Coach Alex Stiger recently had surgery on her finger to repair a ligament she tore when she accidentally smashed it on a hold while bouldering. I also just had surgery on my wrist (same surgeon, one month apart), so we’ve been in almost daily communication about our progress, frustrations, and small victories as we recover.

Between the two of us, we’ve had a handful of pretty serious injuries, so we thought we’d discuss how we’ve dealt with those setbacks and the lessons we’ve learned along the way. It can be difficult to stay motivated and take care of yourself when all you really want to be doing is climbing. It can feel sort of like punishment sometimes, but the main things to remember are that you’ll get through it and you can (usually) become just as strong or stronger than you were pre-injury. In the meantime, we’ll tell you how we have learned to honestly enjoy being injured sometimes.

Alex Stiger is a Certified Personal Trainer, Sports Performance Coach, and Head Coach at Movement Climbing + Fitness in Boulder Colorado. Alex spends most of her week working with clients of all levels and ages to help them reach their climbing goals. She has climbed 5.13d and is working towards her goal of climbing 5.14. If you’d like to work with her doing remote coaching, you can find more info on that at www.trainingbeta.com/alex.

• Brief overview of our injuries

• Work with Alex as your coach