Should I try working around my injuries?
Avoid pain—that’s my motto. If you can do a
movement without pain, feel free to do it. But if
pain flares up, that’s your body telling you some-
thing’s wrong. When I’m injured, I just focus on all
the other movements I can do that don’t exacer-
bate the injury, and keep training that way until the
injured area can rejoin the fun.
When I say, “pain”, I’m referring to injuries to your
ligament, tendon, joints, or inflammation resulting
from acute trauma, such as a fall or sprained ankle.
Introducing further pain to an injury should always
be avoided. You can certainly exercise through
routine muscle soreness, and should experience
some loosening of stiff muscles as you warm up
into your workout. However, you should refrain
from asking sore muscles to produce peak work
efforts, which can cause additional discomfort and
muscle damage. Remember the prevailing phi-
losophy of Primal Blueprint Fitness is about fun,
balance, and freedom from the struggle and suffer
approach advocated by Conventional Wisdom.
Do I have to do the workouts on the days
specified?The PBF schedule is merely a guideline to provide
adequate recovery and progress, and it doesn’t
have to be followed to a T. Use personal experi-
ence and track your success trying different meth-
ods. Among the ranks of elite athletes, some prefer
a pattern of two hard days in a row, following by a
series of easy days, as opposed to the traditional
spacing out of hard days. The suggested weekly
schedule is an attempt to provide some practical
application to the Primal Blueprint Fitness philoso-
phy. Following the philosophy is non-negotiable
(brief, intense strength sessions; 75% of less max
heart rate for “Moving Frequently”; aligning work-
out difficulty with energy level, motivation level,
and health, etc.), but there is plenty of flexibility in
discovering your own ideal weekly, monthly and
annual schedule for you.Frequently Asked Questions and Concerns cont’d 87