I have been running the Beginner template and recently finished week 4 of Phase 1. I have been enjoying the program and responding well. Recently squated 225lbs for 7 reps at RPE 8 and things have been going really well.
Due to this I was planning on staying on phase 1 for a few more weeks before moving onto phase 2.
My question though is I hurt my right knee grappling two days ago. No major tears or pops noticed,
It seems like I just slammed it hard onto the ground and it has affected my mobility. Over the past few days it seems like it is getting better so hypothetically if it turns out to be a minor issue how would you recommend I progress back?
I was thinking of reducing the volume for lower body exercises in the program and leaving the upper lifts the same. Or should I just rest up and then move onto phase 2? or would you build back up by doing Phase 1 again for 4 weeks?
If it is improving rapidly over the course of just the past few days, I don’t think drastic changes to your programming are necessary.
I would probably dial back the RPE targets by 2-3 points on lifts that involve the affected area, while leaving the rest of training essentially the same.
If you still experience significant symptoms during training with this, I would add a “tempo” component to those lifts as well, for example a 3-count eccentric, or a “3-0-3” tempo.
Collectively these will serve to temporarily pull back on the intensity of loading for the sensitive area. As things resolve back to normal, you can normalize the tempo, then normalize the RPE targets.
Since it’s not possible to predict how quickly this improvement will happen, a reasonable strategy could be to either repeat the most recent 1-2 weeks of training, taking it week by week and advancing to phase 2 once things have normalized. If this doesn’t work, more drastic changes will be needed, which you can learn more about here: Pain in Training: What To Do?
I don’t have a strong recommendation here up front; it would depend on your tolerance.
For example, if you can tolerate 4-rep sets fine, but experience more symptoms with 10-rep sets, then it could make sense to temporarily lower the rep targets.
On the other hand, lower-rep sets will typically be heavier; so in situations where the lower-rep sets are more symptomatic, I’ll actually increase the rep range in order to force a decrease in the load.
There is not a single formula here for rehab programming. It involves making iterative changes and adjusting based on your tolerance. Ultimately, the best up-front strategy involves controlling the absolute load. Whether this is done with lower RPE targets, absolute weight caps, higher rep ranges, slowed tempos, or some combination of the above are all viable options.
If you would like more individualized guidance and coaching through the process, a consultation with our rehab team would be a great option.