Do you believe in “no pain, no gain” when it comes to exercise?
It’s hard to know what the truth is about this common saying. Some people say that if you don’t feel any discomfort while exercising then you’re not working hard enough. Other people say that if you do feel a little bit of pain then your body will be stronger and healthier for it.
If the activity feels too difficult or painful, stop doing it immediately and try something else instead. If the activity feels uncomfortable but not impossible, keep going until your muscles start to feel tired and work to find a pace or amount of weight that you can handle comfortably.
What is the Truth About No Pain, No Gain in Exercise?
The truth is that although it may be satisfying to push your body over its comfort zone, you will not get any stronger without giving yourself a break every so often.
We are all different and we all have our own limits. If one person can handle an hour of weight training while another person might only be able to do five minutes, then that five-minute workout is enough for that person and anything more would just hurt the body.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t try something new or push yourself a little bit further than you’ve gone before. As long as you’re smart about it, there is no reason why exercise should ever feel “too hard.”
Every time we move in a new direction or try a different move, the body works a little bit differently. This gets the muscles working in new ways and can lead to strength gain very quickly.
As long as you’re listening to your body and taking breaks when necessary, there is no reason why exercise should ever feel “too hard.”
The human body is capable of some amazing things, but it can only take so much. Although exercise will tend to push us over our limits eventually no matter what we do, that’s not a good thing.
Instead of getting stronger and more healthy as we push ourselves beyond the impossible, we’re actually hurting our bodies because there is just too much for them to handle.
Good Vs. Bad Pain
The definition of pain is somewhat subjective. One person may consider a low level of pain to be something they can live with while another person might find it unbearable.
However, there are certain types of exercises that we should avoid altogether because they’re just too painful or dangerous. We’ll get into those later on in this article but here’s the basic idea:
Good pain is a clear indication that the body is being challenged in new ways. When muscles are pushed beyond their limits, they will protest but it’s a healthy response from the body and one that we should avoid suppressing out of fear.
Bad pain is anything that is painful to the point of being unbearable or dangerous. If an exercise causes bad pain, it becomes too much for the body and will result in damage or injury if continued.
Of course, there are some gray areas when it comes to deciding which exercises might be too difficult or which ones will cause bad pain. Ultimately, we need to listen to our bodies and make a judgment call. If something hurts, then we need to stop doing it.
The pain we should avoid at all costs is any pain that makes us think something is seriously wrong with our bodies or any pain that is dull, generalized, or chronic.
We should not ignore this sort of pain in hopes that it will go away on its own because it probably won’t and the longer we wait to seek medical attention for an injury that has become chronic, the more serious it will be when we finally get around to getting help.
Contrary to popular belief, exercise actually makes most chronic pain worse and causes many injuries to grow and last for months and sometimes years. If we don’t treat them properly, they will only get worse with time.
Recognizing Bad Pain
The only way to know that we’re doing harm to our bodies rather than good is by learning what types of pain are bad, what signs mean something is wrong, and how to recognize when an injury is getting worse.
A dull, generalized ache in the body should be a red flag because it could be anything from a minor problem like tendinitis to a potentially life-threatening condition such as heart disease. The only way to tell the difference is by getting it checked out right away and ruling out anything serious.
Any time we hear noise, ache, or feel pain in any part of our body for longer than usual, that’s another sign that something could be wrong.
Although we may be able to push through the pain and do our normal workout, there’s a good chance that pushing ourselves will only make the problem worse. This is especially true of chronic pain because it means we need medical help faster than ever but are putting off getting it because we’re so busy working out.
If our bodies are forced to deal with long-term pain, they may end up doing more harm to themselves in an effort to compensate for a problem that we refuse to deal with.
This can range from minor issues like muscle tightness or overstretching the tendons on our joints to serious injuries ranging from sprained ankles and pulled muscles all the way up to complete tears in our ligaments and tendons that will require surgery to fix.
These sorts of injuries are common among people who work out too much and put their bodies through more than they can handle. When we ignore the pain, we make it harder for ourselves to heal because the body is trying to compensate for the problem rather than actually dealing with the problem.
In a worst-case scenario, this type of pain can become chronic and force us to spend more time dealing with the injury than we would have spent healing properly in the first place.
If you’ve been experiencing any of these symptoms for longer than normal or if they just won’t go away after taking some time off, it’s time to get help right away.
How To Avoid Bad Pain
These tips will help you avoid bad pain in your body and get rid of any injuries that you have become accustomed to dealing with:
Know Your Body
We should always know the limits of our bodies so we can tell when we’ve pushed ourselves too far (Overtraining). If something makes us feel pain, it means there’s a limit somewhere in our muscles or joints, and going past this limit only makes things worse.
Know When to Rest and Heal
There’s a difference between soreness after an intense workout and pain from an injury that won’t heal and will get worse with time if we don’t deal with it. The more time we spend exercising, the less time we have to rest, so this is one more reason why we should avoid working out if possible.
If we come across pain that won’t go away, it’s important to stop and rest right then and there so we can prevent our bodies from causing more harm down the line. Taking time off will help us start fresh again rather than waiting until after a workout only for the problem to be worse than ever.
If you’re sure that pain is linked to an injury, it’s important to get it checked out right away so we can get the problem fixed before it gets worse. This will save us a lot of time and energy in the long run because if left untreated, injuries can take weeks or months to heal properly depending on their severity.
Don’t Ignore the Signs
Pay attention to any signs that your body is giving you about pain. If something hurts for longer than it should, there’s a good chance something else in our bodies is going wrong as well. Ignoring these signs only makes things worse and forces us to deal with more serious problems later on down the line.
There are times when we’re in a lot of pain, like after an intense workout or after an accident and our bodies need to rest. This is normal and natural for anyone.
If the pain doesn’t go away after some time off, it’s important that we schedule a doctor’s appointment so they can take a look at our injuries and figure out what’s going on. If the cause is physical, then it should be fixed physically with a variety of techniques ranging from shots to surgery, depending on the severity.
It’s important that we understand this and don’t just ignore the signs because they’re inconvenient for our workout routine or will make us feel bad about ourselves if we don’t exercise.
Remember!
No pain no gain, but what if the “no pain” is actually a sign of an injury? Exercise can be great for our bodies and mental health. It’s important that we know when to push ourselves too far and when not to; otherwise, we will end up with severe injuries like sprained joints or serious tears in ligaments and tendons that could require surgery to fix.
This article has provided some helpful tips on how you may avoid bad pain as well as signs of potential injuries before they turn into something worse than ever imagined. If you’re unsure about your current exercise routine or have been experiencing any symptoms, don’t wait! Get help right away so these issues won’t get worse over time by scheduling a doctor appointment today!
