Working out shouldn't hurt

I can’t believe this actually needs to be said: your workouts should not be painful. They should not cause you severe pain. If you’re constantly in pain from your workouts, something is wrong and needs to be addressed immediately. It is a signal from your body that it is under strain.

At most, you may feel a little muscle soreness about 24 to 48 hours after you do a new workout or activity (that is why it is called delayed onset muscle soreness - DOM). I am talking about something completely different; I am talking about hurting yourself. If you feel pain, dizziness, nausea or feel short of breath during exercise: STOP!

"Darn, my knee is really killing me. Every time I run it gets worse. What should I do?"

"First: stop running. Second: figure out what's going on with your knee."

"But I CANNNNTT live without running! How will I get my cardio?! I love running! That's just not going to work for me."

“Well then. There’s nothing else I can really say, other than to enjoy your future injury.”

“I’m exhausted all the time, and I’m starting to have constant aches in my hips and back.”

“Well, what do you do in a typical week?”

“I strength train three days per week. I do at least an hour of cardio most days. I do Yoga and a couple other group classes. Oh, and I perform high intensity intervals a few times per week too. And I’m training for a marathon and am considering competing in a Crossfit competition because I’ve heard they’re fun.”

[ Insert very large sigh here ]

Some of us fall into the trap of thinking if some (in this case, exercise) is good, then more must be better. So we add an extra workout, or five, to our weekly routine.

Soon after drastically increasing the physical activity things hurt that didn’t hurt before. Energy levels steadily decline. Motivation that was once abundant wanes.

You can’t lift weights five times per week, do hours of cardio, take group classes, and do HIIT training frequently and expect to survive for very long. Something has to give. If you don’t choose wisely, your body will force you to with acute, and eventually chronic, injuries.

How you move your body should make you feel good about yourself and make your life better. Fitness should not cause pain.

You can do anything, but you can’t do everything all at once.

To summarize:

• Working out should not hurt. If an exercise causes pain, stop. Check your form. If you’re certain you’re doing it correctly but still experience pain, use an alternate exercise. And resist the temptation to focus on the exercises you can’t do; focus solely on those you can do.

• Have one priority at a time. Choose your main goal and stick to it. You can switch to a different one later. Organize your routine accordingly and make sure additional components complement your goal and don’t take away from it.

• The last thing you want to do is hurt yourself so you cannot exercise at all!!

• You don’t have to finish every workout exhausted. Your workouts can actually make you feel good and more energized than when you began. It’s my belief that most of the time, they should.

• Working out is not punishment. Never forget this. A workout should never be done because you ate too much or hate how you look. Exercise is a celebration of what your body can do, not a punishment for what you ate!!