A quick two-minute read:
Whether you're training for a marathon, coming back from an injury or just want to keep up with your kids, your exercises should be taking you somewhere.
A runner trains for the demands of running.
A tradie needs strength that lasts a full day on the tools.
Someone coming back from injury needs to close the gap between where they are now and what they want to get back to.
The exercises look different. The principle is the same: know where you're going before you decide how to get there.
That's why one of the first things I ask in an initial assessment is what you're working towards. Running again? Getting through a workday without your back stiffening up? Lifting your kids without thinking twice? Your answer shapes the questions I ask, the movements I test and what we build. Without a destination, we're just choosing exercises. With one, we're building a plan.
From there, I work backwards. Most goals come down to a handful of movement patterns. Running needs single-leg strength and the ability to absorb force. Lifting a toddler needs a squat, a hinge and a strong trunk. We test where you are on each one and compare it with where your goal needs you. That gap becomes the plan.
Then we build a ladder between the two. Every exercise is a rung. After a knee injury, that might mean a supported lunge, then a full lunge, then a loaded lunge, then jumping and landing. Each rung builds the strength and confidence you need for the next. When you know which rung you're on, you know why you're doing that exercise.
And you'll know when you're done. Your goal is the finish line, not the day the pain settles. When you can do what you came in wanting to do, and we've tested it rather than guessed, you're ready to keep training on your own.
Got a few more minutes? Keep reading.
Every plan starts with three questions.
Where are you now?
Where does your goal need you?
What's the gap, and what closes it?
We ask them about range of movement, strength, endurance, balance and control, and your ability to jump and land. Not every goal needs all of them. A 10 km run asks a lot of your calves and your endurance. Getting down to the floor and back up to play with your grandkids asks more of your range and your legs. Breaking the goal down tells us which ones matter for you.
The ladder has an order. We think of it as Pain, Movement, Control, Strength, Capacity, Performance. Early on, the job is settling things down and getting you moving comfortably. Then we rebuild control and strength. The top rungs bring back speed, power and the things you actually love doing. How fast you climb depends on how your body responds, not a date on the calendar. Some people move quickly. Some rungs take longer. Both are normal.
Don't just train the sore bit. Even when rehab is very specific, we look at the whole body around it. Front and back. Left and right. Pushing and pulling. Squatting and hinging. When one area can't share the load, something else ends up copping it. So if you spend your working day pushing, lifting or reaching forward, your program will probably include more pulling and more work for the muscles you use less. The aim isn't to make both sides match exactly. It's a body that can share the load you put on it.
Measure, don't guess. Feeling better is important, but it doesn't tell us whether your strength and control are back. We test early, set a baseline and retest regularly so you can see your progress, not just feel it. We also take your pain, your confidence and what you're getting back to doing seriously, because what you tell us matters as much as the numbers. If progress stalls, that's useful information too. It tells us to look again and adjust the plan. We've written more about this in Why Does My Pain Keep Coming Back?
Ask what each exercise is for. Every exercise in your program should have a reason to be there, and you should know what it is. A fair question to ask your physio is: "Which rung is this, and what comes next?" Once an exercise has done its job, it gets progressed or replaced with the next step up. We've explained how we decide what goes into a program in Rehab Is Strength Training.
A good rehab program has a starting point, a destination and a clear path between them. Rehab has a finish line. Training doesn't. The goal is to leave with the strength, knowledge and confidence to keep doing what matters to you.
Ready to Train With a Purpose?
At By Design Physiotherapy & Strength in North Hobart, we start with what you want to get back to, test where you are now and build the steps in between.
Book a physiotherapy assessment to find your starting point and map out a clear plan.
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About This Article
Author: Marissa Seeley, Physiotherapist and Co-Founder
Clinic: By Design Physiotherapy & Strength, North Hobart, Tasmania
Publication date: 13 November 2026
Last reviewed: 13 November 2026
By Design Clinical Framework
Comprehensive Rehabilitation (where you are now, where your goal needs you, and the gap between) and the recovery stages Pain, Movement, Control, Strength, Capacity and Performance are internal frameworks used within By Design Physiotherapy & Strength to organise clinical reasoning and rehabilitation planning.
These are internal clinical frameworks, not independently validated assessment tools.
References:
Levack WMM, Weatherall M, Hay-Smith EJC, Dean SG, McPherson K, Siegert RJ. (2015). Goal setting and strategies to enhance goal pursuit for adults with acquired disability participating in rehabilitation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 7, Art. No. CD009727. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD009727.pub2.
Currier BS, D'Souza AC, Singh MAF, et al. (2026). American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance training prescription for muscle function, hypertrophy, and physical performance in healthy adults: an overview of reviews. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 58(4), 851–872. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003897.
Ardern CL, Glasgow P, Schneiders A, et al. (2016). 2016 Consensus statement on return to sport from the First World Congress in Sports Physical Therapy, Bern. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(14), 853–864. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2016-096278.
This is general information only. If you're managing pain or an injury, speak with your physio about what's right for you.
