It's Not That Kind of Pain
Something I read somewhere had always stuck in my mind though I'd long forgotten where I'd read it.
I got the idea to create this website and blog less than two weeks ago. The very first visitor to be logged by my site stats was a referral from a Live Journal site. And there it was:
I don't understand what's so attractive about the phrase "No pain, no gain" - my daughter overheard it somewhere and said it to me this weekend and promptly got an earful about the fact that pain means your body is saying "NO! STOP!".
I remember when I first read this thinking about how this person must have never even attempted to work her body to a point of challenging her physical limits and has no idea what it's like. I think that's very unfortunate and exceptionally unfortunate that she's passing this complete misconception on to her daughter.
"Pain" is figurative of course. The expression isn't meant to refer to the kind of pain that signals actual injury but rather the "pain" of effort and hard work and a high level of challenge. And yes, the discomfort that you fight through when you meet your body's limits and a bit of the soreness that will naturally occur when you work intensely. But essentially, the sentiment refers simply to the idea that anything truly valuable to acquire and achieve will require exceptional effort.
To speak literally for a moment, however...I find the feeling in my body immediately after a very hard training session to be absolutely exquisite. I am so disappointed if I don't have that "worked out" feeling the next day. I want to spend all day being reminded of how hard I am working. It drives a sense of motivation for the kind of person I want to be on all levels. That is the mind and body connection that hard training has created for me.
The work I do in physical training has extended out to all areas of my life, creating a sense of overall motivation and drive in me. I've always been the kind of person who worked very hard for what I wanted. But it's different now. Feeling in control of my body was the one thing I couldn't achieve for all my life. It's like a major link has been added to the chain and that chain is made of titanium!
I also think of the "pain" as challenge that I welcome and get excited about. I greatly enjoy learning new exercises that are very tough. The sense of accomplishment I will achieve when I master them will be enhanced by the fact that I pushed my body's abilities a little further once again.
Some Swiss ball work my trainer had me try recently is very difficult. First, she had me do the Hamstring Curl with one leg at a time. That is the next step progression in difficulty for that exercise and it's a big step! Next, we worked on pikes. WOW that was tough! I started out by simply trying to hold a push-up-like position on the ball. That is what I had to work at mastering first before moving on to the pike.
I don't have a name for this exercise! To try it, roll out on the ball like you're going to do push ups, all the way to your toes and hold that position. Your hands are on the floor, your arms fully extended, and your legs are straight out, toes pointed on the top center of the ball. Just like the top position of a push up, except your feet are on the ball instead of the floor. The degree of balance that is required is INTENSE!!! When I first tried this with my trainer, I could only hold this position for 15 seconds with great effort! When I got home and tried it the next day though, I was able to do it well! I have the strength in my abs; I needed to be very focused. Sometimes I can do something when I focus on the part of my body that is engaged to accomplish the exercise. I actually surprised myself that I just rolled out the ball and I DID IT. I held the position as if I were doing a full-arm-extension plank on the floor, steady as a rock!
I got the idea to create this website and blog less than two weeks ago. The very first visitor to be logged by my site stats was a referral from a Live Journal site. And there it was:
I don't understand what's so attractive about the phrase "No pain, no gain" - my daughter overheard it somewhere and said it to me this weekend and promptly got an earful about the fact that pain means your body is saying "NO! STOP!".
I remember when I first read this thinking about how this person must have never even attempted to work her body to a point of challenging her physical limits and has no idea what it's like. I think that's very unfortunate and exceptionally unfortunate that she's passing this complete misconception on to her daughter.
"Pain" is figurative of course. The expression isn't meant to refer to the kind of pain that signals actual injury but rather the "pain" of effort and hard work and a high level of challenge. And yes, the discomfort that you fight through when you meet your body's limits and a bit of the soreness that will naturally occur when you work intensely. But essentially, the sentiment refers simply to the idea that anything truly valuable to acquire and achieve will require exceptional effort.
To speak literally for a moment, however...I find the feeling in my body immediately after a very hard training session to be absolutely exquisite. I am so disappointed if I don't have that "worked out" feeling the next day. I want to spend all day being reminded of how hard I am working. It drives a sense of motivation for the kind of person I want to be on all levels. That is the mind and body connection that hard training has created for me.
The work I do in physical training has extended out to all areas of my life, creating a sense of overall motivation and drive in me. I've always been the kind of person who worked very hard for what I wanted. But it's different now. Feeling in control of my body was the one thing I couldn't achieve for all my life. It's like a major link has been added to the chain and that chain is made of titanium!
I also think of the "pain" as challenge that I welcome and get excited about. I greatly enjoy learning new exercises that are very tough. The sense of accomplishment I will achieve when I master them will be enhanced by the fact that I pushed my body's abilities a little further once again.
Some Swiss ball work my trainer had me try recently is very difficult. First, she had me do the Hamstring Curl with one leg at a time. That is the next step progression in difficulty for that exercise and it's a big step! Next, we worked on pikes. WOW that was tough! I started out by simply trying to hold a push-up-like position on the ball. That is what I had to work at mastering first before moving on to the pike.
I don't have a name for this exercise! To try it, roll out on the ball like you're going to do push ups, all the way to your toes and hold that position. Your hands are on the floor, your arms fully extended, and your legs are straight out, toes pointed on the top center of the ball. Just like the top position of a push up, except your feet are on the ball instead of the floor. The degree of balance that is required is INTENSE!!! When I first tried this with my trainer, I could only hold this position for 15 seconds with great effort! When I got home and tried it the next day though, I was able to do it well! I have the strength in my abs; I needed to be very focused. Sometimes I can do something when I focus on the part of my body that is engaged to accomplish the exercise. I actually surprised myself that I just rolled out the ball and I DID IT. I held the position as if I were doing a full-arm-extension plank on the floor, steady as a rock!
posted by Dagny at
4:52 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home