11/19/2024
I don’t fully agree with this old adage when it comes to training for health and wellness. While mental pain and struggle are essential for growth, physical pain is not a necessity when it comes to fitness. For highly competitive and professional athletes, it can be useful at times. For people with chronic illnesses it can set off a flare up. One should know how to distinguish between the pain of struggle (which is beneficial for growth) and pain due to overuse, overtraining, or unnecessary muscle and joint pain. Some muscle soreness is ok, but too much is too much. One of my philosophies for fitness training for health and wellness is that in order to establish long term healthy habits, working out should feel good to condition your brain to want more. The pain of struggle YES, the pain of putting in the work YES, the pain of sacrifice YES, the pain of transformation YES, but in my opinion high levels of physical pain is not necessary for optimizing fitness. Working out should feel good. Mentality and consistency are key.
I prefer the saying “Know pain, Know gain” 💯