Own the Other 28 Days: Part 3
Scaling for Injury without Stalling Progress
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Injury is not the end of physical training, it’s a shift in priority. For Reserve soldiers, getting injured presents a unique challenge. Without the structured daily PT of active-duty life, it’s easy for injuries to sideline all physical training, not just the painful movement. But readiness doesn’t allow for zero progress. That’s where the “Other 28 Days” program becomes not just a general fitness plan, but a modular, scalable rehab-aligned system, especially when supported by an H2F Integrator (H2F-I) or performance-minded NCO.
Redefining Training While Injured
The foundational mindset shift is simple: injury doesn’t mean inactivity—it means modification. Whether a soldier is dealing with a knee injury, shoulder pain, or chronic low back dysfunction, the body still has systems that can be trained. And more importantly, a structured plan during injury recovery supports consistency, maintains mental focus, and keeps the soldier connected to their unit’s culture of accountability.
The “Other 28 Days” blueprint is particularly effective because it’s already built around functional training themes per week. When injury occurs, this format can be customized around what can be trained, not just what can’t.
Common Injury Categories and Modifications
1. Lower-Body Injuries (e.g., knee tendinopathy, ankle sprains, plantar fasciitis, shin splints):
Soldiers in this category should avoid high-impact or deep-loaded knee flexion. That includes stepping back from exercises like squats, jumping, rucking, or running, all of which can aggravate joints due to repetitive impact. In the cases of shin splints, ballistic movements such as sprinting, jumping, or even prolonged walking on hard surfaces should be paused to reduce tibial stress and allow soft tissue recovery. However, training should not stop (Horschig and Sonthana 2021).
Modified Focus:
Emphasize seated upper-body strength and core endurance to maintain total-body engagement.
Integrate non-weight-bearing conditioning such as the ski erg, shadowboxing intervals, or swimming to support cardiovascular fitness.
Use posterior chain exercises that minimize lower leg strain, including glute bridge variations, banded good mornings, bird dogs, and lateral band walks.
For shin splints specifically, include ankle mobility drills, toe yoga, and soft-tissue release for calves and anterior tibialis, alongside low-impact strength and breath training.
Goal: Maintain work capacity above the waist, preserve conditioning, and prevent total deconditioning while the lower extremity heals. Smart scaling also reduces the risk of compensatory injuries elsewhere.
2. Upper-Body Injuries (e.g., shoulder impingement, rotator cuff issues, wrist pain):
Avoid pressing, pulling, or overhead movements that create instability or pain. These soldiers often feel frustrated because many traditional exercises are now limited.
Modified Focus:
Prioritize lower-body strength: step-ups, Bulgarian split squats, wall sits, and glute bridge variations.
Focus endurance training around running, waist belt sled drags, and cardio machines as tolerated
Incorporate yoga and trunk control drills that avoid loading the shoulder (e.g., lunges with lateral band tension around the waist).
Goal: Maximize the injury-free areas of the body and use the downtime to develop leg strength, aerobic output, and hip mobility. This is a good time to get in Zone 2 cardio in a method that does not cause pain.
3. Low-Back Injuries (e.g., disc issues, SI joint dysfunction, chronic tightness):
Back pain can be one of the most frustrating and limiting barriers to tactical readiness. Whether caused by prolonged postural strain, repetitive loading, or acute trauma, low-back injuries tend to restrict movement confidence and can discourage soldiers from training entirely. But the key to recovery is not total rest, it’s restoring controlled function through strategic movement and progressive loading. See Where We Stand on Injury Prevention for more information.
Modified Focus:
Implement a rehab-informed structure that emphasizes core stabilization, breathwork, and posture retraining. Effective back recovery hinges on reestablishing motor control, not bracing harder or avoiding movement altogether.
Use a progression model with foundational exercises like bird dogs, dead bugs, glute bridges, side planks, and hollow holds. These build internal stability without provoking pain.
Incorporate mobility flows that unlock key contributing areas: tight hips, hamstrings, and thoracic spine often place excess strain on the lumbar region.
Avoid loaded spinal flexion (such as sit-ups or forward-folding squats), ballistic twisting, and high-impact activities like rucking in the early stages of healing.
The Role of Loading in Recovery
Contrary to the outdated belief that the back should be “protected” through rest alone, research and clinical experience now support gradual, appropriate tissue loading as a cornerstone of recovery. When done correctly, loading the spine and posterior chain can:
Promote nutrient delivery to intervertebral discs
Rebuild tissue tolerance to stress
Reinforce safe movement patterns under low-to-moderate intensity
Increase confidence in the soldier’s ability to move and perform
Glute bridges, hip hinges with bands, and bodyweight good mornings are all effective low-load strategies that prepare the back to eventually tolerate more dynamic or loaded movement. Avoiding load completely often leads to deconditioning, fear-avoidant behaviors, and further instability (George et al 2021).
Goal: Retrain spinal mechanics under control, maintain aerobic and core endurance, and gradually reintroduce tension in a way that restores durability, not just function. With smart modification and consistency, soldiers can recover stronger and with more awareness of how to maintain long-term back health.
The Role of the H2F Integrator (H2F-I)
This is where H2F-Is become indispensable. Whether at the unit level or attached to a brigade, the H2F Integrator can collaborate directly with injured soldiers to develop custom versions of the “Other 28 Days” plan. These modified programs can serve dual purposes:
As a performance preservation tool: Preventing loss of conditioning or strength during recovery.
As a home-based rehab framework: Supporting the soldier’s recovery and return-to-duty process in coordination with physical therapy or medical guidance.
By leveraging H2F-I expertise, units can ensure that injury doesn’t separate a soldier from the mission. Instead, it becomes an opportunity for education, refinement, and personal responsibility.
More Than Just “Getting By”
A properly scaled “Other 28 Days” plan doesn’t just maintain, it restores. With smart substitutions, the program becomes a progressive rehab template that builds strength where possible, restores mobility, and supports psychological readiness. Soldiers remain focused and aligned with their team, even when temporarily limited.
This approach also reinforces a core truth of training as a service member: you are always training something. If you can’t run, train your breath and your brain. If you can’t press, build your squat and your aerobic base. The model adapts. The mission continues.
Final Word: Readiness Doesn’t Pause for Pain
Injury is not failure, it’s feedback. The “Other 28 Days” program gives soldiers a roadmap that continues through recovery and out the other side. With the support of leaders and H2F-Is, it can be scaled, tailored, and deployed as a readiness strategy for every soldier, at every stage of recovery.
No matter your status, healthy, sore, or healing, you can still train with purpose. Injury doesn’t have to sideline momentum. It just requires a smarter route to the same destination: readiness.
Example of How to Modify a Base Program
Day 1 – Total-Body Strength A (Push + Hinge Emphasis)
Core Program:
Trap Bar Deadlift – 4×5
Dumbbell Bench Press – 4×6
Lat Pulldown or Band-Resisted Row – 3×10
Hamstring Curl Machine or Stability Ball Curls – 3×12
Weighted Plank or Cable Pallof Press – 3×30 sec
Injury Modifications:
Lower-Body Injuries:
Sub deadlift with Glute Bridges or Seated Hamstring Curls
Use machines or sled pushes instead of free compound lifts
Upper-Body Injuries:
Remove bench press; substitute with Wall Sit and Leg Press
Focus on single-leg work, sled pulls, and glute drive machine
Low-Back Injuries:
Replace deadlift with short-lever Glute Bridge or Hip Thrust Machine
Use supported DB bench (neutral grip) and avoid spinal load
Emphasize bracing with Pallof Press instead of loaded core lifts
Day 2 – Interval Conditioning (Anaerobic)
Core Options (Pick One):
Assault Bike or Rower: 30 sec sprint / 90 sec recovery × 8–10 rounds
Sled Push Intervals: 40m push × 6 sets with 60 sec rest
3–5 rounds:
10 KB Swings
10 Jump Squats
10 Burpees
Rest 90 seconds
Injury Modifications:
Lower-Body Injuries:
Replace with Ski Erg intervals or arms only Assault Bike
Use Seated Battle Ropes or Shadowboxing Rounds
Upper-Body Injuries:
Focus on incline treadmill sprints or sled pull with waist belt
Skip KB swings/burpees; sub stair sprint or bike
Low-Back Injuries:
Avoid swings or sled pushes if not cleared
Choose incline walk intervals or rower with upright posture
Maintain spinal alignment and avoid trunk rotation
Day 3 – Recovery + Low-Back Rehab
Core Recovery Flow (Low-Back Focus):
Supine Diaphragmatic Breathing – 5 min
Glute Bridge (feet on bench) – 3×12
Dead Bug (banded or weighted) – 3×10/side
Bird Dog (band-resisted or standard) – 3×10/side
Side Plank – 3×20–30 sec/side
90/90 Hip Mobility Flow – 2×30 sec
Psoas Stretch (bench-assisted) – 2×30 sec/side
Box Breathing + Light Walk – 5 min cool-down
Injury-Specific Adjustments:
Lower-Body Injuries:
Focus on breathwork, foam rolling, and trunk isometrics
Upper-Body Injuries:
Avoid loaded bird dogs or arm-supported planks
Emphasize walking and hip mobility
Low-Back Injuries:
Full protocol above applies
Focus on slow control and positional awareness
Day 4 – Total-Body Strength B (Squat + Pull Emphasis)
Core Program:
Barbell Front Squat or Leg Press – 4×5
Pull-Ups or Assisted Pull-Ups – 4×5–8
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift – 3×8
Standing Overhead Press or Seated DB Press – 3×10
Hanging Leg Raise or Cable Crunch – 3×15
Injury Modifications:
Lower-Body Injuries:
Use machine leg extensions, avoid deep squats
DB RDLs swapped for machine hamstring curls
Upper-Body Injuries:
Remove overhead press and pull-ups
Prioritize leg press, step-ups, and cable lateral lunges
Low-Back Injuries:
Replace RDL with glute bridge or lateral band walks, if they cause pain
Avoid heavy vertical loading; use goblet squat to box
Focus on neutral spine core (Paloff presses or planks)
Day 5 – Endurance Conditioning (Zone 2)
Core Options:
Treadmill Ruck: 3–5 miles @ 15–17 min/mile with 25–35 lb vest or ruck
Stationary Bike or Rower: 40–60 min steady state
Incline Walk or Hike: 45 min at Zone 2 heart rate
Injury Modifications:
Lower-Body Injuries:
Use a Ski Erg or an upright bike
Avoid rucking/running until cleared
Upper-Body Injuries:
Ruck with minimal upper-body involvement
Light jog, incline treadmill, or elliptical machine
Low-Back Injuries:
Upright treadmill walk
Avoid a ruck or run
Maintain posture, integrate nasal breathing, and log RPE
Sources
George, Steven Z., et al. "Interventions for the Management of Acute and Chronic Low Back Pain: Revision 2021." Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, vol. 51, no. 11, Nov. 2021, pp. CPG1–CPG60. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2021.0304.
Horschig, Aaron, and Kevin Sonthana. Rebuilding Milo: A Lifter's Guide to Fixing Common Injuries and Building a Strong Foundation for Enhancing Performance. Victory Belt Publishing, 2021.
Mark A. Christiani is a Tactical Strength, and Special Operations Army Veteran. He has human performance experience in the worksite wellness, collegiate and tactical settings. Mark holds a Master of Science in Sports Medicine from Georgia Southern University and several certifications, including CSCS and RSCC. Currently, he serves as an on-site Human Performance Specialist with the US Army Reserves. Mark's extensive background in research, coaching, and injury rehabilitation underscores his commitment to advancing the field of sports science and human performance.