Strong Looks Different Now: Working Out With Chronic Pain in Real Life

I sat there the other day thinking about working out. I had time, I had a plan, and I even felt a little motivated. And I still didn’t do it. Not because I didn’t care and not because I was being lazy. I genuinely didn’t know if I should. That’s been the hardest part of working out with chronic pain. It’s the constant question in the back of your mind, trying to figure out if you’re avoiding something because you don’t feel like doing it or if pushing through is actually going to make things worse. There isn’t a clear answer. It’s just a lot of gray area. And lately, I feel like I’ve been living right in the middle of it. This post will share how I’m walking through what working out with chronic pain has actually looked like for me over the last few months, including the physical challenges, the decision-making process, and what I’m learning as I find my way back to strength training.

**This is not medical advice. Please consult your medical provider for more information.

Why Working Out With Chronic Pain Feels So Confusing

There was a time when working out wasn’t even a question. I used to be the person who just worked out. It didn’t matter if I felt tired or unmotivated. It was structured, consistent, and part of who I was. I didn’t think about whether I should train. I just did it.

Chronic pain has changed that. Not just in the way people usually think. You might assume it shows up as pain with certain movements. But for me, it shows up more in how I make decisions. Now, every workout feels like something I have to think through before I even start. What surprises me most is how much mental energy that takes. Working out with chronic pain isn’t just about doing the workout. It’s constantly trying to read what your body is telling you while knowing that it isn’t always consistent.

Something can feel completely fine one day and trigger a flare the next. That inconsistency makes it hard to trust what you’re feeling.

When Awareness Turns Into Overthinking

It’s crazy how something that used to be so automatic becomes something you have to question every time. You start paying closer attention and you become more aware of your body, symptoms, and patterns. At first, this helps. It feels like you’re finally learning how to work with your body instead of against it.

But, over time, that awareness can turn into overthinking. You start questioning whether what you’re feeling is safe to move through or something that’s going to set you back. You wonder if you need rest or if you’re just avoiding discomfort.

That’s where I’ve been lately. Somewhere between understanding my body and still not fully trusting it. And that’s the part no one really prepares you for. It’s not just about getting back to working out. It’s about learning how to make decisions in a body that doesn’t always give you clear feedback.

My Chronic Pain Background (Quick Context)

I won’t go too far into this here, but I think context matters.

I’ve been dealing with chronic pain for over 10 years now. It’s not something that just showed up, and it’s not something that has a clean, simple explanation. Over time, it’s changed, evolved, and presented itself in different ways, but it’s always been there to some degree. To put it plainly, I have not lived a day pain-free in 10+ years.

About two years ago, I had the biggest flare I’ve ever experienced. It was enough to take me out of everything (even work) and forced me to completely step away from the way I was training before. That was a turning point for me, not just physically but mentally too.

Since then, it hasn’t been about pushing harder or getting back to where I was as quickly as possible. It’s been about figuring out how to work with my body in a way that actually supports it long term. And that’s still something I’m in the middle of.

What Working Out With Chronic Pain Has Looked Like Lately

This is where things get a little less structured and a lot more real. At the beginning of the year, I decided I wanted to start getting back into strength training. Not a in a jump back to where I used to be kind of way, but in a slower, more intentional approach. At least, that was the plan. And almost immediately, I tested that boundary.

I woke up one morning feeling really good, better than I had in a while. And I decided to go for a run. It wasn’t long or fast, just about 15 minutes along my usual walking route.

I felt completely fine during it. No pain, no issues. Even afterward, everything still felt okay. And then the next day hits. The soreness in my hip and leg wasn’t surprising, but the way it turned into a flare shortly after was. That familiar pattern of my back tightening up, pain referring into my hip, and everything becoming more sensitive started to show up again.

The Stop-Start Cycle of Working Out With Chronic Pain

That’s kind of how this whole process has gone. There are moments where I feel good and try to do a little more, and sometimes it goes fine. Other times, that same small increase is enough to set things off. The margin between what I can tolerate and what pushes me into a flare feels very small. It isn’t always predictable, so instead of a clean progression, it turns into a stop-start cycle.

Some days I stick to upper body work or keep things simple with walking. Other days I have to pull back completely, which sometimes means doing nothing at all.

What surprises me most isn’t just the inconsistency, but how different everything feels compared to before. Even bodyweight exercises feel harder than I expected. I know my left leg has been weaker since that big flare two years ago, but actually going through simple movements and feeling how quickly it fatigues is a reality check. It’s not just getting back into a routine. It’s realizing how much rebuilding there is to do.

When Progress and Setbacks Happen at the Same Time

There are small wins, even if they don’t feel like much in the moment. This can look like moving without triggering a flare, getting through a session and feeling okay the next day, or regaining a little bit of range that wasn’t there before.

And then there are moments where everything just stops. My back locks up, movement becomes difficult and painful, and I have to step away from training almost entirely. Not because I want to, but because pushing through it will only make things worse. So this doesn’t look like a smooth return to strength training. It looks like testing, adjusting, pulling back, and trying again, over and over.

The Things I Didn’t Realize I Was Doing

One of the biggest things I started to notice during all of this has nothing to do with my actual workouts. It’s the way I move throughout the day without even realizing it. It doesn’t become obvious until I catch myself doing something I’ve done a thousand times before in a completely different way.

How Chronic Pain Changes the Way You Move

I’m making coffee one morning, going through my normal routine, and when I go to throw the coffee grounds into the trash under the sink, I notice that I’m not bending forward the way I normally would. Instead of just hinging or flexing naturally, I shift almost all of my weight onto my right leg and rotate my body to the side so I don’t have to load my left leg at all. It isn’t forced or dramatic. It’s subtle, automatic, and something I probably would have missed if I wasn’t paying attention.

Once I noticed it, I couldn’t unsee it. I started catching the same pattern in other movements, especially anything that involves bending, reaching, or shifting weight. I’m not fully loading my left side and I’m consistently finding ways to move around positions that feel even slightly uncomfortable. It isn’t just one compensation. It’s a pattern that has quietly worked its way into almost everything I’m doing.

Working Through Pain vs Working Through Habits

What stands out the most is that I don’t know when this started. I don’t remember making a conscious decision to move that way, which tells me it likely developed during a period where my body needed to protect itself more. Avoiding those positions probably helped at one point, but even as things calm down, that same strategy sticks.

That’s where this becomes more than just a movement issue. I’m not just working through pain. I’m also working through the habits my body builds around that pain.

So lately, I’ve been putting more attention into how I move throughout the day. I intentionally let myself put weight through my left leg, move into positions I’ve been avoiding, and rebuild some of that baseline confidence in my movement. That doesn’t mean forcing anything or pushing into sharp pain, but it does mean catching myself when I automatically avoid something and asking if I actually need to.

If I never give my body the opportunity to experience those movements again, it’s going to keep defaulting to the same protective patterns. And that brings me back to the same question: at what point is that protection helping me and at what point is it holding me back?

The Hardest Part of Working Out With Chronic Pain

If I had to narrow it down, this is the part that’s been the most difficult to navigate. It’s trying to figure out what that pain actually means in the moment and what I’m supposed to do with it. When you’re working out with chronic pain, the challenge isn’t just showing up. It’s deciding whether you should.

How Do You Know When to Push or Stop?

There’s a constant question running in the background that doesn’t really go away. I’m trying to figure out if what I’m feeling is something I can move through or if it’s something that’s going to set me back if I ignore it.

There are times where I push through discomfort and nothing bad happens. Sometimes it actually helps. But there are instances where doing something very similar leads to a flare that lingers for days or weeks. That inconsistency is what makes this so difficult. It’s not just about what I’m doing. It’s that the same decision can lead to completely different outcomes.

When Your Body Feels Unpredictable

What makes it harder is that this isn’t just physical. It’s my nervous system, my stress levels, my sleep, and everything else happening outside of the workout itself. There are days where I feel capable of doing more, but I know pushing probably isn’t the right call. Then there are other days where I don’t feel like doing anything at all, but once I start moving, I realize it’s exactly what I need.

So it isn’t as simple as listening to my body because my body doesn’t always communicate in a clear or consistent way. Sometimes it’s reactive, sometimes it’s protective, and sometimes it’s just unpredictable.

And that’s where I find myself getting stuck the most…not in the doing, but in the deciding. Trying to figure out where that line is between pushing in a way that helps and pushing in a way that makes things worse, knowing that the line isn’t fixed.

Strong Looks Different Now

One of the biggest things I’ve had to come to terms with through all of this is that strength doesn’t look the way it used to for me and part of me has been resisting that.

For a long time, strength meant showing up no matter what. It meant pushing through, being consistent, lifting heavy, and not questioning whether I should do something. That’s not what this looks like anymore.

Why My Approach to Strength Training Had to Change

Now, strength looks quieter and less obvious. It looks like stopping before I push myself into a flare, even when I feel capable of doing more. It can be choosing a walk over a workout when I know my system can’t handle that kind of stress. Or, it’s rebuilding with bodyweight movements and paying attention to things that used to feel automatic.

That shift has been harder to accept than I expected. Not because I don’t understand it, but because there’s still a part of me that wants to do more and get back to what feels familiar. Every time I try to rush that process, I’m reminded that my body isn’t operating under those same rules anymore.

So I’ve had to start redefining what progress and strength actually mean for me right now. It’s not about how much weight I’m lifting or how often I’m training. It’s about whether I can do something and not pay for it afterward. I have to question if I can stay consistent without triggering setbacks that take me out for days or weeks.

Strong Looks Different Now (My Current Approach)

This is the inspiration behind the short-form series (see videos above) I started sharing, “Strong Looks Different Now.” It’s my way of documenting this process in real time, not just the workouts, but the decisions and adjustments that come with it. This version of strength doesn’t always look impressive. A lot of it is small and slow, but it’s also more intentional, and that’s what matters most right now. Follow me in Instagram if you want to keep following along on this journey!

Why You Can’t Rush Chronic Pain Recovery

This process has made one thing very clear. I can’t rush it, even if I want to. It’s easy to think that if I just do the right things consistently for a few months, I should be able to get back to where I was in my mid 20s. But the reality is, the current situation I am in has been building over years and it’s going to take time to work through it in a way that actually lasts.

There Is No Perfect Plan

I’ve also had to accept that there isn’t going to be a perfect plan that works every time. There are too many variables involved, from pain sensitivity to stress levels to sleep. What works one week might not work the next and that doesn’t mean I’m doing something wrong. It just means I have to keep adjusting.

More than anything, I’m learning that I can’t approach this with the same mindset I had before. Pushing harder isn’t always the answer, and backing off isn’t always a setback. Sometimes the best thing I can do is stay consistent in a way my body can actually tolerate, even if that looks slower than I’d like.

Where I’m At Right Now

Right now, I’m not fully back into strength training, and I’m also not at the beginning anymore. I’m somewhere in the messy middle, still figuring out what this is supposed to look like as I go.

There are days where things feel good and movement feels easier, and there are days where I can tell I need to pull back. The difference now is that I’m paying closer attention to those patterns and trying to make decisions based on what’s actually in front of me instead of forcing myself into what I think I should be doing.

I still want to get back to lifting more consistently. But, I also know that how I get there matters just as much as getting there in the first place. So for now, I’m taking it one step at a time, focusing on what I can do, and trying to build something that lasts instead of something that only works in the short term. I don’t have this fully figured out yet and I’m okay with that. This is just the beginning of the process and I’m sharing it as I go.

Leave me a comment down below of where you’re currently at with your strength journey!

TL;DR

Working out with chronic pain isn’t as simple as following a plan or staying consistent. Over the last few months, I’ve been navigating the ups and downs of getting back into strength training, including flare-ups, setbacks, and small wins that don’t always feel like progress. The hardest part hasn’t been the workouts themselves, but figuring out when to push and when to pull back. This process has forced me to rethink what strength actually looks like right now. I’m still in the middle of it, but I’m learning how to move forward in a way my body can actually sustain. This post shares how I’m walking through what working out with chronic pain has actually looked like for me over the last few months, including the physical challenges, the decision-making process, and what I’m learning as I find my way back to strength training.