Personal Trainer Austin, TX - Andrea W.By Austin Personal Trainer, Andrea Wiggins

We’ve all heard it. And maybe we have even said it….

“Push through the pain”
“No pain, no gain”
“Pain is just weakness leaving the body”

I mean, if you really want to go for it, sometimes you need to work through the pain, right?

Actually, I’m going to say wrong. And this was a hard one for me to really grasp ahold of because I have always been a “push through the pain” kind of girl.

I remember when I was going through Navy boot camp and I had injured my ankle. The pain had become so severe that I had to go to medical (to my dismay) where I was told by the doctor that I had a stress fracture to my ankle.

Now all I wanted to know was how do we fix it and when can I get back to training……because missing training just wasn’t an option.

And that’s when the doctor had to break it down for me.

“Sure, you can go back out and try and run on this. But you WILL be back and at that point you won’t have an option. You’ll be FORCED to take time off.”

And I knew that meant being set-back (held back for a period of time therefore extending my time in boot camp). And that was all it took to change my tune….

“So a few days off huh? ok!”

See when it comes to pain, you have to be very careful of the “push through it” attitude. Because the pain you are feeling could be a sign from your body that something is wrong and you need to take a break.

And pushing past that point will usually just make things worse (like having to repeat 2 weeks or more of bootcamp) and could cause a “possible” injury to become something that takes you out of the game.

Now soreness in the body after exercise is to be expected. And sometimes, depending on the workout, that soreness could last anywhere from a day to three days.

This is what is knows as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and is a result of stress placed on the muscles that the muscles are not used to.

Small, microscopic tears are caused during exercise, the healing of which results in a stronger muscle overall. It’s actually a good thing and generally can be relieved with rest, ice, some stretching or massage.

However, if that discomfort is ever sharp and/or comes with severe swelling, bruising and is painful to the touch, then there could be something more serious going on.

Or if you have pain on one side of the body when you have worked both sides equally. That’s also a pretty good sign that you may need to make a closer look.

So, best advice is to know your body and remember a few rules for having a safe and pain free workout:

Warm up – Take about 10-15 minutes at the beginning of your workout to raise your body temperature and prepare it for your workout.

Stay Hydrated – Make sure you are drinking plenty of water before and during your workout.

Controlled movements and lifts – Make sure you are always in control of the weight you are using and if necessary, have someone assist you (spotter).

Stretch/Cooldown – always stretch after your workout to help increase flexibility and reduce muscle soreness.

REST! – Incorporate rest days into your workouts to give your body a chance to recover and repair. Trust me, you will be stronger for it!

So, to all of my hard chargers out there, sometimes you need to work SMARTER, not HARDER.

Committed to your success!

Andrea

Contact Andrea today for a free introductory session!


Andrea is a Certified Personal Trainer in Austin, TX. Click here to browse through and connect with all of our trainers in the Austin area.

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