Pain and Gain

I've never been a real fan of the phrase "no pain, no gain." It associates exercise with something painful. And I don't about you, but I tend to try to avoid pain. Plus just having that negative energy directed towards the concept of exercise is just, well, a bad thing.

Truth is you shouldn't feel real pain while you exercise. If you do, stop.

The burn you feel in your muscles is lactic acid build up, and although it is an uncomfortable feeling, it really isn't "pain."

The sucking void you feel burning in your lungs while you sprint, sure it's not pleasant, but it's not pain.

There's a saying, "Are you hurt, or are you injured?"

If you're hurt, you can keep going. Little aches and pains, sore spots, are just part of the game of fitness. You need to be mentally tough. An injury is a legitimate trauma to your body that hinders your ability to perform.

They are very different.

I run into this a lot in my coaching. I've said before that kids today are mostly pretty soft mentally. They're spoiled and have never really been challenged mentally. When they feel a slight little ache they want to quit. The best is when they see what they are truly capable of when they realize they were just hurting, not injured.

So you see, if you feel real pain, stop what you're doing and get checked out. If you're just hurting, then push yourself though it and achieve.

Train smart,

RL