Trying vs Training
A clear and confident comeback from injury
When I launched the Elite Edge ReBUILD® Program two years ago, the premise was simple:
Most injury rehabilitation programs do a good job addressing the injured tissue. They focus on reducing pain, restoring mobility, rebuilding strength, and checking the boxes needed for discharge.
What many programs don’t provide is a clear roadmap for returning to the activity itself which is arguably the most important phase of recovery.
Instead, the process often becomes an asynchronous mess of communication between coach, athlete, and physical therapist. The athlete is left in the middle, “testing out” whether the injury is ready for more running, more riding, or more training. A good day builds confidence. A bad day creates doubt. Progress becomes reactive rather than purposeful.
So why not create a program that bridges that gap? One that provides the return-to-sport progression, the targeted interventions, the communication between all parties, and the coaching needed to reduce the likelihood of the issue returning in the future. That’s exactly what we built at Elite Edge.
Maybe you’re not fully sold on a program like that, and that’s okay.
This week, I want to explore one of the most common mistakes athletes make when returning from injury: confusing testing with training.
Most athletes would never build fitness by randomly jumping into hard workouts and hoping for the best. They follow a plan, progress workloads, manage recovery, and train with intention.
Yet when it comes to returning from injury, many abandon those same principles and simply test things out, hoping the body responds favorably.
Your return to sport deserves the same structure, progression, and purpose as the training that got you there in the first place.
Define the terms: Trying vs. Training
Trying rests on the assumption that you need to prove something.
To be clear, you do need to prove that you can tolerate increasing amounts of your sport again. The problem is that many athletes struggle to separate small, purposeful exposures from normal training.
Instead of walking away from a successful 20-minute run with minimal pain, they decide to do a 5-mile easy run as a “test.” Or they choose a hilly route just to see if the leg, ankle, knee, or calf is ready.
This approach is like throwing darts at a board rather than following a map.
All you’re really doing is collecting information. More often than not, that information tells you that you’re not ready for that amount of load yet. Occasionally you’ll surprise yourself and do fine. In those cases, perhaps the injury was less limiting than you thought.
But for athletes stuck in the cycle of recurring pain and failed comebacks, trying usually creates more questions than answers. You have to build your way back with repeated exposures to the task. You do not prove your way back to fitness.
This is where training comes in
Training rests on the assumption that there is a plan.
The goal is not simply to tolerate activity, but rather adaptation.
That may look like planning a 20-minute run, feeling fantastic, and stopping at 20 minutes anyway. Throw your hands up and declare victory.
Why?
Because tomorrow you can come back and do it again. Instead of chasing 60 minutes and spending the next week recovering, or worse, aggravating the injury. You’ve accumulated a successful exposure that moves you forward.
Ironically, athletes who embrace this approach often end up doing more total work because successful returns are built by stringing together productive days, not heroic ones.
Let’s have a look at an example
One of my athletes in the ReBUILD® Program is currently building back after repeated calf strains.
Before joining the program, he spent several months caught in a frustrating cycle. Every couple of weeks he would attempt a longer run, experience a flare-up, back off for days, and then repeat the process.
After establishing a structured progression, he began consistently completing 30-40 minute runs with minimal symptoms.
His previous mindset sounded something like this:
“Maybe I’m ready for my old Saturday long run.”
So he’d head out for 6, 8, 10 miles.
A few miles in, the calf would tighten up and that was it. Run over. Later that day it would be sore. The next morning it would be stiff. Just a mess of a situation
Immediately the questions would start:
Did I reinjure it?
Was I actually ready?
Should I take several days off?
One workout created more questions than answers.
A training mindset looked very different.
The next few weeks looked like this:
Week 1: Three 30-minute runs
Week 2: Three 35-minute runs
Week 3: Two 35-minute runs and one 45-minute run
Week 4: Three 45-minute runs and some hill strides
Did symptoms still fluctuate? Of course, but not to a degree that prevented him from continuing to run and progress.
More importantly, confidence was being built.
The system was being stressed appropriately, and stress is what drives adaptation.
When symptoms did fluctuate, they could be interpreted within the context of the plan. He wasn’t forced to decide whether he was completely healthy or completely injured. He simply adjusted, continued building capacity, and kept moving forward.
There is no need to prove that he could survive a 10-mile run.
The goal is to develop enough capacity that a 10-mile run eventually became an ordinary and unremarkable part of training.
We’re up to 9 miles with no issues after 8 weeks of working together. Workouts and longer sessions enter the picture when we know the basics can be executed.
Why do we resort to trying?
Trying and testing offers something that training cannot: the illusion of certainty.
We fear losing fitness. We want reassurance. We compare ourselves to healthy athletes on social media and convince ourselves that we should already be further along. Unfortunately, readiness is rarely discovered in one dramatic moment. It is built gradually through repeated successful exposures.
A note on uncertainty—
No coach, therapist, or training plan can guarantee that tomorrow’s run will feel perfect. Symptoms may fluctuate. Setbacks may occur. Progress is rarely linear.
Trying leaves you reacting to whatever happens. Training gives you a progression, a rationale, and a next step regardless of what happens.
When an athlete is constantly testing an injury, a good day often leads to doing too much, while a bad day can lead to unnecessary fear and inactivity.
When an athlete follows a structured progression, both good days and bad days provide useful information. The plan can be adjusted. Workloads can be modified. Progress can continue.
There is still uncertainty but also foresight. Instead of seeking certainty, use your plan to help manage uncertainty.
To the finish line
Your return to sport is not a one-shot fitness test that you need to pass. It is a process of rebuilding capacity, confidence, and consistency. Instead of asking whether your body can handle today’s workout, ask what today’s workout can do to prepare your body for the next one.
That is exactly how we approach injury recovery at Elite Edge through our ReBUILD® Program.
