For athletes # When a sore back gets in your head The back is sore. Training is the thing you actually care about. The hard part is walking into the session anyway. By [the Remedy team](https://remedyrecoveries.com/about#editorial) · Published October 23, 2026 · 3 min read · 3 sources On this page - [The session you keep almost skipping](#the-session-you-skip) - [Keep the body in it](#keep-the-body-in-it) - [The part that is actually mental](#the-head-side) - [What this is not](#what-this-is-not) - [Questions](#questions) - [Sources](#sources) Key takeaways - For someone who trains, a sore back is often a head problem as much as a back problem: trusting the next session. - Staying active still matters. The routine has to be short enough that a bad day does not cancel the week. - Mental practice is a separate skill from the exercises, and it is one athletes can train on purpose. ## The session you keep almost skipping If you train, a sore back rarely stays in the back. It shows up as the warm-up you cut short, the set you talk yourself out of, and the week where “I’ll start again Monday” becomes the plan. The exercises are not the mystery. Showing up while you are still thinking about the last tweak is. That is a normal athlete problem, and it is not fixed by another stretch video. Guidelines still say to stay active for low back pain [1], and the research on exercise is broadly supportive [2]. None of that helps on the morning you do not trust the first rep. [Sore back after the gym](https://remedyrecoveries.com/guides/sore-back-after-gym) covers how to tell ordinary soreness from a tweak. This page is about the part that happens after you already know you should move. ## Keep the body in it Most back pain has no single structural cause an exercise is supposed to fix [3]. For someone who lifts, runs, or plays, the useful version of that is practical: change the load, keep the pattern that does not hurt, and do not turn one sharp day into a month off. A short session you will actually finish beats the perfect one you skip. [How long to stick with a back routine](https://remedyrecoveries.com/guides/how-long-to-stick-with-a-back-routine) is the timeline. Think weeks, and expect a few ugly days inside them. - **One session, already chosen.** Deciding what to do is where a tired athlete stalls. - **Short enough for a bad day.** If it only works when you feel good, it will not survive a season. - **A hinge you trust.** Light, pain-free reps of a [hip hinge](https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/bodyweight-hip-hinge) are often the way back in, long before the working weight is. ## The part that is actually mental Trusting a lift again, walking into practice while the back still feels off, and not spiraling the first time it twinges: that is a skill, and it is a different skill from the bird dog. Athletes already know how to train a body on a schedule. The mind gets less of a plan, which is why a sore back turns into a story about being fragile. If the head is the part quitting The lessons for that side live in a different app, built with [mental performance coaches](https://relentlesstough.com/coaches/) who already work with athletes. It is not a back program. It is practice for the part of training your back cannot do for you. The moment that usually breaks is not the easy rep in the gym. It is the one that counts, when the back still feels off and everything tightens. [What to do when your heart is already racing](https://relentlesstough.com/learn/pre-race-nerves/) is the same problem, just before a start line instead of a hinge. Some athletes are fine in training and fall apart once it matters. A sore back does that too: the movement you own in a quiet room feels different the day you have to trust it. [Why skills shrink under pressure](https://relentlesstough.com/learn/better-in-practice-than-games/) is worth reading if that is the gap you keep hitting. The lessons themselves follow a sport-psychology approach called mindfulness-acceptance-commitment: notice the nerves, let them be there, and do the next action anyway. [How that approach works, and what the studies show](https://relentlesstough.com/learn/mac-approach/), is the longer version. A few minutes is the right size. A lecture will not survive a bad week any better than a 40-minute back routine will. ## What this is not A mindset does not replace a clinician. Pain with numbness, weakness, or after a fall needs a person. [When to see a doctor](https://remedyrecoveries.com/guides/when-to-see-a-doctor-for-back-pain) lists the warning signs. Remedy’s sessions are fitness guidance for the back. The other app is mental performance training, which [researchers define more narrowly than the slogan](https://relentlesstough.com/learn/mental-toughness/). Neither one is treatment, and neither one is therapy. [Who built it, and why](https://relentlesstough.com/about/), is a separate story from this one. ## Exercises in this guide [Core and stability ### Bird dog exercise From your hands and knees, you reach one arm forward and the opposite leg back while keeping your back still. No equipment · Beginner](https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/bird-dog) [Glutes and hips ### Glute bridge Lying on your back with knees bent, you drive through your heels to lift your hips. No equipment · Beginner](https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/glute-bridge) [Strength ### Hip hinge Bending forward by pushing your hips back while your spine stays long. No equipment · Beginner](https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/bodyweight-hip-hinge) ## Questions ### Should I stop training if my back is sore? Usually no, if it is ordinary soreness and you can change the load. Keep the sessions that do not provoke it. Pain with numbness, weakness, or after an injury needs a clinician, not another workout. ### Where do athletes practice the mental side? In a separate app, not in Remedy. The people who write the lessons are [listed with their programs](https://relentlesstough.com/coaches/). It is not a back pain program and not medical care. ## When to see someone instead of using an app Get medical care, not an exercise routine, if you have back pain with any of these: - Numbness or tingling around your genitals or buttocks - Trouble peeing, or loss of bladder or bowel control - Numbness, tingling, or weakness in one or both legs that is getting worse - Back pain after a fall, car accident, or other injury - A fever, or feeling unwell, along with back pain - Unexplained weight loss, or a history of cancer - Pain that is severe, constant, and gets worse at night or when lying down - Pain that keeps getting worse over several weeks instead of better [More on the warning signs](https://remedyrecoveries.com/guides/when-to-see-a-doctor-for-back-pain) ## Sources - [Low back pain and sciatica in over 16s: assessment and management (NG59)](https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng59). National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2016, updated 2020. - Hayden JA, et al. [Exercise therapy for chronic low back pain](https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD009790.pub2). *Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews*. 2021;CD009790. - Hartvigsen J, et al. [What low back pain is and why we need to pay attention](https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30480-X). *The Lancet*. 2018;391(10137):2356-2367. This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. [How we write our guides](https://remedyrecoveries.com/about#editorial). Keep reading ## Related guides [Guide ### Sore back after the gym Normal soreness vs a tweak, and how to keep training without guessing.Read the guide](https://remedyrecoveries.com/guides/sore-back-after-gym)[Guide ### How long to stick with a routine Why a back routine is measured in weeks, and what progress looks like.Read the guide](https://remedyrecoveries.com/guides/how-long-to-stick-with-a-back-routine)[Guide ### When to see a doctor The warning signs that mean you need medical care, not an exercise routine.Read the guide](https://remedyrecoveries.com/guides/when-to-see-a-doctor-for-back-pain) ## Get a back program you can actually keep Free to download on the App Store. Answer a few questions and your first session is ready in minutes. [](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/remedy-back-pain-relief/id6813745106)[Read the guides](https://remedyrecoveries.com/guides/) --- Source: https://remedyrecoveries.com/guides/mental-side-of-a-sore-back Remedy is a fitness and wellness app, not medical care.