Everyone has heard the phrase “No Pain No Gain” throughout the fitness world. While this phrase makes for a cool T-shirt, it’s not the greatest fitness advice. Yes there are some pains you’ll endure during your fitness journey, but most people misinterpret what those pains are telling them. So let me be your fitness pain translator.
Pre-Workout Pain
New clients often come to me full of stories about the pain in their back or their achy knees, etc. Then they continue their story with how we need to avoid exercises that involve these problem areas. Now’s the time I give my new client their first taste of “Tough Love” by telling them we are going to do the exact opposite. It’s right about now that I see the fear on their face as they start to plan their exit strategy.
No I haven’t had anyone run out the door screaming yet, but their body language clearly tells me “I don’t want to do that”.
Before they make a break for it, I assure them that we won’t re-injure anything. And by strengthening the ouchy area their pains will lessen and maybe even disappear.
“But Mike, I’ve always heard that if it hurts you shouldn’t do it”.
Well, I’ve heard people say they’ve seen the Loch Ness Monster and that’s not true either. BUT, there are times when you should avoid working a sore joint. For example, while you are still in the healing stage of a RECENT injury.
You should consult your doctor to determine how long you need to rest an injury before starting to work it.
I usually hear things like “I had shoulder surgery 3 years ago so we need to take it easy on this shoulder.” I’m no doctor, but I’m pretty sure that your shoulder is as healed as it’s gonna get after 3 years. More times than not, people are unknowingly using a previous injury as an excuse to not work out.
In conclusion: Don’t let pain keep you from working out. When in doubt ask your doctor if you have any workout restrictions.
During Workout Pain
Burning Pain
Have you ever been doing some leg extensions, triceps push down, or some other exercise where the muscle you were working felt like it caught on fire? I hope so. I consider this to be a “good pain”. When you feel this pain, keep going. You’ll be fine. This is just your body’s way of telling you this muscle is being worked much harder than normal.
That being said, don’t judge your workout’s success by how much burning pain you feel. This pain is not an indicator of how great your workout is going. Besides, some muscle groups just don’t burn as much as others.
Sharp Shooting Pain
So you’re in the zone, rocking out an amazing workout when you start getting sharp shooting pains in you shoulder.
What is your body telling you?
It’s telling you to STOP what you’re doing. This is what I call a “bad” pain. This doesn’t mean you need to stop your workout and give up on fitness forever. It just means you need to make an adjustment to what you are doing.
For example, if you were getting sharp shooting pains in your shoulder while doing overhead presses try doing upright rows or lateral raises to work the shoulders instead. If all shoulder exercises cause shooting pains, you should then give your shoulder a break and focus on other body parts. For how long?…………Ask your doctor.
Out of Breath
Yes i know, being out of breath isn’t exactly the same as the other pains I’ve been discussing, but it is unpleasant so I’ll discuss it here. Being out of breath while doing cardio is the norm…..so enjoy the discomfort. Being out of breath during strength training…..not optimal. If you’re out of breath while lifting weights you can’t maximize your performance/results. So rest a little more between sets.
It’s also very common for people to get light headed during exercise. Especially when you’re new to working out. Most of the time you just need to stop what you’re doing and breathe for awhile and you should bounce back. If it leads to a headache or nausea you should call it a day. When in doubt?…………Ask your doctor.
Post Workout Pain
If you’ve ever started a new workout program before I’m sure you’ve noticed some pains that kick in a couple days after your workout. This pain is called DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).
“So Mike, what is this pain telling me?”
This pain is telling you that you’ve done something that your muscles aren’t used to doing. I would consider this to be a “good pain”. While considered a “good pain” don’t misinterpret this pain as a determiner of whether your previous workout was a good one.
First off, this pain is most common when you start a new workout program or a new lift your muscles aren’t used to doing.
Second, some muscles are just more likely to get sore in a couple days than others. For example, you can expect some future DOMS pain after a hard day of lunges. But you may not have any DOMS pain after a hard day of lat pulldowns.
So in conclusion: DOMS pain is a “good pain” but isn’t related to the success of your workout.
My goal for today is to help you to understand what your body’s aches and pains are telling you. The 2 biggest mistakes I see people make when it comes to understanding your body’s pains are:
- Using pain as an excuse to not workout
- Using pain to judge the effectiveness of your workout