When you’re training in the gym, and maybe even more so when you’re running, you’re going to experience pain. Pain is a feedback mechanism from our body back to our brain that something is wrong, and we should stop doing it. But should we?
There are two types of pain that may occur during a tough training session. One is acute pain from an injury. We all know what that feels like, it’s out of the ordinary, it feels immediately different. It feels like your body went from easy listening to heavy metal in a split second, and you have no choice but to listen to it. The appropriate response here is to stop what you are doing, at least momentarily, assess the situation, and modify your movement pattern to avoid the injured area, or stop altogether. I’ve been in situations where I thought the thing to do was to keep going – one example is a benchmark CrossFit workout called “Mary” that features pistol squats – and my left knee hasn’t been the same since. So, maybe don’t do that. Listen to your body and shift away from the injury, or wrap it up for the day and do what you need to to recover.
The second type of pain that can occur is not an injury but your brain can interpret it the same way. It is fatigue, soreness, even boredom (going back to the running bit).
“I just don’t want to do this anymore,” and the negativity in my head is getting gradually louder. I started at easy listening, spent some time at classic rock, and now my brain is overloaded with sad Alanis Morrissette played at full volume. “I’m miserable, and I need to stop. I should stop. I’ve probably done enough. Maybe I’ve done too much, maybe I’m going to get hurt if I keep going.”
This mental pain and anguish that you’re going through is important, and it’s part of the training. It’s the lesson, and it’s the test. If you stop, if you quit, then you are reinforcing that behavior for future training sessions, or even for future situations in your life where you will face challenges that seem too big. When it gets really hard, you’ll quit again. When the mental pain starts in, you’ll receive that signal just like you would from an injury, and decide the right thing to do when you are uncomfortable is to stop. Don’t act. Lay down.
Or, you could do the opposite. You could feel the pain, the fatigue, the weakness, and decide to keep going. Fall back on your training and refocus on your breath. Breathe and move. Instead of thinking about the whole workout and how hard it is, narrow your focus now on a micro-goal – I just need to finish this set, this mile. Imagine yourself as strong and capable, and pour that energy into your training. When you do finally finish this hard session, you will be elated with the accomplishment, that you didn’t quit and instead you persevered. And you’ve taught yourself the positive lesson that when things get tough you’re not going to quit. The next time a tough workout comes up, or you’re running farther than you ever have, or you have to have a hard conversation with your father, you’ll be strong. You’ll know that of course it’s going to hurt, there’s going to be pain. But it’s OK, you’re not injured, and this new experience is going to make you even stronger.
Work hard, stay strong.
Ryan