Pain that teaches you and pain that injures you aren’t the same. Learn to tell them apart, and ask a pro when unsure.

Discomfort and damage can feel similar in the moment and they call for opposite responses. The ache of a hard set is the body adapting. A sharp, local, wrong kind of pain is the body objecting, and pushing through that one costs weeks. Learning your own difference takes attention, and nobody can do it for you from the outside.

Start keeping a rough note of what hurts, where, and whether it fades once you are warm. Anything sharp, swelling, or still there the next morning is a reason to stop and ask a trainer, a coach or a doctor. Asking early is how you stay in the season.