Not into pain

A lot of people, when they hear what I do, assume I am some kind of sadist.  They joke about the tortures I inflict (or maybe they’re not joking???).  This is a complete misunderstanding of what I do.

 

Yes, people do pay me to get them to do what they don’t want to do.  Yes, sometimes the things they need to do are uncomfortable.  But no, I do not want people to hurt.  Not even a little bit.

 

Pain, in my profession, is often glorified.  We see or hear “inspiring” stories about Suzy the Amazing Athlete who finished the ultra double extra horrible long race of ordealness with two broken legs, a concussion, and cancer.  I do not recommend aspiring to this kind of achievement (no offense, Suzy…).  I do not want my clients to work until they are injured.  I want them to stop when they have worked all they can in a safe way.

 

Pain’s purpose is to get our attention.  When we try to lift a weight that is too heavy, our bodies signal us with a big fat OW so we stop, not so we pretend to be all super extra macho and keep on going.  Pain alerts us to places where we need to adjust our form.

 

Now, let’s go back to that discomfort thing.  I do believe that not all workout activities that are good for us are always easy and fun.  We will get sore and tired.  Discomfort is like pain’s early warning system—we stop before we get from discomfort to actual pain.  So yes, if a person works out with me and has to do, say, hamstring curls, that person will probably not be comfortable during the process.  But this is just how hamstrings express their indignation that they are having to do more than the usual amount of work.  They’ll get over it.  And they’ll get stronger.

 

We deal with pain by seeing our medical professionals, discomfort with our friends rest, ice, and ibuprofen, and we work out to strengthen our minds and bodies.

 

Short version:  pain is bad, discomfort is all right, and I believe in doctors, ice, rest, and ibuprofen.