on pain

Pain is the body's natural alarm system to warn us of overexertion, over-training, and of course, to instruct us to rest before something goes wrong. However, there is good pain, and there is bad pain. When we exercise, it is natural for us to feel pain - Unless you are Norman Stadler. The pain is there because basically we are tearing our muscles when we swim, bike, run, or performing any athletic activity. Then when we rest, the muscles rebuild and we get stronger.

Thread lightly on the fine line between good pain and bad pain.

For determined athletes like me, it is very easy for us to convince ourselves that the muscle soreness we feel everyday is a good sign that we are getting stronger.

Until we become totally incapacitated.

Hence it is very important to be able to distinguish between train and strain, and heed our body's warnings. No point going out on that 200km ride only to come back sick and having to rest for a week. Or worse, getting the dreaded ITB injury and then having to throw out the entire season.

That being said, I must say that I love pain. Sore legs in the morning tell me that I've been active the day before, and sore arms at night mean that I probably deserve my sleep. Pain and suffering just reminds me that I am alive, and drives me on further. =)

Then again, practice moderation and progressivism in training. No point doing too much too soon and wrecking your body: Try over stretching a rubber band and you can see that it can be snapped. Same goes for our body. Secondly, listen to your body as well. A heart rate monitor would be an accurate measurement of our fitness and/or fatigue level, so it would be good for anyone from casual park strollers to high performance athletes to invest in one.

To finish, let me leave you with the following quote: "Pain is necessary, but suffering is optional". Ponder on its meaning, and I hope that this article has offered you some insights to an enlightened approach to training.