Physical Therapy for Weightlifters in Denver

One of the first questions active patients ask is:

"Should I stop training until this gets better?"

Maybe it's a runner with knee pain asking if they should stop running, or a lifter wondering whether shoulder pain means they should stop pressing overhead.

There are situations where complete rest is appropriate, such as certain acute injuries or concussions, but they're less common than many people think.

For many orthopedic injuries, the goal shouldn’t be to stop training altogether. It should be to keep that athlete moving as much as possible while being considerate to safety and the needs of recovery.

Disc herniations don't have to mean the end to the activities you love. If you've been told you have a herniated disc, you've probably also been told to rest, avoid bending and twisting, and be patient.

That advice isn't wrong, exactly,  it's just not (A) a complete answer to how to actually get back and (B) it doesn’t acknowledge the demands athletes face in returning to the sports they enjoy.

Here's what a proper rehab roadmap for our patients and athletes looks like.

I’ve had many discussions with runners, weightlifters, and other hybrid athletes about programming in the past few months and wanted to share a few insights on why programming is so important to success in training.

We have all heard the saying “No Pain, No Gain.” (If you haven’t then you just did!!). 

How much does this mantra hold true? How much pain is okay to work through when recovering from an injury? 

To make a long answer short, it depends – on the type of injury itself, the chronicity, and the severity. However, there is a general framework we follow in rehab that informs the timeline and expectations for return to certain activities.

There has recently been a huge influx of popularity regarding plyometric training. Plyometrics, which include jumping, hopping, and bounding, are a method of training that has been used in sport for decades. But what do they do? And why are they important?

Today we’re breaking down what plyometrics are, how they work, and why they are important not only for overall joint health, but for athletic performance. 

This past week, on a few occasions working with my patients I landed on the conversation of feet up or feet down when bench pressing. Now in the context of a physical therapy clinic, the generalization and potential history of back pain amongst our population skews to slightly higher, thus the consensus of these conversations was feet up to protect their backs.

I’m here to say, benching with your feet up certainly is an option and not necessarily incorrect, however, there are items to consider in the conversation.

Soreness is something we talk about a lot in the clinic. Primarily in the context of expectation setting to the session with a patient. But what is soreness and is it a necessary evil to get stronger and achieve your goals?

We’re excited and thrilled to welcome Dr. Katie Sauer PT, DPT to the Tundra Performance and Physical Therapy team!

She's a sports physical therapist originally from the East Coast. Graduating from Syracuse University in 2020 with a BS in Health and Exercise Science. From there she went on to graduate school, receiving her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Rhode Island in 2024. She’s been a practicing sports physical therapist in Denver since then.

If you don’t know what Burns Night is, neither did we. Anything that involves food  and time together though, I’m pretty much in. Well how about RPE and RIR? Maybe some of you are familiar with these abbreviations, along with their relationship to percentages when discussing programming within lifting and physical therapy. Today we’re diving into the differences between the two and why I prefer RPE versus RIR and percentages.

The zercher squat claims its origin from a weightlifter and strongman from the 1930’s and 1940s, Ed Zercher. In a time of no squat racks, the most efficient way to squat the barbell was to tilt the barbell on its side, get in position underneath, and lift the weight up onto your back while controlling the momentum of the barbell leveling out. Ed decided that was too inefficient of a process.

He pioneered the process of getting your elbows underneath the barbell while it sat on the ground, deadlifting into start position, and subsequently squatting the weight.

In today’s day and age of power racks, here’s 3 reasons why we still use this lift today?

This past weekend, Jess and I set forth in the Colorado mountains on our annual Christmas Tree hunt. The search all over the mountain side is certainly the most fun part, followed by cutting it down, but then comes the hard work… hauling the tree back to the car. When we think about strength, we often picture big lifts—squats, deadlifts, bench presses—but one of the most functional tools in your training arsenal is often overlooked.

As we head into the holiday season, we’re always reminded of how much there is to be thankful for—our athletes, our community, and the privilege of helping people move, guiding them back to the mountain or training floor.

In the spirit of gratitude, we wanted to highlight the Top 5 Physical Therapy Tools We’re Most Thankful For: the equipment that helps us guide recovery, build resilience, and keep you doing what you love.

One of the constant themes I drone on and on about, not just for skiers and snowboarders, but rock climbers, runners, and mountain bikers alike, is don’t rehab like a body builder, you need to rehab like an athlete.

We hope everyone has their costumes set, candy purchased, and ready for Halloween tomorrow night. In celebration of Halloween here’s some of the spookiest, the scariest, and most frightening phrases I've heard in the clinic.

Feeling safer and comfortable with heavy lifting takes time and practice. The more you explore weights and movement, the more competent you become with the equipment and the tools of lifting. In the meantime, try out a few of the recommendations provided and you might just find yourself more confidence along the way.

I always joked that I have the mindset of meathead without the body to match. Meatheads and weightlifters alike, come with their own considerations when it comes to performance physical therapy. Whether you're a powerlifter, bodybuilder, olympic lifter, Crossfit athlete, or may be even just a recreational lifter, each individual and their training regiment comes with their own unique challenges.

Whether you are a runner trying to get back into racing, a climber trying to get back to the crag, or a weightlifter working their way back to competing or the training floor. Active people require active solutions. That's where tailored, performance physical therapy comes into play.

One of my favorite people that I have had the pleasure to meet this year is Josh. He’s retired military, now working as a corporate strategist who enjoys hiking, traveling, and time on the gun range.

From years of abuse training in the military to gradual deconditioning, Josh subsequently developed a herniated disc and chronic back pain, amongst shoulder, knee, pain and stiffness alike.