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| Tuesday, July 21, 2009 |
| No Pain, No Gain? |
So many of my personal training clients tell me that they think their workout was more productive if their muscles are sore for days after. I always hear complaints like Pilates classes were too easy or kickboxing doesn’t work for me because I never get sore. I don’t know when it happened, but somehow people starting associating only their extent of muscle soreness with a good, effective workout.
I believe a workout can be effective and efficient and leave you feeling better than before you started. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in tiring out your muscles and feeling a little sore, but when my clients tell me “I couldn’t even sit on the toilet after working out with so and so” I get a little skeptical. Exercise physiologists refer to the gradually increasing discomfort that occurs between 24 and 48 hours after activity as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and it’s perfectly normal. However, some research shows that there is little extra benefit to being so sore that you can’t move about normally. If your muscle soreness is so bad that you can’t sit down or walk without pain or if your pain lasts for more than two or three days, you probably overworked your muscles. This type of pain can prevent you from being able to exercise efficiently over the following few days and may actually slow your progress.
When starting a new workout regimen, muscle pain is very common. This pain is due to the new exertion on the muscles. The muscles are trying to adapt to a new way of working. The muscles should develop a greater stamina and more strength as time goes on. "The aches and pains should be minor," says Carol Torgan, an exercise physiologist and fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and are simply indications that muscles are adapting to your fitness regimen. The amount of soreness after the workout should decrease as you continue to workout.
Overall, I tell my clients to use their level of soreness as a guide. There isn’t much you can do to avoid it altogether, but you can use it to determine if you are exercising too light, too hard or just right. As I said, a little muscle soreness is normal and shows that your body is making progress, but too much pain can indicate that you’re working too hard. Think about working with a trainer a few times until you find a level at which you feel challenged but not overworked.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do to prevent muscle soreness. Some people take anti-inflammatory medicines such as Advil, but these only offer short term relief and can have unwanted side effects. Warming up before and cooling down after your workout is important to help prevent injury and gain flexibility, but they can’t prevent muscle soreness. Try to go slowly when starting a new exercise program and gradually build up to more repetitions and heavier weight. A slow progression will help avoid too much muscle pain. Even if you do get so sore that you can not sit on the toilet, don’t give up. Wait a few days and try your workout a little easier. So forget the No Pain, No Gain mentality and remember that you can see improvements in your fitness level and a decrease in your weight without experiencing extreme pain.
- Jennifer
Labels: Exercise, Fitness, Jennifer, Physical Activity
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posted by My Sensei @ Tuesday, July 21, 2009   |
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| 4 Comments: |
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Before there were exercise CD’s, there were exercise videos and before that we had exercise records. The records came with printed pictures of the exercises and the commentator would guide, explain and try to motivate us through the whole thing. Jane Fonda is probably the person responsible for this pain equal gain theory. She would always say and repeat “no pain, no gain”. And it stayed, who know, maybe mothers would repeat it to their daughters and so on….
So now it’s our duty to shed light on this theory. Thanks Jen
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Good post! I don't get too sore being that I have been at this so long but I do feel my changes! BUT I did get sore when I was younger & things were newer... sometimes I over did it but mostly it was the normal after exercise soreness. NO, I did not like when I did TOO much I had trouble getting to the toilet! How can a person like that!!! :-)
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As a former athlete, I know how hard it can feel on someone trying to build muscle with pure determination...and then, to feel the agony of sore muscles...ugh. Now as a mom, I continue to feel everyday aches and pains and have really become cautious of pain meds that could cause problems. I highly recommend to others that they investigate natural creams to help alleviate their sore muscles. Our family uses Topricin and it is safe...and it works great. It helps when we can all share our experiences, so thanks for the info!
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oh this was quite an eye-opener for me! I always thought the sorer you are, the more you gained!
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Before there were exercise CD’s, there were exercise videos and before that we had exercise records. The records came with printed pictures of the exercises and the commentator would guide, explain and try to motivate us through the whole thing. Jane Fonda is probably the person responsible for this pain equal gain theory. She would always say and repeat “no pain, no gain”. And it stayed, who know, maybe mothers would repeat it to their daughters and so on….
So now it’s our duty to shed light on this theory. Thanks Jen