I want you to think differently about exercise. We have to understand that exercise is not only about body builders and gyms. Being strong leads to a better quality of life. Training for fitness gives us the ability to manage injuries and chronic conditions.
And I am sorry to say this, but you’re doing it wrong. I know you’re doing it wrong because I watch you. I know you’re doing it wrong because you still hurt. We’re born to move. Yet, most of us sit instead. Because we know we should be more active, we go to a gym to work out. But gyms are full of equipment we sit at to exercise, holding our mobile phone in one hand and a sports drink in the other. We move muscles without managing alignment or maintaining balance. We were born to move, yet most of us spend our time going nowhere.
Many of us also believe circumstances are a driving force in our life. “I have tight shoulders.” “I have a bad back.” “My knees hurt when I run.” “I hurt when I try to reach the top shelf.” Believing in circumstantial limits restricts our ability to change.
If we don’t make changes in our life, we keep moving in the same direction. But we can restructure our life to create a new flow. We can become efficient at moving. And the better we move, the better we move.
Pain Changes Everything
Pain changes everything. Pain changes the way we move. Pain changes the way we sleep. Pain changes the way we feel. Pain is like a fire alarm sounding in response to a fire in a building. In the same way, our nervous system sets off alarm bells when in pain.
We can think of pain as our nervous system going into “red alert.” The good thing is pain lets us know something is wrong, which can protect us from further injury.
It’s easy to cover up pain and mistake pain for the problem when actually it is telling us something is wrong. As a solution to pain, someone recommends an anti-inflammatory medication. We look for a quick fix and use medications to manage the symptoms associated with injuries and pain. But using medication to reduce pain doesn’t correct the problem.
We shouldn’t be in pain from basic movement. Discomfort is normal, but it is not pain. Discomfort should only last two days and be limited to our muscles, not felt in our joints. Altered movement from pain can aggravate and cause more movement problems. More movement problems can increase injury risk. We have to restore good movement if we want to be pain free.
When our knee or shoulder hurts from running or bike riding, we may not connect the pain to neglected flexibility and core strength. However, when our answer to the question “Does it hurt?” is yes, we should stop. Any hedging in the question is a yes. “After I warm up, it goes away” is still a yes answer. It’s common sense. Exercise should not cause pain. This seems basic, but we ignore pain all the time.
The Path to Healing Ourselves
There is no shortcut to health and well-being, and there never will be. If we stop moving, we develop movement problems. Dealing with the pain of a broken bone isn’t easy. But at least there’s an end in sight. When we hear about injuries like broken limbs, we wince. The limb heals because the injury isn’t forever.
And what if complete recovery isn’t an option? Chronic conditions like arthritis create pain that is unending. But regular activity can decrease our pain and make moving easier. Staying active is an important part of managing arthritis. We won’t be heroes and conquer that pain, but we can increase our quality of life to remain independent, healthy, and active.
There are no guarantees about what’s ahead of us or promises about living a long life. Sometimes pain doesn’t go away. Chronic pain is complex, but we can learn to manage it. Healthy lifestyle choices can add five, ten, even twenty years of living. And we will improve the quality of those years.
Our bodies should last a lifetime. We are born with bodies that know how to heal and repair themselves. The only way we hurt our body is by not using it. Healing and repair end when moving stops. Success is about enjoying movement. The price of success is in our willingness to work towards it.
There was a time when I believed that I should be sore for a week after a workout. I acted on the “more is better” philosophy, as well as a popular saying, “no pain, no gain.” In the 1960s, scientific evidence established that regular exercise led to good health. A lot of us who got hurt from working out thought the same way I did. As the fitness field developed, evidence revealed that there might be a limit to “more is better.”
Hippocrates believed that exercise was medicine. We need to persevere through the difficult stages of recovery. The key to living pain free is in its simplicity. Life teaches us that wishing doesn’t make things happen. It’s easy to think “I’ll never be able to do that.” Many of us give up, bemoaning our pain and stiffness. But persevering can reward our struggles with victories.
We need to live with vitality for as long as we can. It’s not where we start, it’s where we finish. Eagles soar until the day they die. We can do the same.
Jacqueline Gikow, is the owner of Audacious Living NYC™. Her holistic, health and wellness practice centers on pain relief through better movement. She is certified through the National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM), the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBCHWC), the Functional Aging Institute (FAI), MedFit, and the Arthritis Foundation (AFAP/AFEP). Her fitness practice includes in-home and remote, one-on-one fitness training and coaching in New York City. Jacqueline Gikow can be reached at: https://audaciouslivingnyc.com, or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/audaciouslivingnyc
References
- Jonathon Shaw. March-April 2004. https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2004/03/the-power-of-exercise
- Arthritis Foundation. https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/detail?content=healthyliving
