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Rebuilding Milo: A Lifter's Guide to Fixing Common Injuries and Building a Strong Foundation for Enhancing Performance

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Every athlete who spends time in the weight room eventually deals with pain/injury that leaves them frustrated and unable to reach their highest potential. Every athlete ought to have the ability to take the first steps at addressing these minor injuries. They shouldn’t have to wait weeks for a doctor’s appointment, only to be prescribed pain medications and told to “take two weeks off lifting” or, even worse, to “stop lifting so heavy.” Dr. Aaron Horschig knows your pain and frustration. He’s been there. For over a decade, Dr. Horschig has been a competitive weightlifter, and he understands how discouraging it is to tweak your back three weeks out from a huge weightlifting competition, to have knee pain limit your ability to squat heavy for weeks, and to suffer from chronic shoulder issues that keep you from reaching your goals.

Rebuilding Milo is the culmination of Dr. Horschig’s life’s work as a sports physical therapist, certified strength and conditioning specialist, and Olympic weightlifting coach. It contains all of the knowledge he has amassed over the past decade while helping some of the best athletes in the world. Now he wants to share that knowledge with you. This book, designed by a strength athlete for anyone who spends time in the weight room, is the solution to your struggles with injury and pain. It walks you through simple tests and screens to uncover the movement problem at the root of your pain. After discovering the cause of your injury, you’ll be able to create an individualized rehab program as laid out in this book. Finally, you’ll be on the right path to eliminate your pain and return to the activities you love.

400 pages, Hardcover

Published January 19, 2021

714 people are currently reading
2440 people want to read

About the author

Aaron Horschig

2 books36 followers

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
Profile Image for Andre.
409 reviews13 followers
January 3, 2022
I have a lot of training related books. So rather than buy this I thought I'd read the library's copy. Better than forking out $65 for it if it turns out not to be that great. After all I already have Supple Leopard so why would I need another rehab related book?

This is excellent. It breaks things down from a weightlifting and gym point of view. E.g. the ankle section talks about Achilles tendon issues, not sprained ankles, because that's normally what you see in iron related issues. It goes into the anatomy of various joints (hips, ankles, knees, shoulders, wrists). Then into how to screen for problems, how to recover and repair, then how to return to full function. I wish I had this book 10 years ago.

So it looks like I'll be owning another training book! I have a suspicion I'll be revisiting it many times over the years.
Profile Image for Matthew Lindow.
25 reviews
August 9, 2021
Clear and concise information, is what I love about this book. Is it a comprehensive PT textbook? No. What it is, is common lifters problems explained in plain english along with self-diagnostic tools, PT exercise and rehab. It's been invaluable to me, as an Olympic lifter and CrossFitter - to head off and fix soft tissue injuries before they become something much larger. Buy this book!
Profile Image for Wendy.
82 reviews
May 21, 2025
If I gave this book five stars I would be a big ol nerd
Profile Image for PsychoSchematics.
135 reviews11 followers
September 7, 2024
Only through the first chapter on back injury and very impressed with the clear, substantive content. I didn't get the book due to an injury but to avoid future ones.

Another source I have been studying also teaches the specifics of how to lift but lacks the precision of the mechanics behind "why" and doesn't offer "recovery" guidance.

Not watered down but communicated with depth, examples, and metaphors to get the point across. Great photos, images, and diagrams. At first blush, this book would appear to be for professional or competitive power lifters. I'm finding it (way too late in my journey) perfect for my health and longevity based weightlifting. I was an educated/schooled military fitness trainer back in the 90s. The field has evolved since then. Should be required reading for any instructor who directs their athletes to the gym for supplemental training. These authors are talented teachers.
Profile Image for Nikitas Spyrliadis.
1 review
March 12, 2023
One of the best books in the field of Sports Rehabilitation that I've ever read. Very straightforward, illustrative, and organized.

Takeaway Messages:

Don't overemphasize on the Diagnosis and the Symptoms, but on the cause of the problem.

Common Steps for Rehab:

1)Remove Movement/Postures that Provoke pain
2) Use Soft Tissue/ and Joint Mobilization
3) Isometrics
4) Continue with Isotonics (Slow Reps Initially)
5) Sport Specific Movements
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ravi Sinha.
321 reviews11 followers
December 16, 2021
As a hobby athlete who wants to train for longevity as much as for any other physical results, I have become very interested in recovery and rehab. This is a fantastic book by a marvelous practitioner and teacher that clarifies a lot of finer points about fixing common injuries and building a strong physical foundation.
Profile Image for Стойчо Добрев.
11 reviews
December 18, 2021
Може би най-добрата книга свързана с контузиите във фитнес средите. ❤
Profile Image for Henry Barry.
Author 1 book24 followers
June 7, 2023
An insightful book that goes joint by joint through common injuries and ways to fix them. I learned a good amount and am happy I read it. My only complaint is that I think the book deserves a final chapter with warmups and stretches we should do regularly to keep everything working smoothly. I felt overwhelmed by the number of exercises he gave - this was a physical therapy book - and am not sure where I would start to prevent future injuries, since I don't have time to do every exercise for every joint before my workouts.
34 reviews2 followers
August 31, 2023
Fantastic hands-on book on how to treat and recover from injuries. It covers from A-Z on how to screen and handle the most common injuries in the weightlifting world. It always goes to the source of the problem and treats injuries in a holistic way, by taking into account the movements that provoke the problems and addressing not only the manifested injury, but also the other joints that could be contributing to the problem.

It really goes by the motto, "Treat the person, not the injury". Every lifter should read this book.
Profile Image for Tara.
457 reviews3 followers
August 2, 2022
This book is fantastic. Not the type of book you just read straight through. Do the work and progress alongside it. I have been referencing it and reading it for the past 9 months while lifting weights with functional fitness 5 days a week. Dr. Horschig is so knowledgeable and I will always look to him first for injury recovery. My husband also references it and as a PA is very well versed in Sports Medicine and PT. The very best thing you can do for an injury is keep moving!
Profile Image for Nalina.
22 reviews
April 1, 2023
Excellent resource for rehab and prevention. I’ve been following Squat University online for years, and have been able to avoid surgery and discontinue ongoing chiropractic services that were never truly effective in long term care for sports-related injuries and injuries cause by repeated lifting movements with incorrect form. Combined with some solid weightlifting coaching, this is an invaluable tool.
142 reviews
March 24, 2025
This is a solid book for anyone who lifts or plays sports, trains/rehabs people who lift or play sports, or are just interested in the topic. I think the author makes very good points. The author does attempt to make it evidence-based and lists many references though not all of them are rigorous scientific articles. As a book as food for thought, it's great. This clearly isn't meant to be a textbook. Worth giving a read for athletes or those who are in one of the above demographics.
Profile Image for Mark.
32 reviews
January 12, 2022
Very clear tests to self-diagnose many of the nagging issues for us Geezer-Jocks! More thorough than any doctor or PT that I've been to and the exercises and rolling/stretching exercises he specifies have gotten directly to the knee issues that I've been having on the bike (that really are hip and ankle issues that are causing the knee pain!)
Profile Image for kiyana.
79 reviews1 follower
January 30, 2023
As a personal trainer & kines grad with previous injuries/ailments of my own, I was so grateful for the clear explanation of common symptoms and injuries when under a barbell. I’ve followed Aaron on IG (@squatuniversity) for years and finally dove into this book. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys weightlifting and wants to do it for as long as possible.
Profile Image for Erik Hauser.
4 reviews
May 17, 2021
A WORTHWILE GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE RECOVERY

In this book, you can find racional approaches to understand, solve, consciously recover from injuries and first and foremost, how to avoid needless injuries during your workouts. THANK YOU!
3 reviews
January 2, 2023
This literally fixed all my lifting related problems and I'm now helping others fix their problems! Amazing book, especially with the in-depth explanation on why things to wrong and actually having ways to fix them!
Profile Image for Nan.
1,010 reviews7 followers
February 1, 2021
Excellent for anyone, not just weight lifters. Lots of exercises and explanations to help eliminate pain and get stronger.
4 reviews
February 25, 2021
User friendly

Dr. Horshig makes the evaluation and treatment of injuries simple. You don't have to be a Doctor or a PT to benefit from this book.
Profile Image for Pedro000072.
15 reviews25 followers
September 18, 2021
Great book, if you are interested in sports this book must be really healthful !!
Profile Image for Emilio.
15 reviews
December 3, 2021
GReat info. Not a book you read and re-read but more like one you keep nearby for when you need it.
2 reviews
May 30, 2022
Incredible book, a must read for any practicing personal trainer or PT. It’s a goldmine for anyone with any lifting experience and will take your understanding to the next level.
Profile Image for KY.
574 reviews5 followers
June 15, 2022
Great book!! very informative .
need to work alongside with the book, it's not the kind of book that you just read!
12 reviews
September 23, 2022
A staple for the aspiring weight lifter
RICE works in cases of inflammation and swelling but teaching the body how to move again is what Aaron describes very well.
Profile Image for Alison.
1,421 reviews8 followers
February 4, 2023
I skimmed through this book, but I made some notes for fixes especially for next time I have an injury.
Profile Image for James Tharpe.
96 reviews5 followers
March 5, 2023
Great book, I just wish it covered more

This book is very easy to understand, and practical to apply in many situations. My only complaint is that I wish it covered more.
38 reviews
March 18, 2023
Straight to the point and amazingly helpfull, any significant lifting pain can be solved using this book.
Profile Image for Tihomir.
16 reviews
March 21, 2023
Great user manual to repare your body with proper explanation how to perform lifts safely. Great book Aaron, thanks.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews

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