Patient questions · Training readiness
How do I know when to push in training and when to back off?
Answered by Dr. Tyler
Move Better · Portland, OR & Vancouver, WA · Updated July 2026
There's no fixed rule that works every day — the read is specific to *you*, right now. The warm-up tells me most of it: how *you* move warming up shows whether today is a day to push or pull back. Two other things decide it — your timeline (are you actually close to a competition, or is this a longer-term goal?) and your life stress, which affects training far more than most people admit. It is completely okay to take your foot off the gas.
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Answers come from Move Better's own approach. This is guidance, not a diagnosis — nothing here replaces a look in person.
The warm-up tells me everything
Before I decide whether an athlete should push, I watch the warm-up. How you move through it tells me most of what I need to know about whether today is a day to add load or a day to back off. Your body gives you the readout if you’re paying attention to it — the warm-up is where I read it.
Your timeline sets the stakes
The first question I ask is: are you competing soon, and how many weeks out are you? Is this a goal that has to happen on a fixed date — a race you can’t move — or is it a personal goal with room to breathe? My background is Olympic weightlifting, so this isn’t theoretical for me. Six weeks out from a competition, the math on when to push and when to protect yourself is very different than it is in the off-season.
Stress is training load too
Here’s the part people skip: there are too many outside factors for them not to affect your training. Sleep, nutrition, and hydration matter — but for me it always came back to stress. A brutal week at work, a fight with your partner or family, a looming deadline, a serious life event — those genuinely change what you should ask of your body that day. You can’t neglect your mental health while you train. Being aware of that, and understanding that it’s okay to take your foot off the gas, is part of training well — not a break from it.
This is general education, not a diagnosis. If you have severe or rapidly worsening symptoms — or any loss of bladder or bowel control — seek medical care right away. Otherwise, the fastest way to know what's driving your pain is to have someone watch you move.