Pain vs Discomfort

Hello friends~

I love that early flowers last longer in a chilly April and early May, but this seems like an especially long, cold, and windy spring. Same where you live?

Finally, Saturday looked like the perfect day for a nice longish spin on the bike. I was psyched. Tires pumped, lights charged. I hadn’t checked the weather report, but it was sunny and warm…

What a tailwind! Hitting 24mph north along the ocean was super fun, but it meant the ride home was going to be a beast of a headwind. Riding against wind is like an endless uphill ride. It became foggy and cold, so by the time I got home my shoulders and neck were aching from the tension, but it felt great to have completed a strong ride, and it was the season start to building strength and endurance for upcoming summer rides.

Wind is a motivation killer, even during the years when I was super dedicated to training on my bike whatever the weather. Relentless, humbling, merciless. Sometimes I actually moaned out loud as I hammered through those last miles. I was training for racing, but still, if it feels so miserable why do it?

The question is, do we have to suffer through workouts to get strong?

What is discomfort vs pain in a training session? 

You don’t need to suffer to transform your body or your mind. You need to move with purpose, joy, and enough challenge to grow, but never so much that it breaks you. That ride home was really hard, but I wasn’t broken, and there was no point that I wanted to quit and call an Uber.

Discomfort in a workout is normal. Discomfort = productive stress so you’re challenging your body, pushing your muscles or lungs just outside their comfort zone.

• Examples of discomfort: Muscles burning during the last few reps of a set. Heart rate elevated and breathing harder during cardio. Fatigue as you near the end of a tough circuit. Mild soreness a day or two later (DOMS: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).
• Examples of pain: Sharp, stabbing, or sudden, numbness or tingling, it stops you in your tracks, it doesn’t go away with rest or worsens over time. Pain is a warning signal telling your body to stop and for your brain to reassess.

You can remain strong and fit without workouts being punishingly arduous, or training taking over your life. My own workouts include 3-4 sessions a week of a fun variety of strength and mobility moves, including agility, and power, plus indoor rowing. The focus is on important basics: squats, deadlift variations, posterior chain, jumping, and stabilization, push/pull, and unilateral exercises, with appropriate rest between sets – depending upon volume and the weight you’re lifting.

Yes, there are periods of no training when life gets in the way – and it’s ok. Some of my clients beat themselves up, to their detriment. 

Regular recovery has to be factored into your training schedule.

You get strong when you’re resting, not when you’re training.

• Training is the stimulus. When you lift weights or do any challenging movement, you’re actually creating tiny micro-tears in your muscle fibers.

• Rest is the recovery phase. During rest — especially sleep — your body repairs those fibers and rebuilds them stronger than before.

• Without proper rest, you don’t adapt — you just break down.

I don’t mind serious discomfort because it usually leads to performance improvement. But I’m picking my battles with that damn wind!

Meanwhile, the rowing machine is doing the job of providing plenty of effective discomfort!

Onward~

x

Polli