Exercise hurts so good

This week was a good one for workouts. I introduced a "300 Style" workout and got some terrific feedback from boot campers. The "feedback" was in the form of ..."name a body part" followed by, IS KILLING ME! Believe it or not that's a compliment!

I often wonder what it is about us crazy exercise "enthusiasts" that we enjoy sore muscles. Actually it's more of a love-hate relationship for me. Having sore muscles let's me know that I pushed myself hard enough to know that my muscles were stimulated and sufficiently overloaded. This means more calories burned and lean muscle growth. That's the love part.

The hate part is the pain I feel after a heavy squat workout, where my legs and butt are punished to the point where just trying to get up from a chair (or the toilet for that matter) is painful. I know you are laughing with me, right?

Still, I believe the love part wins out. I think it's because our brains rationalize the pain we feel after exercise as the price we have to pay for letting our bodies get out of shape. It's also the price we have to pay to "earn" our improved shapely physique. It's not a conscious process, we just accept it as part of the deal.

Of course there are many people who don't like the muscular discomfort and quit. Personally, I feel for these individuals. I know if they just hang in there for a few weeks, they'll be so very glad they did. The benefits are so worth it. If you are one of those people and you are reading this, please try again. Just start more slowly and progress gradually. It's the too much, too soon exercisers that often give up. And can you really blame them? The limbic part of the brain codes anything that is new and different as "bad and wrong". What follows is the brain equates exercise with pain, and well, you know how this story ends. It saddens me when I see people who have passed through boot camp. They come for one session expecting miracles and then just give up. I know, because I often see some of these individuals around town months later and they are often, well, a lot fatter.

Another thing I've noticed is that we like to share our pain with others. It's cool to let others know we hurt too! No one likes to hurt alone, and more importantly no one likes the person who kicks it hard and doesn't hurt at all. What's with that? I guess we all secretly want to be one of those fortunate few. Hey, if you were thinking that person is me, guess again! To prove my point, we often have a week off in between each boot camp, right? Well, I use that week to organize, write, work on marketing, follow up phone calls, etc., and I rarely work out. After just one week off, I can feel the effects of my workouts when the next boot camp starts. In only a week!

But what does it mean to you? Care to comment? By all means please do!