Why We Train Now: What Recovery Revealed About Real Strength

We exercised to stay fit. Now we train to stay capable.

We’ve always believed in the power of regular exercise. It’s been a part of our lives for years—daily walks, movement, stretching, strength work, swimming. Exercise keeps us healthy, focused, and functional. Like many people, we’ve seen its benefits firsthand. But something changed recently—something that deepened our perspective.

We were both injured. Ioulia tore her ACL. I suffered a traumatic lower leg injury that left me unable to bear weight. At the time of writing this, I’m still in a cast, getting around on crutches and a knee scooter, unable to put my foot on the ground. Everything I do requires strength—not just in the injured limb, but in the other leg, my arms, my core, even my grip.

We were in good shape before these injuries, and that helped. But we learned—viscerally—that general fitness isn’t the same as being physically prepared. What we needed, and what we now realize we lacked, was something more specific: training.

The Subtle but Crucial Difference

People often use the words exercise and training as if they mean the same thing. They don’t.

Exercise is movement done for the sake of health. A brisk walk, a swim, a dance class—it supports cardiovascular function, helps regulate blood sugar, lifts mood, improves sleep, and promotes longevity. It’s essential. It’s how we maintain the system.

Training, by contrast, is structured and intentional. It’s designed to build specific physical capacities—strength, endurance, balance, coordination, resilience. It often follows a plan, includes progression, and targets improvement over time. Training doesn’t just preserve what you have—it creates a reserve. It prepares you for what’s next.

We had exercised. We were active and fit. But when we were suddenly dependent on one limb, or forced to rely on upper-body strength just to get through the day, we saw where that distinction really mattered.

Where It Shows Up

Crutches, as it turns out, are not forgiving. They test your shoulders, arms, posture, and balance with every step. Transferring from a chair to a scooter, or from the bed to the bathroom, demands core control and leg strength on the non-injured side. You need stability to avoid further injury, coordination to navigate unfamiliar terrain, and enough muscular endurance to do it all multiple times a day.

We weren’t weak. But we weren’t truly trained, either. And we felt it.

There’s a kind of strength that helps you lift something heavy at the gym. There’s another kind that helps you get up off the floor when one leg can’t help. The first is valuable. The second is indispensable.

What Training Gives You That Exercise Doesn’t Always Build

Training builds resilience. Not just muscle mass or aerobic capacity, but the body's ability to adapt to strain. It strengthens connective tissue, reinforces bone, sharpens motor control, and conditions the nervous system to respond more efficiently to challenges.

It also creates redundancy. If one joint, limb, or system is compromised, others are ready to compensate—without breaking down.

This is the kind of capacity that becomes critical during recovery from injury, illness, or surgery. And for many people, it becomes even more important with age.

We’re Not Writing This as a Fitness Manifesto

This isn’t about becoming “hardcore.” We’re not suggesting that everyone needs to deadlift their body weight or run ultramarathons. But we do believe, strongly now, that everyone needs to train in some form. That might mean basic resistance work, balance practice, mobility training, or simple movements that challenge the body to stabilize and adapt.

It doesn’t need to be intense. But it does need to be consistent. And it needs to go beyond movement for its own sake.

Exercise supports your health. Training prepares you to handle the unexpected. And life, sooner or later, will deliver the unexpected.

Looking Back, and Looking Ahead

Had we done more training—more focused strength work, more unilateral loading, more stability drills—our recoveries might have been smoother. Not necessarily faster, but more manageable. With fewer compensations. Less fatigue. More control.

We’re not looking back with regret. But we are looking forward with a new level of clarity. We’re adjusting our approach. We’re adding what was missing. And we’re sharing this in the hope that it will reach someone before they’re in a cast, or on crutches, or navigating surgery.

If that person is you, here’s what we’d say: Start now. Train your body for what it might have to do later. Strengthen what you take for granted. Build reserves, not just routines. Don’t wait for injury to show you where your weak spots are.

You don’t need perfection. You just need a little more intention.

The Bottom Line

Exercise is the foundation. Keep it. But training—real training—is the scaffolding that lets you rebuild when something falls apart. It’s what makes recovery possible, autonomy longer-lasting, and the process of aging less destabilizing than it might otherwise be.

We’re still healing. But we’re already stronger for having learned what we did—and for being willing to change in response to it.

Train not just for today. Train for the day when you’ll need everything your body can offer.

Further Reading

American College of Sports Medicine. (2009). American College of Sports Medicine position stand: Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 41(3), 687–708. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181915670

Booth, F. W., Roberts, C. K., & Laye, M. J. (2012). Lack of exercise is a major cause of chronic diseases. Comprehensive Physiology, 2(2), 1143–1211. https://doi.org/10.1002/cphy.c110025

Fragala, M. S., Cadore, E. L., Dorgo, S., Izquierdo, M., Kraemer, W. J., Peterson, M. D., & Ryan, E. D. (2019). Resistance training for older adults: Position statement from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 33(8), 2019–2052. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003230

Peterson, M. D., Rhea, M. R., & Sen, A. (2010). Resistance exercise for muscular strength in older adults: A meta-analysis. Ageing Research Reviews, 9(3), 226–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2010.03.004

Covinsky, K. E., Pierluissi, E., & Johnston, C. B. (2011). Hospitalization-associated disability: "She was probably able to ambulate, but I'm not sure." JAMA, 306(16), 1782–1793. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2011.1556

Ferrucci, L., & Kuchel, G. A. (2021). Pathways from frailty to resilience. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 33, 1415–1420. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-021-01852-2

Tew, G. A., Bedford, R., Carr, E., & Copeland, R. J. (2018). Community-based prehabilitation before elective major surgery: The PREP-WELL quality improvement project. BMJ Open Quality, 7(1), e000259. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2017-000259