When you start to get back into training, you may find that you have a few more aches and pains than you did before. There’s many times when I hear about clients cursing when trying to sit on the toilet after getting back into exercise for the first time. But how do you know if that pain is ok or not?
Enter GOOD PAIN vs BAD PAIN.
Good pain is the pain that you get after a workout or movement session that leaves you sore but doesn’t debilitate you. It doesn’t last for days on end, wake you up at night, and doesn’t lead to an increase of symptoms you might have had before such as stress incontinence or feelings of prolapse. You can have the pain and not worry too much about it unless it turns into...
Bad pain however, is the thing you need to pay attention to. It’s pain that makes you unable to go about your day. Previous symptoms pop up again. The pain and soreness stick around for longer than a couple of days and when you go to move in the same way again, it intensifies.
What can you do about the bad pain?
1. If you know what exercise or movement pattern you did when you felt the pain, back off of the intensity with which you do the exercise the next time around (ex decrease weight, keep movement pattern smaller, etc). Or you can change the exercise and see if doing something similar lessens the pain (ex squat vs stationary lunge).
2. Seek help. If you’ve never experienced this pain before and even if you have, getting it checked out by a medical and/or fitness professional to see if there’s anything going on that is causing it is a game changer. It can decrease your anxiety towards moving again as well as set you up on a path that can help eliminate the pain from happening again.
3. If you need to take a break from exercising due to the pain, use that energy to concentrate on the things you can control. Getting more rest and sleep, fueling your body with good food and water, as well as moving in a way that still feels good are all things that you have control over. Doing these things can help your injury recovery as well as set you up to get back to moving when things feel better.
Questions? Shoot me a message or comment below. I've got you!
