One: Too Much Load Can Lead to Injury
People who are not sleeping, or resting, who are managing lots of stress, are emotionally out of balance and whose nutrition is poor are more likely to experience pain and get injured.
When people are training they often are very focused on the mechanical loads in the exercise. This is only part of the picture. There are many loads that your body is adapting too.
Two: Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving
The science is very clear we need to keep moving. To stay happy, healthy and mental sharp exercise is the best drug.
The minimum dose for exercise is surprisingly low. A little bit of walking or running up stairs is a good start and goes a long way.
Too much rest can be as detrimental as too much load. We quickly lose capacity if we stop moving.
Three: Humans Adapt
We like variety. We need stress to grow. The paralympians are a source of constant inspiration about how we can adapt and do amazing things.
Four: Challenge and Recover
Getting the balance of challenge and recovery is the key to getting well.
Go slowly and use the principles of ‘graded exposure’ to help you not do too much too soon. Do a little bit more than you did last time, but not too much more.
Expect a some discomfort and pain as you try new things. A good rule of thumb is that if the discomfort intensity is more than 5 out of 10 after 48 hours you have done too much.
Your protective alarm systems are kicking in. It is incredibly unlikely you have damaged yourself, but you do need to go more slowly to build your resilience. Keep exercising but reduce the amount so that you feel safe.
Five: Play More
Most people approach exercise as work. Todd Hargrove (2019) has written an excellent book reminding us that being playful is the key to learning and changing. There are so many ways you can play with movement.
The best exercise is the exercise you going to do. Make it fun. When was the last time you danced or crawled or rolled around on the floor or spent some time hanging from a tree branch?
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Upcoming Trainings with Steve Haines:
Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST) Two Year Trainings:
London 2026: you can still join for seminar two in June 2026 (we’ll make a plan for you to catch up on seminar one)
Galway: starts March 2027
Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE®) One Year Training:
London 2026: starts 27-28 June
