Pain free is dangerous.
You do the exercises.
You follow the plan.
The pain disappears.
So you go right back to training the way you were before. Because why wouldn’t you. You feel fine.
And then two weeks later it’s back. Same spot. Same pain. Same confusion.
This isn’t bad luck. This is predictable.
Because being pain free and being ready for load are not the same thing.
Most people treat them like they are. That’s where this goes sideways.
The phase that’s missing is what I call Capacity Layering.
Load. You reintroduce weight gradually.
Volume. You build tissue tolerance before pushing intensity.
Intensity. Then you earn your way back to real training.
If you skip that sequence, you’re not actually recovering. You’re just restarting the same cycle.
Follow it, and rehab actually starts to feel like progress.
Marie Claude said it best after we worked through this together.
“Never thought I’d have so much fun in rehab.”
That’s what this phase looks like when it’s done right.
Talk soon,
Gabe
PS: I put together a short video that walks through the full system. From pain free all the way back to training hard.
→ Watch it here
P.P.S Missed any of my other posts? Read them here
Why you got hurt again
Picture this.
You spend weeks in rehab. You show up even when it hurts. You do the boring work nobody sees. Then you get cleared.
“You’re good to go.”
You walk back into the gym thinking you earned your way back. The weight feels familiar. Things feel normal again.
Three weeks later, you’re hurt again.
Same spot. Same frustration. Same question sitting in the back of your mind.
Why does this keep happening?
Nobody told you this when you get discharged.
Being pain free is not the finish line. It is the starting line.
Rehab gets you out of the hole. That is it. Getting out of the hole is not the same as being ready to handle real load again.
Those are two different problems, and most people only solve the first one.
Your body has not been under real stress for weeks, sometimes months. Strength is down. Tissue capacity is down.
Movement breaks down under pressure.
None of that magically comes back just because pain is gone.
So you go back to training the way you used to.
And your body fails again.
Not because you messed up. Because you skipped the part that actually prepares you to return.
Most people follow the same loop.
They finish rehab. They go back to training. They get hurt again. Then they start over.
What actually works looks different.
You finish rehab. You reintroduce load on purpose. You rebuild capacity step by step. Then you return to training the way you actually want to train, and it sticks.
There are multiple steps between pain free and performing again. Most people skip all of them and wonder why nothing changes.
The comeback that lasts is not the fastest one. It is the one that respects the full process.
Talk soon,
Gabe
P.S. If you are in that spot right now and you are not sure how to rebuild without ending up back at square one, just reply "REBUILD" to this email. We can talk through where you are at and see if it makes sense to work together.
P.P.S Missed any of my other posts? Read them here
Lift Letter: Why your bench press keeps hurting
Most people feel that pinch in their shoulder when they bench and immediately assume it is a shoulder problem.
In my experience, it usually is not.
So what happens.
You stretch your shoulders, add band work, throw in some rotator cuff stuff.
It feels a bit better (for like a week), then the pinch comes right back.
Here's why.
Your rib cage is likely sitting in a compressed, flared position.
When that happens, your shoulder blades get pinned down against your ribs.
Now when you press, your shoulder literally has nowhere to go.
Upper back is compressed
So the pinch is your body saying you are out of space.
Instead of avoiding pressing, we just change how you load it.
First, switch to alternating dumbbell presses. We still want strength gains. So let's modify.
You are still building strength here, but now one side can open while the other presses.
That alone usually gives your shoulder enough room to move (green side is opening up)
Second, add sidelying arm bars.
This helps open up your upper back, rib cage, and shoulder blade. You are basically creating space where things were stuck before. More space, less pinch.
Third, elbows on knees with a breath. Gently push your hands apart and take a slow breath in. You should feel space open up between your shoulder blades. That is what actually lets your shoulder move the way it is supposed to.
Run this for a couple sessions and see what happens.
If the pinch improves, good. But you are not done.
The goal is to build back to barbell bench and feel strong doing it.
Stop working around the pain.
Start working through what is actually causing it.
Hope you're moving well and brewing better☕️
Gabe
P.S Here is the video explaining this concept
P.P.S. Missed any of my other posts? Read them here
What I'd actually give someone with back pain
If you have back pain, you've probably been told one of two things.
Stop training. Or strengthen your core and hope for the best (woof).
Neither of those fixes the actual problem.
The goal isn't to remove training. It's to increase your body's capacity to tolerate it.
In my latest video, I break down exactly what I'd give someone dealing with back pain who wants to keep training hard.
Soft tissue work. Range of motion restoration. Dynamic activation. A full training block built around pressure redistribution, not avoidance.
Training IS the healing tool.
Your body showed up late
You ever load the bar for your first working set and something just feels off?
Not pain.
Nothing injured.
Just tight. Restricted. Like your body showed up five minutes late to something you already started.
So you rack it.
You stretch the hip that has been bugging you.
Roll around on a foam roller for a bit.
Run through a couple mobility drills you half remember.
Then you try again and hope it feels better.
Sometimes it does.
Most of the time it still feels weird and you spend the first two or three sets wondering why nothing feels right yet.
I see this all the time.
Your body does not prepare for load joint by joint. It prepares as a system. If that system is not ready before you start training, something else ends up taking the stress.
That is the tightness you feel.
That restricted feeling under the bar.
And honestly it is why random mobility drills work one day and do absolutely nothing the next.
You are not "broken". Or "getting old".
You were just never actually prepared to train.
That is the whole idea behind the Rebuild Primer™.
It is a simple Reset. Restore. Activate sequence you run before you lift.
Takes about fifteen minutes.
It gets your system ready to actually handle the load you are about to put on it so your first working set feels like a real working set. Not a diagnostic.
Inside the Primer:
• 4 weeks of app access so the habit actually sticks
• Guided and step by step versions depending on how much time you have
• Full written guide you keep forever
It is $22.
Run it before your next session.
Then just pay attention to your first rep.
You will know pretty quickly if it worked.
Grab the Rebuild Primer™ here:
👉 Get it for $22
Talk soon,
Gabe
Lift Letter: "You have anterior pelvic tilt."
Picture this.
You are sitting across from a trainer. Maybe a physio. They tilt their head, squint a little, and say:
"You have anterior pelvic tilt."
Your stomach drops.
You do not fully know what it means. But the way they say it, almost like they just spotted a fault in a machine, makes you feel like something inside you is broken.
If I could meet you in that exact moment, I would tell you one thing right away.
It is not.
Anterior pelvic tilt is not a diagnosis. It is a snapshot.
It is simply a picture of how your body is organizing itself right nowin this season of your life.
Your system has been living in that forward position for a long time.
So the pelvis defaults there.
That is not a flaw. It is not even a mistake.
It is your body doing exactly what it learned to do so it could handle the load you asked it to carry.
Your pelvis has slowly lost its ability to participate in how your body absorbs and transfers force when you move.
Every step you take, every squat, every hinge, there is supposed to be a chain of rotation that spreads load across the entire system.
When the pelvis lives forward all the time, that chain gets interrupted.
The disc starts picking up more of the work.
The hip begins to compensate.
The lower back braces harder than it needs to.
Nothing is broken. The system just ran out of options and started rationing.
And this is where it gets tricky.
You walk into the gym. You start chasing bigger ranges of motion. Heavier loads. More complex patterns.
Then one day, maybe during a deadlift, maybe during a squat, something feels off.
A hip catches.
Your lower back tightens.
You rack the bar and think to yourself,
Is this the tilt?
Not exactly.
The breakdown does not happen because your pelvis is tilted. It happens because your body was never given enough options to handle the demand you placed on it.
So instead of asking whether anterior pelvic tilt is good or bad, which honestly is the wrong question entirely, ask something different.
Why did my body resort to this strategy in the first place?
That is where the real answer lives.
That is also where the real work begins.
Hope you are moving well and brewing better ☕️
- Gabe
Your "weak glutes" aren’t the problem
Be honest for a second.
Are your glutes stronger than they were six months ago?
Yes.
Are you still modifying lifts, still having flare ups, still waiting for things to finally click?
Also yes.
Those two things should not exist at the same time.
If weakness was the real problem, getting stronger would have fixed it.
But it did not.
Which means weakness was never the problem.
Here is what is actually happening.
When load increases, force increases. Demand goes up. Your body has to manage that force somewhere.
If the system cannot distribute that load across the entire body, one area picks up the slack. It works overtime.
That is why the same spot keeps flaring up again and again.
Pain does not show up because one muscle is weak.
Pain shows up when total demand exceeds total capacity.
That is not a glute problem.
That is a system problem.
So stop asking:
“What muscle do I need to strengthen?”
Start asking:
“Why does my body fail when load increases?”
That question actually leads somewhere.
Talk soon,
Gabe
PS: I recorded a short video breaking this down and showing what actually needs to change. Watch it here
P.P.S Missed any of my other posts? Read them here
If jumping hurts your knees
If jumping hurts your knees, the answer usually isn’t to stop jumping.
It’s to scale the load so your system can rebuild tolerance.
I filmed a quick breakdown of a 5-step progression that helps you do exactly that.
Watch it here
Gabe
P.S Missed any of my other posts? Read them here
Why your pain keeps coming back
You have probably tried the usual things already.
More stretching. Foam rolling. Strength work.
And honestly, some of it probably did help.
For a week. Maybe two.
Then the pain came back.
And after a while you start asking yourself a different question.
What am I missing?
Most people assume the answer is finding the right exercise.
The right stretch. The right cue. The right muscle to strengthen.
But pain rarely works like that.
It is almost never just one thing.
More often it is several things interacting at the same time.
Your programming. Your movement patterns. Your joint mechanics. Your load management. Your recovery.
All of these pieces influence each other.
When one piece is off, the body finds a way to compensate.
For a while that compensation works.
So the symptoms calm down. Training feels better.
Then the stress of training builds again and everything shows back up.
I went through that cycle myself. Quite a few times.
What actually helped was stepping back and asking a better question.
How is my body handling load across the entire system?
Because real rehab is not about chasing symptoms.
It is about understanding the system that created them.
Once you can see how those pieces interact, the path forward becomes a lot clearer.
Gabe
P.S. If you feel stuck in that cycle where things improve for a week and then the pain comes right back, this is exactly what I look at in my Ground Up Assessment™. I break down how your body is actually handling load in training and where things start to break down.
If you want to see how it works, you can check it out here.
P.P.S Missed any of my other posts? Read them here
If you’ve ever trained through pain, read this
I know what it is like to wake up and the first thought you have is this.
Is today going to be a good pain day or a bad pain day.
I know what it is like to look at the weekend and wonder if you will even be able to sit through something simple.
I know what it is like to watch people around you getting stronger in the gym while you feel like you are stuck in the same place.
Trying different exercises.
Trying different warm ups.
Trying random things you saw online just hoping something finally lets you train without pain.
I know what it is like to be angrier than you normally are.
Not because you are an angry person.
But because you are dealing with pain all the time and you are trying your best not to let it show.
For a long time I thought that was just going to be my life.
Training was always going to come with some level of compromise.
Always modifying something.
Always avoiding something.
Always wondering if the next set was going to light things up again.
What I eventually realized though is this.
Most persistent pain is not random.
A lot of the time it is a system that simply lost the ability to handle the demands you are placing on it.
And when you rebuild that capacity,
things that used to feel impossible start to feel normal again.
Lifting.
Training.
Moving without constantly wondering if something is about to hurt.
If you are stuck in that cycle right now, I understand it more than you might think.
And more importantly,
it does not have to stay that way.
Gabe
P.S Missed any of my other posts? Read them here
Back pain. Numbness. 60% better in 1 week.
Liz and I started working together last Monday.
She had been dealing with back pain for four months.
About three weeks before we met, numbness started running down her leg.
That is usually the point where people get told to slow down. Rest. Avoid.
We did not do that.
One week in, she reported about a 60 percent overall improvement.
Sitting improved.
Sleeping improved.
Walking improved.
And then she said something that mattered even more.
“I stopped complaining about the leg.”
Yes, pain coming down is important. Of course it is. But the psychological relief is what really changes things.
When you stop thinking about it all day. When it is not the first thing you mention in every conversation.
She also told me this.
“I finally feel like I’m doing something legitimate about it instead of passively going to chiropractors.”
She has strong opinions 🤣
She is back in the gym this week. Five days.
Not resting.
Not avoiding.
Not tiptoeing around it.
Training.
Rehab is not something I do to someone. It is something we build together.
And when training is part of your identity, that distinction is everything.
Gabe
PS: If you love training but feel limited by pain, I break down exactly how I rebuild capacity without pulling you out of the gym.
You do not have to step away to get better.
You did not get injured from one bad rep.
You did not get injured from one bad rep.
You got injured from ten thousand hidden ones.
If a joint does not move well, your body is not going to fail the lift. It will find a way to complete it.
It steals motion from somewhere else.
The bar still goes up.
And that is the trap.
Stiff ankle. Your hip rotates.
Tight hip. Your lower back extends.
Unstable shoulder. Your elbow absorbs it.
You finish the rep.
You finish the workout.
You keep progressing. For a while.
Your nervous system is not chasing perfect mechanics.
It is chasing completion.
If the bar has to move, it will move. Even if that means slowly overloading the wrong tissue over and over again.
Now add load.
Add intensity.
Repeat the same pattern you never cleaned up.
Let me ask you something.
Have you ever had pain show up six to eight weeks into a program instead of week one?
That is not random.
Ever hit a PR, felt great, then tweaked something two sessions later?
The weight did not create the weakness. It exposed it.
Heavy training does not break people.
Hidden compensation under load does.
And load wins eventually.
Like I have said before, you can train around dysfunction for a long time. The body is incredibly good at finding a workaround.
But eventually the bill comes due.
If you want to train heavy for years instead of bouncing between flare ups, you need a body that moves as one integrated system.
That is the difference between managing pain and actually rebuilding capacity.
Talk soon,
Gabe
P.S. I recorded a full breakdown explaining exactly how compensation builds under load, why it hides so well, and how to clean it up before it becomes your next “random” injury.
I lost control of my foot... now I deadlift close to 500lbs
I just dropped a video that's probably the most vulnerable I've ever been on camera.
I went from losing control of my foot due to nerve pain... to deadlifting close to 500lbs completely pain-free.
But here's what will shock you most, the breakthrough wasn't about finding the "perfect" exercise or doing more stretching.
It was about completely flipping how I approached pain itself.
In this video, I share:
The terrifying moment I developed drop foot in class (and panicked in a bathroom stall)
Why traditional rehab kept me stuck for years
The exact mindset shift that changed everything
How I built back to heavy lifting without fear
If you're training through pain or avoiding exercises you love, this one's for you.
Watch it here: I Lost Control of My Foot, Now I Deadlift Close to 500lbs
The mental transformation was bigger than the physical one.
You don't just get your body back. You get your confidence back too.
Talk soon,
Gabe
P.S. The part about treating pain as information instead of a threat?
That alone will change how you approach every training session.
P.P.S Missed any of my other emails? Read them here
Your back pain isn't what you think it is
I watched a lifter avoid deadlifts for the third month straight because of "back pain."
But here's what blew my mind: His back wasn't the problem.
The Place That Hurts Is Just The Messenger
Your body is smarter than you think. When your lower back screams during a deadlift, it's not saying "I'm broken." It's saying
"Hey, something upstream isn't working right."
Most people paint over the crack instead of fixing the foundation.
They foam roll the tight spot. Ice the sore area. Stretch what feels stiff.
But your body is sending you coded messages through that pain signal.
Here's What Your Back Pain Is Really Telling You:
"Your hips aren't moving properly"
When your hips can't extend fully, your lower back compensates by hyperextending.
Result? Lower back pain during deadlifts.
"Your core isn't stabilizing"
A weak or poorly coordinated core forces your spine to handle loads it wasn't ready for.
Your back pain is the alarm bell.
"Your breathing pattern is off"
Poor breathing mechanics create internal pressure imbalances that show up as back tension and pain.
"Your movement patterns need work"
Years of sitting, poor posture, or compensatory movements create dysfunction that your back pays for.
The lifter I mentioned? His "back problem" was actually a hip mobility issue
Once we addressed the real triggers, he was back to pulling heavy pain-free within weeks.
The Shift That Changes Everything
Instead of asking "How do I fix my back pain?" start asking "What is my back pain trying to tell me?"
This shift helped other lifters get back to movements they love not by avoiding the gym,
but by understanding their body's intelligent feedback system.
Your pain isn't the enemy. It's information.
And when you learn to decode that information, you can train harder and heavier than ever before, without fear.
Talk soon,
Gabe
You’re Either Doing Too Much Or Too Little. (I Can Prove It)
Quick question before we dive in:
Are you the person who trains through pain until something snaps? Or the one who's so paranoid about injury that you're using the same weights from 6 months ago?
I just dropped a new video that exposes why 99% of people are stuck in this destructive cycle.
▶️ WATCH: Find Your Training Sweet Spot (8:12)
And more importantly. I show you EXACTLY how to find your training sweet spot using the same principle that took me from chronic back pain to pulling close to 500 pounds pain-free.
Here's what you'll discover:
✓ The brutal truth about why your current training approach is keeping you injured OR weak (hint: it's not about working harder)
✓ My exact 8-week progression that took me from avoiding deadlifts for 3 YEARS to pain-free PRs
✓ The 4 unmistakable signs you're training in the "sweet spot" that drives real adaptation
✓ Why matching your stimulus to your EGO instead of your CAPACITY is literally a recipe for disaster
Fair warning: This isn't another "just lift lighter" or "perfect your form" video.
My client Greg followed this approach and he hit his first bench PR in 7 years.
Talk soon,
Gabe
P.S. I share my exact week-by-week progression template at the 5:47 mark.
The same one that's helped dozens of my clients eliminate pain while hitting lifetime PRs.
P.P.S Missed any of my other emails? Read them here
3 Questions to Ask Before Every Workout to Minimize Injury
I just dropped a new video breaking down 3 questions to ask before every workout to minimize injury
This separates people who stay consistent in the gym for years from those who get constantly sidelined by pain and setbacks.
Here's what I discuss:
[00:43] - Why tracking weights, reps, and sets is missing the most important piece
[01:54] - The two camps of lifters (and why both camps fail when it matters most)
[03:46] - The simple readiness formula: Recovery + Resilience = Your capacity today
[09:00] - Real example: How I avoided injury by ditching my planned heavy deadlifts
It’s a signal your body sends when you’re not ready for the load you’re giving it.
But most people only track output (what they did)... not readiness (what their body could actually handle).
This isn’t about skipping workouts or obsessing over metrics.
It’s about training smarter so you can stay consistent and stop repeating the pain cycle.
🎥 Watch the full breakdown here: WATCH NOW
Talk soon,
Gabe
The truth about pain that will upset every rehab "expert"
I just dropped a video that will upset every rehab expert (but it needs to be said)
In this breakdown, I talk about:
Why tracking pain location instead of pain triggers keeps you stuck
My approach for you to get out of pain that works WITH your lifting goals
How my client Alberto went from chronic back pain to virtually pain-free in just 12 weeks (as a busy young father).
Key insight: You're not fragile or invincible..You're adaptable.
Watch the complete breakdown here: ➡️ WATCH NOW
Talk soon,
Gabe
PS: If you're wondering how to make this work for you, check out this video.
Hey Gabe, Just wanted to let you know...
I got this message from a client:
"Hey Gabe, Just wanted to let you know that my shoulder feels much better, less pain during my sleep. Hope this continues. I thought I sent this message already. Anyways have a good weekend"
Here's what makes this message different from the usual "thanks coach" texts I get...
She was trying different approaches forever...
But the pain? Still there every single night.
.
.
.
The Problem With "Safe" Exercise Selection
Most approaches to shoulder pain follow the same playbook:
❌ Avoid overhead pressing
❌ Stick to light weights
❌ Do endless band exercises
❌ "Let it heal naturally"
But here's what nobody talks about: Your shoulder doesn't know the difference between "safe" and "unsafe" exercises.
It only knows one thing: Is the stress dosing exactly right for adaptation?
When you avoid movements, you're not eliminating the problem, you're just moving the stress elsewhere.
That's why my client's pain persisted for months of "perfect" avoidance.
.
.
.
The Truth About Pain-Free Training
Most people get trapped between two bad options:
Train through pain (and make it worse)
Avoid exercises forever (and never actually fix anything)
But there's a third option that most people never discover:
Train WITH your pain signals to eliminate them permanently.
Your body is designed to handle heavy loads without pain.
The issue isn't that you're broken, it's that you need a system that works WITH your nervous system instead of against it.
.
.
.
Why This Matters For Your Training
If you're currently modifying exercises because of pain, ask yourself:
How long have you been "managing" instead of solving?
What movements are you avoiding that you used to love?
What happens if this becomes permanent?
The truth is, every week you spend avoiding movements is another week your nervous system learns to fear them.
But it doesn't have to be this way.
You just have to find the right dose.
Talk soon,
Gabe
PS: DM "REBUILD" on Instagram and I'll help you find your optimal dose.
Why Your Training Is Creating Pain (And How to Fix It)
I just dropped a video that reveals why most lifters are training completely backwards (and how to fix it).
In this breakdown, I talk about:
Why random training creates the pain you're trying to avoid (0:43)
The 3-phase system that eliminates pain while building strength (3:16)
How my client went from 180 to 205 bench press pain-free (1:39)
Key insight: You can't build strength on broken movement patterns.
Most lifters think they have to choose between training hard and staying pain-free.
That's completely wrong.
Watch the complete breakdown here: ➡️ WATCH NOW
Even if you only watch one section, skip to 3:16 - this framework has helped others train pain-free while hitting PRs.
Talk soon,
Gabe
P.S. Drop a comment on the video with your biggest training frustration. Are you jumping straight to heavy weights or building a foundation first? I'm responding to every single one with personalized advice.
Do We Really Need 10,000 Steps?
Just dropped a new Wellness Debunked episode: "Do We Really Need 10,000 Steps?"
Spoiler: That magic number? Total marketing BS from the 1960s. 😅
We dive into:
The origins of 10,000 steps
Why your fitness tracker might be sabotaging you
What to focus on instead (hint: it's not a number!)
Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your pods.
And as always, follow us @wellnessdebunked on Instagram for more myth-busting content!
➡️ LISTEN OR WATCH HERE 🎙️
Talk soon,
Gabe
P.S. Your health isn't measured in steps. Remember that. 💪