Should You Push Through It? A Denver Athlete’s Guide to Interpreting Pain
Whether you're grinding through mile repeats in Wash Park, working through a lifting session at a gym near Broadway (that’s us!), hitting the back bowls in Summit County, or riding hero dirt at Buffalo Creek, one question comes up more than almost any other:
How do I know when to stop—and how do I know when it’s safe to start again?
This is one of the most common questions athletes ask when dealing with pain or returning to exercise after an injury. The uncertainty usually comes down to one thing: How much pain is okay during activity, and how much is too much?
To wrap your head around it, here’s an important mindset shift: pain is a signal, not always a stop sign. Pain is information your nervous system uses to get your attention. The goal is not necessarily to avoid every sensation of discomfort—it’s to learn how to interpret the signal and respond appropriately.
For athletes in Denver, understanding the difference between manageable discomfort and pain that requires you to stop can make returning to running, strength training, skiing, tennis, golf, or other sports feel much less confusing.
Athletes need a filter system
Every athlete experiences and interprets pain differently, so there is no perfect one-size-fits-all rule. What can help is a simple, flexible framework for monitoring symptoms during exercise.
A pain scale for exercise can help you sort symptoms into different zones and make better decisions in the moment instead of guessing.
Two easy ways to think about this framework are a traditional green-yellow-red pain scale and a more memorable “salsa scale.” Both provide a practical way to check in with your body during a workout, run, practice, or game.
The Three Pain Zones
🟢 Green Zone: “Mild” (0–4/10)
This is mild discomfort that you may not even describe as pain. Think of mild salsa: you notice the flavor, but it doesn't stop you from enjoying the meal.
On a 0–10 pain scale, this generally falls between 0 and 4 out of 10.
Whether you're squatting, deadlifting, running along the South Platte, or playing tennis, you may notice that something is there—but it does not significantly change the way you move.
What to do: For many athletes and situations, this level of discomfort can be acceptable to continue training or participating. Monitor your symptoms and make sure they remain manageable.
🟡 Yellow Zone: “Medium” (5–6/10)
This is the middle ground: discomfort has become more noticeable, typically around a 5 or 6 out of 10.
You can still move, but you may be less confident about whether continuing at the same intensity is a good idea.
What to do: Don't push blindly through this zone, but don't panic either. Use it as a cue to modify something.
You might adjust:
Your training intensity or effort level
Your range of motion
Your tempo
Your running pace
The distance or duration
The surface you're training on
The exercise itself
The goal is to see whether a small adjustment brings your symptoms back into the 0–4/10 green zone. If it does, continuing with that modification is a temporary solution.
🔴 Red Zone: “Hot” (7+/10)
This is pain around a 7 out of 10 or higher. At this level, pain often begins to noticeably affect how you move. You may start compensating, guarding the area, or changing your mechanics.
What to do: First, see whether modifying the activity brings your symptoms down. But if pain remains severe, continues to worsen, or significantly changes how you move, that is a strong signal to stop the activity.
Persistent or severe symptoms are not something to simply train through. This is when you get evaluated by a sports medicine professional to better understand what is going on.
How to Use This Framework During Exercise
Whether you prefer to think about green, yellow, and red zones, 0–4, 5–6, and 7+, or mild, medium, and hot salsa, the decision-making process is similar:
Symptoms are mild and under control? Continue with your sport or workout while monitoring how you feel.
Symptoms are becoming more noticeable or changing how you move? Modify your load, range of motion, tempo, pace, or another variable.
Pain remains severe, continues to worsen, or significantly affects your movement? Stop the activity and consider seeking professional guidance.
This approach can be especially useful for returning to sport after an injury. Instead of viewing every painful sensation as a reason to stop—or ignoring pain completely—you can use your symptoms to guide how you progress.
The Takeaway for Denver Athletes
Denver's athletes do everything—from altitude training and weekend fourteener attempts to skiing, trail running, cycling, strength training, and year-round rec league. This means many athletes regularly face the question of whether to push through a nagging symptom or back off.
A simple pain-monitoring framework can help you make more confident decisions about exercise, injury recovery, and returning to sport.
It won't replace a proper evaluation for symptoms that are severe, persistent, worsening, or concerning. But it can give you a practical and repeatable way to check in with your body before your next run, lift, game, or adventure.
The goal isn't just to get through today's workout. It's to make smart decisions that help keep you active and doing the sports you love for the long run.