Prehab and Rehab

The best training program is the one you can keep doing. Prehab is the work that keeps you healthy enough to train; rehab is the work that brings you back when something goes wrong. Both are training, not separate from it.

Prehab

Prehab is proactive: building resilience before anything hurts so loading doesn't outrun what your tissues can tolerate.

• Train through full range of motion: strength built across a joint's full range tends to be more protective than strength built in a narrow one.
• Address weak links: shore up the joints and positions that limit you (often shoulders, hips, and ankles) with targeted accessory work.
• Build connective tissue gradually: tendons and ligaments adapt slower than muscle, so ramp load patiently. See Soft Tissue.
• Warm up with intent: prepare the specific positions and loads a session demands rather than going through a generic routine.

Rehab

Rehab is the structured return from an injury. The goal is to restore capacity in stages, loading the tissue enough to drive healing without re-injuring it.

• Relative rest, not total rest: most injuries recover better with gentle, tolerable loading than with complete immobilization.
• Progress by tolerance: increase range, then load, then speed, advancing only when the current step is comfortable.
• Pain as a guide, not a wall: mild, settling discomfort is often acceptable; sharp or lingering pain is a signal to back off.
• Rebuild before returning: restore full strength and confidence in the movement before going back to pre-injury loads.

How it fits the bigger picture

Managing load is the thread through both. Most overuse injuries come from doing too much, too soon: the same mistake Basics of Training warns against. Prehab and rehab are how you respect the slower timelines of bone and soft tissue while still making progress.