Friday, August 15, 2014

This Is Gonna Hurt

Pain is an interesting thing. Line 10 people up side by side and their respective definition of pain will likely be very different. I’ve seen people fight through tremendous pain to overcome adversity. Ask any mother about the pain of childbirth and you’re likely to get a very specific definition as well!

The pain that concerns me most is what happens in the arena of fitness. What shocks me is how many people choose to distinguish between an effective or ineffective workout by how sore they were afterwards. It’s about as misguided as someone who says “I know it’s been a good workout if I sweat a lot!”

So, allow me to clarify a few things:

Post-workout soreness should never be your goal. When you’re literally tearing muscle fibers every time you lift a weight (a good thing), your ability to recover is just as important as the amount of trauma you just created for that muscle. As we age, the ability to recover stands the greatest potential to decrease. I would ask you to concentrate more on giving your reps in the gym your best effort while you’re there. Not trying to obliterate your body to the point where sitting on the toilet becomes the most challenging part of your day!

Don’t get me wrong: I love a tough workout. And from time to time, I want to know that I pushed myself because I feel tender in some muscles the next day or so afterwards. Contrary to some opinion, I don’t secretly rub my hands together in victory when a client tells me that they’re having trouble taking the stairs the day after a good workout!

That being said, “some” soreness is okay. It can mean that muscles have been utilized and stimulated in ways they haven’t been in some time. This will generally lead to (wait for it)….progress!!!

Typically, when a new client starts here, we start conservatively. There may be some areas of the workout that are more strenuous than others, but for at least the first few weeks (depending on how the body reacts) soreness is rarely an issue.

With time, we can assess how the body is reacting to a given stimulus and raise weights and intensity accordingly. Fact of the matter is, many people just don’t MOVE well. So, the initial workouts are lessons in mechanics just to get the body functioning appropriately. For some, that can mean very fundamental movements with low or no weight.

In addition, there is a mental aspect to consider as well. There are some clients who fear going up in weight with a given exercise. They equate it to immediate injury and/or a bulking effect. 9 times out of 10, they’re wrong on both accounts.

Unfortunately, there is a belief based on current fitness trends that pain is the answer to your fitness woes. If you push harder, you’ll achieve more. If you fight through it, it makes you stronger. You know the adage: what doesn’t kill you…?

My challenge to all of you pain junkies is this: focus on cleaner movement, focus on progressive training, focus on responsible eating for your goals.

Just try to remember: post workout pain rarely equates to the quality of a workout. Any bozo can make someone sore: simply add more weight, time, or reps to an otherwise unconditioned body and soreness will soon follow. The people who reap the most benefits are the ones who can make steady, long-term progress with as few injuries as possible. 

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