The superhuman ability to shrug off pain like an oversized jacket might seem like the domain of athletes—remember Keri Strug’s unbelievable one-legged vault in the ’96 Olympics?—but a new study in the journal Pain shows that anyone can boost their pain tolerance.  

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After analyzing 15 studies of athletes around the world, researchers from the University of Heidelberg found that professional athletes do indeed have a higher tolerance for pain than non-athletes. But everyone’s pain threshold—which is the point at which pain is first felt—was reached at roughly the same time. In other words, the pros feel the burn just like you do, they just deal with it differently.

How? They power through it.

This may be a tough sell for chronic-pain sufferers, but rethinking what your body can—and can’t—handle is important. “A lot of people are under the misconception that when you’re sick, you’re supposed to just lie in bed and face the wall,” says Wendye Robbins, MD, clinical associate professor at the Stanford University Pain Management Center. “But when they exercise,” she says, “it makes them forget about their chronic pain.”

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Here’s how to get yourself moving—even if you have persistent aches and pains:

Consult the pros. Working with a physical therapist is key, since you might not know how to exercise—or even what type of exercise is best for your issues—without aggravating injuries, says Dr. Robbins. Your physical therapist can craft you a game plan for the gym when you’re on your own.

Start small. Don’t feel like you have to target the area that hurts—your back, say—to feel better. Exercising releases feel-good endorphins, says Dr. Robbins, which can help ease the pain all over. Start with simple exercises that target the less painful parts of your body, she says.

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If there’s no pain, there’s no gain. Starting to exercise when you have chronic pain probably will hurt at first—but you have to try to push past it. Why? There’s no other way to evaluate progress, says Dr. Michael Leong, clinic chief of the Stanford Pain Management Center. “Oftentimes, patients feel, ‘If you just take away my pain, then I’ll move,’ ” says Dr. Leong. But you don’t know exactly what’s going to help with the pain until they start moving, he says.

Make it social time. Work out with a buddy, especially one who has the same kinds of pain issues as you do, says Dr. Robbins. “It always helps to have someone to work out with and match your goals against,” she says. Having someone there to encourage you to keep going—especially when you really don’t feel like it—can be a priceless workout tool.

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