No Pain, No Gain!
I used to think that but today I’ll tell you
why I now think it’s one of the worst
expressions in fitness.
In fact I cringe every time I hear someone
say it.
Here’s my gripe…..
When you’re a relatively inexperienced
exerciser then you can easily mis-interpret
what the no pain, no gain thing is all about
and become blinded in your pursuit of to
lose weight and become happier.
I totally get it by the way.
When you’re feeling motivated at the start
of the programme you have a determination
not to let anything stand in your way.
When it comes to exercise you’ve promised
yourself, regardless of the pain you are in that,
every rep of every movement of every workout
must be completed.
You told yourself you can’t fail again – the pain
of failure must be avoided at all costs.
Not only that but you don’t want to show
weakness in front of others or have others
look down on you because you can’t do
something.
The result, of this hard core mindset
you adopt, is you pushing through injuries
in the hope that they will miraculously get
better with every rep.
And yes sometimes the pain does go
away during the workout – adrenaline
is a wonderful pain killer.
It’s only later that day or the next day
that you think ‘Oh s*** I pushed it too far’
^^^If that’s you then please listen up^^^
Any pain you feel should just be gradual
muscle burn and mental pain as you feel tired,
you’re breathing heavily and your heart rate
is up.
That’s all gooood.
But any sharp, sudden or shooting pains then
stop immediately.
By stopping and avoiding any movements
that cause pain for the rest of the workout
you may find that’s all that’s required for
you to be back in action the next day.
And if it is still bothering you over the next few
days then go and see a physio so you understand
what the problem is and what you need to do to
fix it.
People think it shows weakness to quit but
I believe there are cases, like today’s example,
that it shows strength to stop and adapt.
The thing (well one of the things haha) that’s
cool about FBF is that although we train in
groups we get to know our members individually.
So if they do come to us with an injury or
develop one then we can help them out by
either scaling down an exercise which is
problematic or giving them a completely
different exercise so they are still getting
a good workout.
Should anyone need treatment from a physio
then we are happy to work with yourself and
the physio to get you back to full capacity.
Not sure you’d get that level of help and
attention at your typical gym class?
Gavin ‘train SMART’ Hogarth
P.S Want some accountability and support
rather than trying to do it all yourself?
Let’s get you moving forward
Reach out now and tell me
– About yourself and how you’re feeling right now?
– What goals you have and what really matters to you?
– What struggles or barriers you’re having against
reaching your goals?