Why Most Weightlifting Athletes Rehab Wrong (& What to Do Instead)

Why Most Weightlifting Athletes Rehab Wrong (& What to Do Instead)

If you’re a competitive Olympic Weightlifter, or even a serious Crossfit athlete, you’ve probably had pain at some point in your experience throwing a barbell around. Me too!

It’s going to happen at some point, so we may as well talk about what to do about it. Unfortunately, the best resources to understand WHAT to do isn’t exactly abundant. 

On the plus side, there are many up and coming providers for Weightlifting athletes out there who are breaking ground with best practices in rehabilitative strategies to get back to the barbell. And if you’re reading this, you’re in the right place for exactly that!

If you’ve ever had pain with barbell training, including Snatch, Clean, Jerk… or even the Squat, Deadlift, and Bench/Overhead Press… Here's a quick synopsis of common mistakes athletes make in their rehab, and what to do instead!

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Mistake # 1) Ceasing physical activity altogether. That initial fear after an injury is real. You might hear that voice in your head saying, “I better not make this worse, so I should probably avoid anything that could aggravate it.” So, you rest. Completely. After more than five years in practice, I’ve heard this story countless times. I’ve worked with hundreds of athletes who take weeks (even months!) off from training after experiencing pain, unsure of when it’s “safe” or when they’re truly “ready” to return.

Here are a few problems with this. First, injured tissues NEED blood flow to heal. That comes from generalized movement, range of motion progressions, and LOAD… not complete rest. Even if you're not mentally ready to lift, that’s okay, but at the very least, one of the best things you can do is get on a bike, rower, or ski erg and get your body moving. Resting altogether isn’t giving the injured area what it actually needs for tissue healing to occur. The second issue is deconditioning. If you’re “waiting” until you feel ready to train again, ask yourself: what does “ready”  actually mean? Are you waiting for pain to completely disappear? Or for some internal sense of permission? Without gradually progressing the injured area in range of motion and load tolerance, it will never truly be prepared to meet the demands of your previous training. In other words, readiness is built…  not waited for.

Mistake #2: Relying solely on stretching and mobility work for rehab. Don’t get me wrong, mobility absolutely has its place, and in some cases, it IS the right priority at the start of rehab. In fact, if you’ve worked with me before, you’ll know that one of the FIRST things I assess is where we need movement restoration work. We address those limitations early on especially if it’s relevant to why we’re having pain when moving with the barbell! 

But the real progress comes when we take that newly gained range of motion and begin to load it, while layering in motor control and stability. Stretching alone won’t get you back to full function… strength and control within that range is what makes the difference.

You can’t stretch the pain away, and here’s why. It works largely by providing a temporary effect on the nervous system; it works by transiently and temporarily modulating pain, aka helping the body feel "safer" in a given range of motion. It FEELS good, so the nervous system creates a momentary reduction in sensitivity. This can create the illusion of increased flexibility or relief. But as we all know, this doesn’t last long; it’s important to understand that this effect leaves just as quickly as it comes. Stretching doesn’t lead to meaningful or lasting tissue change on its own. 

For actual improvements in tissue capacity, resilience, and long-term mobility, we need to introduce load… through resistance training and progressive movement. Load helps remodel tissue, reinforce motor control, and make those temporary gains stick. In short: stretching can open the door, but loading is what keeps it open. 

Mistake # 3: Mistaking band work for resistance training. Sorry, not sorry… but the band work you’re doing is not the same as strength training. It’s not the same as preparing your joints and soft tissues to take on the real demands of load through full ranges of motion. It’s not the same as relearning technical strategies for compound movement patterns under the barbell. 

Resistance bands can be a great accessory tool for warm-ups, activation drills, or rehab in the EARLY stages of injury when heavier loading isn’t yet tolerated. (If you’ve ever worked with you, you’ve definitely seen me incorporate band work because they DO have their place!!!) But let’s be clear: they don’t provide the kind of progressive, mechanical load needed to rebuild strength, restore tissue capacity, or prepare you for the demands of high-performance training.Bands typically offer variable resistance, m

eaning the load increases only as the band stretches. That’s helpful for some purposes, but it’s not the same as true strength training, which requires consistent and progressive loading across full ranges of motion.

If your goal is to return to Olympic lifts, CrossFit, or even just pain-free daily movement, you need to train your body under load that challenges it—using barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, or machines. Band work is fine for targeted activation or mobility prep, but it’s not a substitute for real strength work. Don't let "light resistance" fool you into thinking you're building long-term resilience! 

Mistake #4) Chasing pain relief only. Let me ask you this: if, hypothetically, your pain never completely went away… would you rather stop training altogether (losing strength, mobility, and confidence) or continue training with a manageable level of discomfort? Most people would choose the latter. Because yes, being in pain is hard. but being weak and in pain is even harder.

The goal of rehab isn’t always to eliminate every trace of pain. It’s to help you function, perform, and live fully despite it. I’d rather see you under a barbell, doing what you love, with some manageable discomfort, than sitting on the sidelines waiting for a pain-free guarantee that may never come. Pain can improve over time, especially when you're moving and getting stronger. But waiting for it to disappear completely before taking action? That’s the real setback.

“Is pain present?” is a yes-or-no question… and frankly, it’s too black-and-white for something as complex as the human body. In most cases, yes, some level of pain, stiffness, or discomfort is still there. Maybe even a bit of inflammation. Is it there? Probably. But let’s color this up a bit…

How intense is the pain? How often does it show up? How long does it last before it fades? How far into your training does it appear? How heavy can you go before it kicks in?

These are the questions that actually track progress. Pain isn’t just “on” or “off.” It’s a sliding scale, and learning to observe its patterns, rather than fear its presence, is key to long-term recovery and performance.

Mistake #5) Forgetting that your training IS your rehab!! One of the biggest mindset shifts athletes need to make during the rehab process is realizing that rehab isn’t something separate from training… IT IS THE TRAINING!!! Modified versions of the snatch, clean, jerk, squat, press, and deadlift aren’t just “scaled-down” movements. they’re intentional rehab tools designed to rebuild strength, control, and confidence in your body.

Examples?

• Squats to a box or within a reduced range of motion to reintroduce load while managing pain or positional limitations.
  
• Snatch pulls to reinforce mechanics and pulling strength without the demand of going overhead.
  
• Elevated deadlifts with pauses to train the posterior chain while emphasizing lat engagement and positional awareness.
  

These aren’t "regressions”. They’re strategic progressions. The barbell isn’t something you wait to return to once you’re “healed”. it’s what helps you heal.

Your rehab doesn’t stop at clamshells, band walks, or passive mobility drills. It evolves into barbell work that’s thoughtfully adjusted to meet you where you are – then progresses with purpose. Treat your training as your rehab, and you’ll not only recover. You’ll come back better.

Ready to learn more? Have specific pain problems that are limiting your performance goals? Czarbell is here to help. Reach out at [email protected], or schedule an appointment with me through the main page of this website, to learn more!