How do so many active people not yet know the difference between pain and discomfort—even Dr. Jordan Metzl, a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City?
An example of DISCOMFORT is when you’re performing biceps curls and the lactic acid buildup in your biceps as you intensely eke out the last two reps causes an unpleasant intense burning sensation deep within the biceps muscles. That isn’t pain—that’s discomfort. PAIN would be a sharp sensation in your biceps or elbow or shoulder that causes you to yelp and immediately drop the weight.
Dr. Metzl is dead wrong when he absurdly states in the Huffington Post article, “My general take is that if it doesn’t hurt a little bit, you’re not getting [more fit].”
No fitness activity should ever “hurt.” Discomfort? Yes. Pain and hurt? No.
Pain is your body telling you to stop. Pain is your body’s way of saying “Your form is bad, you’re doing it wrong” whether you are jogging, crossfitting, weightlifting, swimming—whatever.
If I feel a twinge as I work out, I either stop performing the guilty exercise or I take a minute to figure out how I can change something, such as the angle or arc of movement, the amount of weight, the speed with which I am performing the exercise, etc. Often pain is caused by not warming up and/or stretching properly pre-workout. Do all you can to avoid pain. “Working through the pain” can lead to a nagging injury that will may well call a halt to your favorite chosen physical activity—and even permanent damage.
“Working through the pain” is the reason why many of the top names from the 1980s are not even recognizable today as even having been bodybuilders.
No comments:
Post a Comment