It happened again. | Nerd Fitness

It happened again.

I came home from my son’s rec soccer game practice, ran up the stairs, and felt it instantly. My back seized up and shut down.

And after that sinking feeling suddenly occurred:

“Not again. It was so good.”

And me was do well It was about 2 years without a major flare-up, about 4x longer than my average for most of my 30s.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I deal back pain for over 20 years thanks to congenital spinal stenosis and previous injury. So I’ve gotten pretty good at reading the warning signs to know when I’ve pushed a little too hard and need to back off.

This time, he had noticed. I had been careful. And it still happens.

But here is what I want to share with you today.

When you’re in pain, or stuck, or feel like you’ve fallen off track—especially if it’s happened before—it’s so easy to feel like this is how it’s going to be from now on. Forever.

I see it with my coaching clients all the time. People dealing with chronic pain or conditions such as POTS or RA. But also people dealing with tendinitis, or a hard week at work that destroyed their workout streak, or a stressful stretch that threw them off track with food.

The thought sounds like:

“Here we go again. I can’t keep this up.”

But this is not true. That’s right it feels true at the moment.

The evidence almost always says something different. And that’s exactly why we need help finding our inner dialogue sometimes. Because left to its own devices, your brain will happily ignore any evidence that doesn’t match the “I’m doomed” story it’s telling.

Here is what I still remember (and what I will also tell you):

✅ I am more experienced in your situation than you realize.

At this point, you’ve found some things that help. Or, almost as valuable, you have found things that no help Either way, the pool of unknowns is shrinking. It’s progress, even if you don’t feel it.

For example, I know that I need short, repeated efforts of gentle movement throughout the day to help manage my pain and restore function. But that there is no “magical” exercise that does it, and that what my body needs every day will vary, so I have to be patient while I understand what feels good. today. At first, I felt lost and overwhelmed by this idea. Now, I know I just need to go through the process.

✅ Every flare-up taught me something.

Sometimes it is physical (a movement to avoid, a movement that helps). Sometimes it’s mental (a story I keep telling myself that doesn’t really serve me). Sometimes, it’s just more empathy for others dealing with chronic pain and challenges. Try to get away from each one with at least one new piece of the puzzle.

✅ You can’t rush it. You can’t force it.

This is the hardest for me. I want a timeline. I think it gives me a sense of certainty and control when I feel most vulnerable. But sometimes the most important step is to give up on the process and refuse to pile guilt, fear or anxiety on top of what is already a tough week.

But “surrender” does not mean “do nothing”.

You can’t face the process, but you can always find yours NAW – your Next Available Win.

It’s not the giant comeback plan. It’s not the “I’ll be 100% by next Monday” pressure. Just the next little thing you can do right now which interrupts the spiral.

For me, this week, the NAWs looked like:

• Adding on the heating pad
• Sending a message to my doctor
• Spending 5 minutes to the floor making some gentle movements
• I write in a journal the thoughts that are spinning so that I am not alone in my head 😅

Here we go. A few small things. None of them “fix” anything. But each one changed me being acted upon from the situation to take a small action in it.

Your NAW will look different depending on what you’re browsing:

• Out of track with food after a hard week? Your NAW can be writing an idea for your next meal, or return on a go eat when your time and energy are short.
• Did you miss a few workouts? Your NAW could be a 10-minute movement snack, not a full-on “I’ll double tomorrow” comeback. (This it almost always goes back.)
• In a mental spiral? Your NAW could be written, spoken to someone, or capture something simple from your Nutrition menu.

The flare-up is the flare-up. The story you tell yourself look up the flare-up – and the next little thing you choose to do – is where you really have control.

So if you’re going through a tough stretch right now, whether it’s pain, an injury, a derailed routine, or just a season where everything feels harder than it should – I know exactly how that feels.

This is not forever. You came back early. You will be back again.

what is yours next win available? 💪

You have this.

– Coach Matt

PS If you are navigating a flare-up or injury, Coach Damien he’s someone on our team that I trust who works with people on these things every day. Take our quick coaching quiz to see which one is good for you.