December
7, 2004
Myth:
"No Pain, No Gain".
Many myths have a kernel of truth to them. It is true that
maximum athletic performance requires some training that has
a degree of manageable pain. It is also true that myths exaggerate,
then sensationalize the truth.
All
Pain, No Brains
Many
coaches, athletes, and everyday exercisers are awestruck with
the age-old dogma, "No Pain, No Gain".
I've
worked and continue to work with athletes who are shocked
to learn that feeling pain is not a normal part of daily exercise.
I'm not talking about the burning pain from muscle acidity
during an all-out maximal training session - that's to be
expected when that kind of training is done properly.
I'm
talking about daily pain in muscles or around joints. Many
tell themselves that they just have to work through the pain,
and that not to do so is a sign of weakness. Ironically it
is a sign of weakness to continue pushing through pain
because it shows a lack of the ability to reason, and that
one is falling prey to their own compulsive drive.
Only
20% of all training need be "hard" and a smaller
percentage of that hard training will "put the hurt on".
Health and fitness exercisers never need to take their body
to the limit in any exercise to make large gains in fitness.
Athletes and those who choose to accept the risks involved
with obtaining top performance do need to push limits when
the time is right. The time is right when all base training
is completed and a slow progression to high intensity training
has been followed.
Maximal
training sessions that cause pain and discomfort don't cause
the type of pain we feel when we sprain an ankle or have a
tight painful muscle, referred to as "bad pain"
in exercise jargon. The so-called "good pain" associated
with high intensity training feels like a burning sensation
in the muscles and is accompanied by fatigue. At this point
our nervous system tries to shut down our muscles in an act
of self-preservation, and it is mentally challenging to overcome
this auto-shutdown mechanism. For those without the experience,
perceiving the difference between pushing limits in a positive
way and pushing over that limit to a negative result isn't
considered and the person hammers until they are exhausted.
Repeating
this pattern leads to overreaching, a physical state where
recovery from exercise and the ability to adapt is impaired.
Often people will trap themselves in a cycle that goes between
overreaching, time off, building up too fast, and back to
overreaching again.
For
these people, pain is a regular part of exercise, and even
for days off between exercise sessions. These exercisers will
even perceive that if their body does not hurt the day following
hard training, that they failed and did not train hard enough.
Of course this is nothing short of crazy. Pain during regular
exercise is not normal, it is a sign something is wrong.
The
correct course of action to take when pain is felt during
regular exercise, or is excessive after exercise is to stop
the exercise and not repeat it until the pain has disappeared.
Go to a doctor, massage therapist, or physiotherapist to have
the source of pain investigated and follow through with the
recovery and rehabilitation they recommend.
Exercising
through pain is a brain-dead choice. If this is you, wise
up; take care of the injury or it will get worse and you will
never experience your performance potential.
-
Cris LaBossiere
©
2003-2004 Rhino Fitness
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