Perhaps the most important time to engage in strength training is also the time when we are least likely to strength train: during a period of injury or illness.
As we age, we lose strength and muscle. But we don't lose strength gradually and linearly over time. Instead, we experience an injury, and the injury causes us to become more sedentary (and stop resistance training), and thus, we lose muscle rapidly. This level of strength and muscle becomes our new baseline.
We are strong throughout our 20s and 30s. At 42, we rupture our Achilles (likely playing basketball with humans 10 years our junior). We wear a boot to immobilize the injury, we stop strength training (and our activity level decreases), and we get weak fast. This is the new baseline. We maintain it for a decade.
At 50, we are diagnosed with prostate cancer. We undergo treatment, the treatment wipes us out, and we lose strength and muscle. This is the new baseline. We maintain it for the next dozen years.
At 62, we have a total knee replacement. The surgery goes very well but, of course, this leads to inactivity and rapid loss of strength and muscle. This is the new baseline.
At 65, we're weak. We lack muscle. But this wasn't gradual. It happened during periods of injury and illness in which we experienced rapid decreases in strength and muscle.
Authors (a collaboration of the brightest 34 scientists from around the world) of the landmark 2025 publication, “Global Consensus on Optimal Exercise Recommendations for Enhancing Healthy Longevity in Older Adults,” published in the Journal of Nutrition and Healthy Aging, assert that the most important time for us to engage in strength training is when we are injured or sick.
The first consideration when selecting a workout (strength training or not) should be: Can I do it when I'm injured and when I'm ill (because we all will get injured and get sick)?
As I write this, I'm experiencing a running-related injury. It's been a little over 4 weeks since I've been able to run (truly my favorite thing to do) as I battle proximal hamstring tendinopathy (the tendon that connects my hamstring to my pelvis is really painful). This is an injury that will likely keep me out of running for 6–9 months. But it will never keep me from strength training. When we're injured, we can and should modify the workout. In my workout this morning with Cole in Woodbury, my upper body routine was unchanged. I modified the range of motion on my leg press for the left leg, but I was able to perform leg extension, leg curl (we didn't push this one quite as hard), adductor, and leg press (with modifications to the range of motion). It was a great workout. Effective modifications are endless: Change the range of motion; select a different, pain-free exercise; change the speed of movement; consider an isometric versus a range of motion; train one limb only and reap the benefits of “bilateral transfer” or cross-education (training one limb only, while the other, untrained limb still gets stronger).
I'm injured and can't run. But I'm going to continue to get stronger, add lean muscle, and reap the cardiovascular, cognitive, metabolic, and robust anti-aging benefits of strength training.
Take-home message: When you are injured or sick, get (or at least stay) strong.
Caveat: I'm not suggesting you should battle through the flu, a cold, or an acute illness to get your workout in (you should take a few days off for sure).Ready to try smarter strength training?
Ready to try smarter strength training?
Click here to book a free introductory workout at any Discover Strength location.