Good Pain vs Bad Pain

This is a good time to discuss good pain vs. bad pain.

Discomfort and pain are two different things. If you train you are going to have some discomfort. If you don’t, you are not doing it right. You will have “the burn” or the buildup of lactic acid and other by- products of exercising your muscles. Frankly, if you don’t feel the burn you are wasting your time. You are not putting enough stress on the muscle to cause it to grow larger or stronger.

You will, especially in the beginning, experience “Delayed onset muscle soreness” (DOMS for short).

DOMS usually occurs 24 to 48 hours after exercise and can last several days. DOMS is not a bad thing. It means you made your muscles do something they are not accustomed to and they will repay you by growing stronger. As you progress you will experience less and less DOMS and it will last for shorter periods.  Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to get sore to be making progress.  But in the beginning it will occur and it means you are making progress.

Pain during or immediately following your workout (other than “the burn”) is your body telling you one of two things (1) You didn’t warm up muscles and /or joints and connective tissue enough. (2). something is wrong.  Pain in a joint or connective tissue surrounding joints means STOP! Warm up the area better, lower the weight, and change the angle (of your feet for example in a leg exercise). If the pain persists do not continue that exercise!

Try a different exercise for that body part and carefully monitor for pain. If that doesn’t eliminate the pain rest for that body part is the only answer. A few days rest is a much better option than long term or permanent injury.

If pain still persists after resting the joint or body part for a few days seek the advice of a professional and follow their advice.

 Send your questions or comments to alphaedgefitness@gmail.com

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