Working out: Good pain vs bad pain
March 14, 2016 9:16 AM Subscribe
I have limited time to work out, so I want to push myself hard in the time I've got, and I don't mind enduring short-term discomfort -- but I don't want to ignore my body's warning signals. How can I tell the difference between "This hurts because it's making me stronger" and "this hurts because I'm doing damage to my body?" What kind of pain means I should stop a workout, and what kind of soreness afterwards means I pushed myself too hard?
(If it's relevant, I'm a moderately fit middle-aged guy. I walk about 6000 steps a day, run occasionally, and do the The New York Times Workout roughly twice a week. I don't have any specific health conditions, and when I do feel pain during or after a workout, it tends to be in my elbows, knees, and back. )
(If it's relevant, I'm a moderately fit middle-aged guy. I walk about 6000 steps a day, run occasionally, and do the The New York Times Workout roughly twice a week. I don't have any specific health conditions, and when I do feel pain during or after a workout, it tends to be in my elbows, knees, and back. )
Best answer: What bswinburn said, and I'd add to be mindful of the difference between inconvenience and debilitation -- if you literally cannot do things with those muscles and limbs the next day (vs. just "Oh man, I am so sore I can barely move"), you may be pushing too hard.
posted by Etrigan at 10:12 AM on March 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Etrigan at 10:12 AM on March 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: This is a tricky question, since anything that makes you stronger is doing damage to your body. It's just that it is damage that the body will heal quickly, after which you'll be stronger, as opposed to damage that will take a long time to heal, if ever.
bswinburn's advice is generally good. My own approach, as a 48-year-old runner, cyclist, and hiker who also does a basic bodyweight routine every few days, is roughly as follows:
Soreness: Mild to moderate DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) a day or two after a workout is not a problem. Severe DOMS, or non-DOMS aches, are indications to cut back a bit or take a rest day. Example: after a 10-mile run and a 3.5-mile hike Saturday, and a 20-mile bike ride yesterday, my quads were feeling sore, with a mixture of DOMS and achiness. So I took it easy on my morning run.
Pain: Sharp/shooting pains, and pain that gets worse as I continue, are signs to stop immediately. Moderate pain that appears and disappears is OK: for instance, my knees are sometimes a bit sore near the beginning of a run, but after a minute or two they're fine. However, there are exceptions, especially if you have been injured before. I have an old bike crash injury near the top of my right fibula; if that area starts to hurt I ease off or stop.
Tendons and fascia are particularly important to mind, because they take a lot longer to heal than muscles. I haven't had any problems in a long time, but I did have some minor problems with iliotibial band syndrome in the 90s, and I have heard horror stories about plantar fasciitis.
By the way, running puts a lot of stress on your bones and connective tissue. I recommend either running regularly (using a progressive interval program like C25K to build up gradually) or not at all; running occasionally seems to be the worst of both worlds. Dr. Joe Ellis's book on Running Injury Free (I think that's the title) is worth a look.
posted by brianogilvie at 10:21 AM on March 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
bswinburn's advice is generally good. My own approach, as a 48-year-old runner, cyclist, and hiker who also does a basic bodyweight routine every few days, is roughly as follows:
Soreness: Mild to moderate DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) a day or two after a workout is not a problem. Severe DOMS, or non-DOMS aches, are indications to cut back a bit or take a rest day. Example: after a 10-mile run and a 3.5-mile hike Saturday, and a 20-mile bike ride yesterday, my quads were feeling sore, with a mixture of DOMS and achiness. So I took it easy on my morning run.
Pain: Sharp/shooting pains, and pain that gets worse as I continue, are signs to stop immediately. Moderate pain that appears and disappears is OK: for instance, my knees are sometimes a bit sore near the beginning of a run, but after a minute or two they're fine. However, there are exceptions, especially if you have been injured before. I have an old bike crash injury near the top of my right fibula; if that area starts to hurt I ease off or stop.
Tendons and fascia are particularly important to mind, because they take a lot longer to heal than muscles. I haven't had any problems in a long time, but I did have some minor problems with iliotibial band syndrome in the 90s, and I have heard horror stories about plantar fasciitis.
By the way, running puts a lot of stress on your bones and connective tissue. I recommend either running regularly (using a progressive interval program like C25K to build up gradually) or not at all; running occasionally seems to be the worst of both worlds. Dr. Joe Ellis's book on Running Injury Free (I think that's the title) is worth a look.
posted by brianogilvie at 10:21 AM on March 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: As a middle aged guy who's become a runner in the last two years (and been injured twice, sigh) I don't really think that 7 minute workout is really meant for us. At/approaching 40, your body will start to require more time for recovery, and consistently doing (even small stretches) of all out effort seems to be begging to break something. I think pretty much everything says that you should be pretty fit and strong before you start doing intervals (I.E. intervals are advanced/expert stuff, not for beginners).
Generally, bswinburn said it well that anything sharp, or near a tendon is a bad sign. Additionally, pay attention to how you feel from day to day, and look for the trends. If an area of your body is consistently getting tight/feeling off, and it's starting to get worse, you need to scale back before you need to take time off.
If everything is going well, you should feel fatigue, if you're feeling pain, it's only really OK if it's DOMS. DOMS should generally be symetric. Definitely muscle, not joint/tendon. Any other "pain" isn't a good sign. Tightness should be addressed with massage/form rolling. Never foam roll a joint.
You say knee and elbow pain - that seems like a bad location to me. Similarly back pain is usually your body's way of saying that you're doing something wrong. When I was still working on developing my muscles as I transitioned into running, towards the end of some runs I'd lose my good posture. In addition to my heals scuffing the ground my back wouldn't be straight. And I'd have a sore back for a few days.
It's much better to have good form and do "less" of an activity (slower with less power and/or fewer reps, etc) than to hit a goal (whether a holding time, or a rep count) with crappy form.
Listen to Etrigan; I didn't. I did't want to inconvenience my schedule. For soemthing I probably could have fixed with 2-4 weeks of reduced activity, I ended up having to have 4+ weeks with no activity, and am still slowly ramping back up. Likely it will be 3 months of lost time.
You mention middle age? There's a reason that past 40 you're a "masters" athelete. You need more recovery time, and less intense workouts.
posted by nobeagle at 10:23 AM on March 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
Generally, bswinburn said it well that anything sharp, or near a tendon is a bad sign. Additionally, pay attention to how you feel from day to day, and look for the trends. If an area of your body is consistently getting tight/feeling off, and it's starting to get worse, you need to scale back before you need to take time off.
If everything is going well, you should feel fatigue, if you're feeling pain, it's only really OK if it's DOMS. DOMS should generally be symetric. Definitely muscle, not joint/tendon. Any other "pain" isn't a good sign. Tightness should be addressed with massage/form rolling. Never foam roll a joint.
You say knee and elbow pain - that seems like a bad location to me. Similarly back pain is usually your body's way of saying that you're doing something wrong. When I was still working on developing my muscles as I transitioned into running, towards the end of some runs I'd lose my good posture. In addition to my heals scuffing the ground my back wouldn't be straight. And I'd have a sore back for a few days.
It's much better to have good form and do "less" of an activity (slower with less power and/or fewer reps, etc) than to hit a goal (whether a holding time, or a rep count) with crappy form.
Listen to Etrigan; I didn't. I did't want to inconvenience my schedule. For soemthing I probably could have fixed with 2-4 weeks of reduced activity, I ended up having to have 4+ weeks with no activity, and am still slowly ramping back up. Likely it will be 3 months of lost time.
You mention middle age? There's a reason that past 40 you're a "masters" athelete. You need more recovery time, and less intense workouts.
posted by nobeagle at 10:23 AM on March 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: It seems to me the problem with workouts in general for everyone is lack of preparation leading up to it. That includes warmups that get the body ready to do higher levels of activity and get the joints all opened up and ready to roll. Another form of preparation is doing workouts more often at less intensity so your body gets into a workout state more easily. Twice a week seems like weekend warrior kind of exercise. Your body has plenty of time to forget the lessons between workouts so your chances of hurting something is increased.
You are trying to stress your capacity to do physical work, then letting things repair before ramping things up again. In your case, I would start doing a warmup and mild exercise every day so when you get to workout day you are not completely starting up cold.
I guess the other side of your question is to know if you are pushing your workout too hard and end up injured. I think the same answer applies. More frequent exercise gives you more familiarity with your body's various strengths and weak points so you are better able to judge how your workout will affect you.
posted by diode at 10:56 AM on March 14, 2016
You are trying to stress your capacity to do physical work, then letting things repair before ramping things up again. In your case, I would start doing a warmup and mild exercise every day so when you get to workout day you are not completely starting up cold.
I guess the other side of your question is to know if you are pushing your workout too hard and end up injured. I think the same answer applies. More frequent exercise gives you more familiarity with your body's various strengths and weak points so you are better able to judge how your workout will affect you.
posted by diode at 10:56 AM on March 14, 2016
Soreness is okay. Pinching is bad. I wrote a comment about this previously.
posted by Brittanie at 11:38 AM on March 14, 2016
posted by Brittanie at 11:38 AM on March 14, 2016
Nthing what Swinburne said.
It's a very clear muscular ache for me, never joints, never sharp. I love it, I workout so I can have more of that deep achey goodness :)
Also, DOMS should be gone within a couple of days.
posted by stellathon at 4:04 PM on March 14, 2016
It's a very clear muscular ache for me, never joints, never sharp. I love it, I workout so I can have more of that deep achey goodness :)
Also, DOMS should be gone within a couple of days.
posted by stellathon at 4:04 PM on March 14, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks, everybody! You've given me a lot of helpful, sensible answers. My joints and I appreciate them!
posted by yankeefog at 7:42 AM on March 15, 2016
posted by yankeefog at 7:42 AM on March 15, 2016
Yeah I would also focus on where the pain is coming from. Wrists, knees, elbows and lower back are the places where, if I experience pain, I stop what I'm doing right away.
posted by Ziggy500 at 10:35 PM on April 1, 2016
posted by Ziggy500 at 10:35 PM on April 1, 2016
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posted by bswinburn at 9:26 AM on March 14, 2016 [6 favorites]