The belief that if there is no pain, there is no gain is wrong! Lately, I’ve had too many people say to me that they want to feel the “burn,” or “pain,” during training sessions and group fitness classes. They believe that if they don’t feel these things, then they are not getting the results they desire. In fact, feeling the “burn,” or pain is never a good sign. I always tell my private clients and group fitness participants that if they feel pain, they should modify or cease the activity/exercise immediately.
I blame many fitness professionals for perpetuating this misleading myth. It is our job to educate our clients by helping them develop greater body awareness. In fact, it begins with body awareness. We need to gently ask clients what they are feeling and where they are feeling tension, stress, release, etc. during exercise. We need to bring them in touch with their bodies not out of touch!
Much of my ongoing work with clients involves helping them develop a healthy and safe relationship with the body and the mind and body. Without getting too technical – I refer to the acronym DOMS, which stands for the phenomenon of delayed onset muscle soreness usually felt after a workout. DOMS can persist for a few days. It is not pain or a burn. It is the physiological sensation in the body that you have worked your muscles, maybe ones that you hadn’t realized you had. It is a feeling of fatigue and slight soreness. Rule of thumb – remember pain is a signal that something is wrong, so there is no gain.
