Helping Women Live Longer, Healthier, Happier Lives! |
All Gain, No Pain by Geralyn Coopersmith I am always astounded by the number of people who: 1) think exercise is supposed to hurt and 2) continue to exercise even when they are in pain. Exercise is supposed to stress your systems (metabolic and musculoskeletal, principally) and certainly exercise is supposed to be challenging. The idea is that you put enough stress on the body to cause a positive change (adaptation) but not so much stress (or so little rest) that the body breaks down and gets injured. In other words "pain" should NEVER be part of the workout equation. In fact, if anything, a well-rounded fitness program should actually DECREASE your discomforts, such as shoulder pain, back pain, knee pain, etc. Because when muscles are strong AND flexible they are better able to do their job moving joints and keeping the body in proper alignment. Pain is ALWAYS the body's way of signaling you that it needs time to heal. Ignoring that signal is a sure recipe for disaster. I have never, not once, heard of a person who ignored their pain signals, exercised through an injury and was ultimately successful. In fact, every time a person I've known has told me they were going to continue to workout despite their pain signals, their pain worsened and they ended up with a more significant injury than they had in the first place. An injury which eventually side-lined them from working out all together. Having some discomfort or an injury often doesn't mean that you have to stop exercising, entirely. However, it almost always means that you need to modify your current activity or switch to different activity. For example, if your running or walking program has given you "shin splints" (diffuse muscular pain in the inside front of the lower leg), switching to a lower impact activity such as cycling or elliptical training can allow you to continue your cardio conditioning while allowing the running injury to heal. Keep in mind, the best way to deal with an injury -- is not to get one in the first place. Non-contact (i.e. overuse) injuries are easy to predict. If someone suddenly increases two or more of the following (the intensity of the activity , the frequency of the workouts or the time spent working out) it almost ALWAYS WITHOUT EXCEPTION results in an overuse injury. Doing too much, too soon, too often is a sure-fire recipe for disaster, because the body does not have sufficient time to adapt to the change in activity, tissues and structures breakdown and whammo -- your in pain. So if something is (or has been) bothering you and
you are continuing to do the same workout day after day without
addressing it -- STOP -- you are headed for big problems. First, see
your doctor and get it checked out. Then if you aren't sure how to
return to your workout seek out the advice of physical therapist AND a
highly-credentialed personal trainer to help address and correct the
flaws in your routine that caused the breakdown in the first place. Disclaimer: The information contained in this
newsletter is not intended as a substitute for medical care. Not all exercises
are appropriate for all individuals. Please consult with your doctor before
beginning any exercise program. |
