root cause.

5. You create NEW issues through compensation

So the real reason you're still injured is a shoulder injury becomes a neck issue. A hip issue becomes a knee problem. A tight ankle becomes back pain.

And Here’s the Part No One Talks About: Most Low Back Pain Isn’t a “Back Problem” At All

This part is huge — because so many women start a standard program believing their low back is the issue.

In reality, most low back pain is caused by:

• weak or underactive glutes

• weak or inhibited core

• poor hip mobility

• misalignment

• or a combination of all of these

The back isn’t “bad.” It’s overloaded because the muscles meant to support it aren’t doing their job.

So when someone with low back issues jumps into a normal program with:

• squats

• lunges

• box jumps

• burpees

• leg press

• deadlifts

• even basic step-ups

…their body simply cannot get into the right positions.

They don’t have the hip mobility. They don’t have the glute activation. They don’t have the core stability. Their alignment is off.

And guess what happens?

The back takes over every single time. Which makes the problem worse — and sometimes creates a brand-new injury. Almost all of this is fixable with:

• glute activation

• core stabilization

• hip mobility

• alignment correction

• pattern rebuilding

But none of that comes from a cookie-cutter workout.

You need a program built around your actual issue — not generic “fat-loss exercises.”

Why You Need a Trainer Who Understands Injuries + Mobility (Not Just Workouts)

Injuries and mobility limitations require a totally different type of coaching — one that understands:

• why the pain is happening

• how to correct the pattern

• which exercises to remove

• which exercises to add

• how to rebuild stability

• how to safely reintroduce strength

• how to avoid re-injury

A trainer who only knows standard strength programming can accidentally keep you stuck — or make things worse.

Rehab isn’t about being gentle forever. It’s about being specific, intentional, and strategic so your strength actually comes back.

What You MUST Do If You’re Injured Right Now

1. Stop training normally. Immediately.

This is not quitting. It’s choosing the fastest road back.

2. Scale back to movements you can perform WITHOUT pain.

Pain-free movement is the starting point.

3. Make mobility and corrective work the priority.

This restores the pattern so you can safely load it later.

4. Rebuild strength slowly and intentionally.

Once mobility + stability are solid, then the fun begins.

5. Don’t chase pain relief — fix the cause.

Shots, wraps, KT tape… they’re temporary. Corrective work is what actually changes things.

Where This Leaves You

If you’re dealing with an injury — shoulder, hip, back, knee, anything — your biggest mistake is trying to force your way back into “normal” training too soon.

The stronger, smarter, and faster route is to step back, correct the pattern, rebuild from the foundation, and return to strength training after your body is ready for it.

I’m proof that it works. My clients are proof that it works. And when you follow the right approach, your body will always reward you for respecting its process, specially because after 40 we are training for health (everyone does it for aesthetics) but lets be real, now more than ever we have to train for longevity as well.