What I’d Do If I Woke Up Out of Shape, Injured, and Had to Compete in 90 Days

Let’s say you woke up today and realized the next big tournament, vacation, or important event is in just 90 days…
But you’re out of shape. You’ve been dealing with nagging injuries. Your sleep sucks, energy is low, and motivation? MIA.

What now?

This isn’t hypothetical.

In fact, this is exactly the approach I followed when I broke my collarbone two years ago and found myself in a rough spot.

I had 12 weeks to rehab my body and get ready for a week long snowboard trip with my snowboard coach.

What happened?
I got in the best shape I’d been in for over a decade — and I've stayed there. This was not the old yo-yo cycle that actually crushes gainz.

Here’s exactly what I’d do again if I had to start from scratch today:

Watch the Full Video Training, HERE

1. Rebuild Recovery Before You Chase Performance

Rebuild the Recovery Backbone First

Most people sprint into HIIT the second they panic about a short timeline. I get it — 90 days feels fast. But if you're injured, under-recovered, and out of shape, that approach won’t just stall progress — it’ll make things worse.

I'd start by rebuilding my recovery backbone:

• Dial in sleep to lower your stress hormone cortisol and support hormonal balance with a natural increase of growth hormone & testosterone in the early part of your sleep cycle.

• Daily walking and low-intensity aerobic work to reduce inflammation, restore blood flow, and reset the nervous system (incline walks, airbike, rower) to improve aerobic efficiency and build adaptable capacity without draining recovery reserves.

Why? Because recovery is a performance skill. And if you’re living in a sympathetic (stressed) state, you’re not getting the deep recovery your body needs to heal or adapt.

In fact, in the first few hours of sleep, your body releases its most powerful healing hormones — growth hormone and melatonin. But if you're wired, inflamed, and overstimulated, those hormones never show up. So you:

• Wake up more tired,

• Struggle to recover,

• And can’t adapt to even moderate training.

Even if you train hard, you won't get better — because your body isn't in a state to rebuild. Recovery isn't the reward after you train… it's the foundation that makes training work.

2. Fix the Food — and Stop Guessing

The biggest mistake people make is going back to the same meal plan, challenge, or “clean eating” reset that didn’t work before.

Instead, I’d start by identifying what hasn’t worked — and eliminate it.

From there, I’d build a personalized food protocol based on:

• Digestibility (what your body can absorb so your body can recover to adapt)

• Inflammation (what makes your symptoms worse - I mean, you're already either injured or out of shape...so inflammation is not helping you)

• Daily output and training load & which fuel sources

The goal?
Get rid of the food that’s secretly wrecking your recovery, sleep, and gut — while dialing in the exact meals that restore energy and support fat loss without making you feel like you’re white-knuckling every day.

3. Know Your Numbers — So You Can Actually Improve

Yes, you can do this intuitively. But when the timeline is tight?
Speed comes from data.

That’s why I use a Metabolic S.P.E.E.D. profile with every client — to pinpoint:

• What’s under stress

• How well they’re sleeping

• What recovery actually looks like (not just what it feels like)

Here’s what I’d track daily and weekly:

• InBody or Hume Scan: Fat, muscle, water — real body composition

• Resting HR & HRV: Are you in a stressed state or a ready state?

• Training Load: Volume and intensity over time

• SPEED Score: My proprietary method to track sleep, psych stress, environment, exercise, and diet all in one place

Data is the fastest way to clarity. And clarity builds confidence.
No more guessing. No more spinning your wheels.

Watch the Full Video Training, HERE

4. Train Full-Body — But Adjust for Injuries

Training to get back on track, especially going through injury doesn’t mean ignoring it — it means being strategic.

I’d do a quick assessment to figure out:

• What movements cause flare-ups?

• Which patterns can still be trained pain-free?

• Are there machines, holds, or tempo changes that keep stimulus high without risk?

Examples:

• Back pain? Trade compound hip dominant lifts for machine or medball hamstring curls giving you knee flexion over hip hinging.

• Knee injury? Swap deep squats or knee dominant focus for lunge variations that can be more individualized L/R for compensatory patterns & better progress

• Upper body issues? Use machines, bands, and controlled eccentrics with proper correctives. Adjust the angle, load, and range of motion to be consistent in your training without set backs.

And I’d focus on full-body training splits.
Why?

Because they reduce daily soreness by reducing daily volume. They spread volume across the week, and keep recovery manageable — especially when you're trying to stay consistent without overtraining.

5. Stack Accountability and Precision

90 days means the margin for error is small.

This is where most people either double down or fall off.
They try to go hard — but with loose systems and no feedback loops, they burn out.

The smarter path?
Precision.
Tight tracking.
Quick Adjustments based on your progress.
And regular check-ins to upgrade your protocol & keep you on track.

Because when time is short, results go to the ones who are dialed in — not just motivated.

If this is where you’re at right now — or if you’re trying to coach someone back to high-level performance with the clock ticking — this is the blueprint.

✅ Reduce inflammation
✅ Restore recovery
✅ Adjust training to your body
✅ Track with accuracy
✅ Execute consistently

That’s what I do inside every program using my Metabolic SPEED method.

Want help with building your 90-day comeback plan?

Take my quick Performance Assessment HERE and get clarity on exactly how to get off the sidelines & back in the game - without creating new set backs!

You’ve got the window. Now let’s get after it.