Editor’s Note: This column is sponsored by FitnessWise (4801-B Montgomery Lane). Visit their Facebook page for more.
By now you’ve learned the old adage “No Pain, No Gain” isn’t always a good motto to live by when it comes to exercise and overall health. But the phrase has been used since the second century, so there must be some truth to it, right? Here we’ll talk about the positives and negatives of a Pain and Gain philosophy.
Good Pain
Yes, there is the “burning” sensation of an increase in lactic acid and hydrogen ions that happens inside of your muscles when you’re working at a high level. This is generally a good thing.
It means that you’re pushing your muscles beyond their comfort level, and that’s necessary to improve muscle endurance and work capacity. This is a fact. If you want to do well in a sport or activity that involves any sustained effort beyond 5-10 seconds, then you must have a good level of “lactic acid tolerance.”
Some of this tolerance is the result of physiologic adaptations that happen in your muscles and cardiovascular system through training in this “Pain”-ful zone. And some lactic acid tolerance comes from mental fortitude and being able to push past the point of muscle fatigue where others would quit. I call this being comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s a necessary quality if you’re an athlete at any level.
Another realm where pain is acceptable in exercise and fitness is in the case of DOMS. We’ve all experienced DOMS before. This happens if you haven’t worked out in a while, then hop right back into the total body conditioning class or decide to go for a three-mile run. That muscle soreness that made you not want to get up out of bed — or think twice before getting up out of a chair two days later — is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
DOMS can be good pain, or it can be bad pain. The theory is that DOMS is caused by micro-tears that occur in muscle fibers as a result of weight training and/or stressing your muscles beyond what they are used to. This is essential to the adaptations that happen in your muscles to increase lean muscle growth. As the micro-tears heal, your muscles become stronger to prevent micro-tears from happening as a result of the same stress.
Normal DOMS can last for 2-5 days. DOMS can be bad if you’re so sore that you don’t workout at all for 2-5 days. This means that you probably overdid it in your last workout. There is a fine line between good DOMS and bad DOMS. Only experience and the guidance of a good coach or fitness professional can help you walk the line successfully.
Bad Pain
When you have pain in or near your joints, it’s bad. When something hurts as soon as you get up in the morning or wakes you up at night, it’s bad. When pain is sharp or involves numbness and tingling, it’s bad.
Here are some guidelines for avoiding and dealing with pain as it relates to exercise:
1. Before beginning a new exercise program or routine, consult your physician and get evaluated by a Certified Fitness Professional. Many injuries can be prevented if you know what your strengths and weaknesses are beforehand. You don’t want to find out that you have limited ankle range of motion while you’re doing a squat with weight. By then, your knees are probably already hurting.
2. Be sure to always begin exercise with some sort of warm-up to elevate your core body temperature and prepare the muscles and joints that you will be using to work in the range of motion that you will need them to. So if you’re going to do squats, your warm-up better include something that looks like a squat. And avoid static stretches (where you hold a stretch) in your warm-up. Stick to dynamic stretches (where you only hold a stretched position for 2-3 seconds).
Your warm-up should also address any flexibility limitations and muscle imbalances that you found in your evaluation prior to exercise.
3. Proceed slowly. Better health is a lifelong journey. While you may have immediate goals (wedding dress to fit into, bathing suit season, etc.) it’s not worth wrecking your body to get there. As a general rule, you should not increase any variable in your workout (reps, sets, time, speed, or distance) by more than 5-10 percent per week.
4. If something does hurt (especially in or around a joint) stop what you’re doing and correct your form (with the help of a coach or trainer). Choose a different exercise that will still strengthen your muscles in a pain-free range of motion.
5. When in doubt, seek help from a medical or other health professional. Some pain could be the result of structural damage or other issues that can only be addressed through medical intervention. This doesn’t mean that you’re headed for surgery to correct the problem. Often, it may just mean some physical therapy, massage or manual therapy, acupuncture, chiropractics is in order.
There is a vast array of ways that you can successfully address what is hurting you so that you can get away from Pain and get back to Gains.
In Health,
The FitnessWise Team
Community discussion guidelines: Our sponsored columns are written by members of the local business community. While we encourage a robust and open discussion, we ask that all reviews of the businesses — good or bad — be directed to another venue, like Yelp. The comments section is intended for a conversation about the topic of the article.
