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Training
A passing ache: spare the area, then ease back in
When you report pain in your knee, back or shoulder, Azetta replaces the exercises that load the area and lets the rest of your body train, then brings those exercises back over three weeks: 70%, 85%, then 95% of the loads.
6 min read Updated October 9, 2026
The principle
A passing pain — a knee that pulls after a hike, a back that locks up while carrying a box — doesn't mean you have to stop everything. Azetta does two simple things: while the discomfort lasts, it spares the area and lets the rest of your body train as planned; when you say it's better, it gradually brings back the exercises for that area over three weeks.
The app makes no diagnosis and is no substitute for care: if the pain persists or is sharp, see a health professional.
The Azetta method
1. What you report
- The area: knee, back, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, ankle or neck.
- The side: left, right, both, or not specified.
- The intensity: light, moderate or strong.
- Since when (today, yesterday or another day), and a note if you like.
The discomfort counts from that day until you tap "It's better". If the same area is reported twice, the stronger of the two counts.
2. The exercises that load the area
The rule is the same as for a long-term injury declared in your profile: an exercise loads the area according to the movement it requires.
| Area | Exercises concerned (examples) |
|---|---|
| Knee | jumps and plyometrics, lunges, pistol squats, split squats, step-ups, full squats, hack squats, Olympic lifting |
| Back | deadlifts, good mornings, bent-over rows, back extensions, cleans, snatches, sit-ups, ab wheel |
| Shoulder | behind-the-neck work, upright rows, dips, snatches, overhead squats and lunges, handstands, hangs |
| Elbow | lying or cable triceps extensions, preacher curls, dips, close-grip bench press, chin-ups |
| Wrist | push-ups, handstands, front squats, cleans, snatches, wrist curls, reverse curls, mountain climbers, burpees, dips |
| Hip | plyometrics, full or deep squats, pistol squats, Cossack squats, sumo, lunges, split squats, adductors, abductors |
| Ankle | plyometrics, jumps, bounds, calf raises, pistol squats, lunges, step-ups, sprints, burpees |
| Neck | shrugs, behind-the-neck work, neck training, upright rows, headstands, handstands, sit-ups |
With strong discomfort, the app also spares the exercises whose main muscle surrounds the area:
| Area | Muscles also spared |
|---|---|
| Shoulder | shoulders |
| Elbow | biceps, triceps |
| Wrist | forearms |
| Back | lower back |
| Hip | glutes, adductors, abductors |
| Knee | quadriceps |
| Ankle | calves |
| Neck | neck, traps |
3. Replace, or remove
For each exercise that loads a limited area, the app looks for the closest one for the same main muscle: the same type of movement (compound or isolation) where possible, with your equipment, not already in the session and loading no limited area. The session shows the reason ("Adapted to your pain: A → B"). If nothing fits, the exercise is removed.
- Warm-up sets and stretches that load the area are removed, never replaced.
- A superset that loses one of its exercises goes back to being a series of single exercises.
- Runs are not changed.
- If you report discomfort during a session, the app shows you the remaining exercises that load the area and lets you choose: adapt the session, or keep it as is.
4. Easing back in
When you tap "It's better", the exercises for the area come back over three weeks, starting that day:
| Return week | Loads | Sets |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70% | one fewer (never fewer than one) |
| 2 | 85% | as planned |
| 3 | 95% | as planned |
| after that | 100% | as planned |
For the return, the app takes the broad rule: the exercises of the movement concerned and those of the muscles surrounding the area. Loads are rounded down to the exercise's load step, without going below one step. If the discomfort comes back, report it again: the area is spared once more.
Why this choice
- Spare without stopping. The Bern consensus describes return to sport as a gradual continuum, from return to participation through to return to performance, rather than an abrupt switch from rest to full training (Ardern et al., 2016). So the app keeps everything that doesn't load the area, and brings the rest back in stages.
- Come back in steps. Sudden increases in training load are associated with more injuries, whereas a load that rises gradually is better tolerated (Gabbett, 2016). Hence three weeks of return rather than going straight back to your previous loads.
- Cautious steps. The values of 70%, 85% and 95%, and the one set fewer in the first week, are the app's own choice, deliberately cautious: no study sets these figures for every kind of discomfort.
- A rule per movement rather than per muscle: it's the movement (a jump, a lunge, a deep bend, weight on the wrist) that stresses the joint. Keeping the other exercises for the same muscle lets you keep training it; strong discomfort widens the rule to the neighbouring muscles.
Limits
- The app doesn't know where your pain comes from: it makes no diagnosis. Pain that is sharp, that lasts, that swells, that wakes you at night or that comes with other signs calls for medical advice.
- The list of exercises concerned is based on the name and type of the movement: it may spare one too many or let through one that bothers you. You can always replace an exercise yourself.
- The app doesn't know how you feel during the exercise: if an exercise hurts, stop it.
- Runs are not adapted: it's up to you to judge whether you can run.
References
- Ardern CL, Glasgow P, Schneiders A, et al. 2016 Consensus statement on return to sport from the First World Congress in Sports Physical Therapy, Bern. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016;50(14):853-864.
- Gabbett TJ. The training-injury prevention paradox: should athletes be training smarter and harder? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016;50(5):273-280.