How to Train Around Joint Aches — and When You Shouldn't

You’re a beast in the gym… that is, until a joint injury or flare-up from arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis or a sprain threatens to sideline you. Even if you’re diligent about taking preventive measures to protect the joints — warming up the surrounding soft tissues, using proper form during exercises and taking supplements that promote joint health — there may be times when joint aches cause discomfort so significant that complete rest is recommended.

Pay attention to your body and stop doing anything that exacerbates the joint pain, especially if it’s severe and is caused by direct, acute injury. Fight the mindset to push through the discomfort and continue training, because in some cases the pain and inflammation can adversely affect strength and range of motion, compromising the safety of your workout. The good news is if your injury is less severe, many exercises can be modified to alleviate load stress on the affected area.

Still, you might not be able to perform certain moves at all, even after changing your grip or stance, so you may need to swap some exercises out of your workout entirely. The ways in which you can slightly rework your routine are many. Besides reacquainting yourself with textbook form and lifting lighter weights, these TLC tweaks can help.

Shoulder joint issues are relatively common, and most of our suggestions made for the upper body take this into account. Depending on the degree and location of shoulder pain, you might still be able to perform shoulder presses, but don’t go behind the neck, which can cause impingement. Also avoid pulling the bar behind your head when doing lat pulldowns.

Here are a few suggestions for working around this common joint ache.