Are you experiencing PAIN when you train?

Welcome to this week’s newsletter!

Pain is like your body’s alarm system.

It’s not always a sign of damage, but a signal that your brain thinks something might be wrong…

Or highlights that something in your body or system is “out of kilter”.

And here’s the thing, WHERE you feel pain is not always where the real problem might actually be?

Left knee pain could be caused by something going on in your right shoulder causing you to alter how you move.

Then we have the psychological aspect to pain too.

For example, you could have two people with almost identical MRI’s showing wear and tear to knee cartilage.

One of these people is experiencing a lot of pain, and one of them is playing tennis with no problems at all.

Why is this? There’s a few potential reasons including:

• Current stress levels.

• Sleep quality.

• Past experiences with injuries and pain.

• Beliefs or fears around pain and movement.

Some people are more sensitised than others due to the above.

We need to understand that the body is INTERCONNECTED.

This means that anything can have an influence on the sensations we feel.

Pain can come from your physical, mental and/or psychological state.

Have you ever experienced pain, tightness or poor movement in a muscle/joint during a particularly stressful period in your life?

While I am not suggesting that you IGNORE pain (quite the opposite) I do think that it’s good to reframe pain.

Lets look at how we can do this…

Is there a better word than PAIN?

Since learning from one of my mentors (Greg Mack) I now use the term I learned from him.

“Unwanted sensations”.

It is probably a more accurate representation of what is going on (excluding blunt force trauma), and less dramatic sounding.

It puts people at ease more and even helps you to view it more rationally, if you tend to fear it.

Don’t panic be CURIOUS…

If you are just starting to feel some unwanted sensations in an area then it doesn’t necessarily mean you are broken.

However, don’t ignore it and RIGHT NOW is the time to be curious and ask yourself some questions such as the following:

• Is it any particular exercise causing irritation or is it hurting in general?

• Have I felt it before or injured this area before?

• Has anywhere else in the body felt irritated lately?

• Does it hurt in certain positions?

• Have I been training too much or too often recently?

• Am I under more stress than normal?

• Am I sleeping well and recovering well between sessions?

The above is not set in stone, just be curious and dive into what might actually be going on.

Scale back, tweak and modify…

In most cases you may not need to stop entirely and rest completely.

Doing nothing is not always the best thing either as movement is good for you.

Here’s a few suggestions on what you can do:

• Cut your weekly sessions back.

• Eliminate ANY exercise causing irritation and swap for something that doesn’t.

• Shorten your sessions (perform less sets or less exercises overall).

• Focus more on quality and intention when you train over what you’re lifting.

• Change the nature of your program (focus more on “rehab” for a while).

• Focus more on sleep and recovery.

As always, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY and do what you feel is right for YOU.

Keep moving…

This ties in a little with the previous point but even if you can’t (or prefer not to) perform any resistance exercise…

Find some way of exercising and keep moving regularly.

It could just be some light walking or cycling but it’s so beneficial to keep your body moving.

General movement calms the nervous system, improves circulation, and can reduce sensitivity.

This can help ease unwanted sensations.

When in doubt GET SUPPORT!

While you don’t always need to immediately panic and lose sleep when something starts to hurt.

The key is NOT to leave it when it persists and/or you want to know what is going on with you.

Get assessed by a relevant PT, physio, osteopath or chiropractor depending on your situation (or preference).

“Pain” might just be the alarm for now, but if left for too long then something more serious could develop.

Regular full body assessments can be so beneficial as the body can change quickly.

I will assess my clients minimum twice per year (usually more) which always includes looking at stress, lifestyle and their body.

If you would like to know more about working with me and have any follow up questions.

Reach out to me on LinkedIn, OR email me personally at [email protected].

An assessment is the best way to plan the most effective AND safe training program for you moving forwards.

For now thanks for reading today, and stay tuned for the next edition of Train For Life next Saturday!

Daryl