Discomfort Versus Pain

Discussing the amount of discomfort or pain that a person experiences during exercise is a topic that could go long and deep. There are many factors, from personal pain tolerance, experience, inflammation and chronic health conditions. All of it comes down to a person's relationship with their body and pain, which is deeply individual.

As a trainer, one of the things I hold myself responsible for teaching is managing this relationship and separating pain from discomfort. For some people, this is harder than others.

Some are very in-tune with their body, but not used to differentiating between discomfort and pain. They get uncomfortable, they stop what they are doing. Discomfort = pain. This makes them extremely resistant to exercise, as they perceive it as painful. But it is easy enough to ease this person into trusting that discomfort does not mean they are hurting themselves by working closely on correct form, and reassurance. With experience, their understanding of the nuance will grow.

This type is much more easily overcome than those who ignore both pain and discomfort, because this requires me to teach them how to listen and respond to their body. And many of them have reasons for not listening to their body. Chronic pain, for example, leads many to stop listening to pain signals because they are just there all the time. Neurodivergence often comes with this as well. The neurodivergent person has been told that what their body says is wrong, disruptive, too much, inappropriate, and trusting those who tell them this, they cut off their body. Or their own brain is too focused on something else, and simply CAN'T hear what their body is telling them. Those suffering from trauma also tend to cut off their own body in order to protect themselves from the source of their trauma.

This is a much more complicated problem. I am just a trainer, not a therapist, psychiatrist, or counselor. But I do believe in the positive effect of learning to listen to your body. It can lead to an upward spiral of healing and improved quality of life over time.

It is possible to ease into a better understanding of your body's response to pain and discomfort, and you don't have to fix everything about yourself to do it. It is a gentle relationship, and can be undertaken slowly.

Here are some ways to learn to listen to your body and discern pain from discomfort:

Start small.

This is the best way to test your boundaries. You want to experience discomfort WITHOUT pain! This is the key to re-training your brain to listen to your body.

The way I incorporate this into class is taking a small muscle group to failure. Doing biceps curls, triceps extensions, or calf raises are a few ways to do this with minimal risk of injury, but you could do it with any muscle group. These small muscles fatigue quickly, and so you can quickly feel the "burn" of discomfort. Stop there! No pain, just discomfort. Practicing this regularly will help your brain to connect that exercise does NOT equal pain. Discomfort is different! You will have a sore arm/calf, but you will not be in pain.

You could do this with cardio as well. Jog, bike, dance, whatever you prefer, but only go hard enough to feel it, not so hard that you are huffing and puffing. Your heart rate is elevated, but not in your "intense" range (see this calculator if you aren't sure what your range is, using the "moderate" category or below as your target range). If you don't have an easy way to track your heart rate, use the "talk" test. You should be able to speak easily. If you were talking to a friend, they could tell you were exercising, but you would still be able to speak quickly and clearly enough to carry on a conversation.

Maintain this for as long as it is possible. At some point, you will get fatigued and not be able to easily jog, bike, dance, etc., without huffing and puffing, and that is your stopping point. Set no time or distance goals. Just have the goal to move until you reach that point.

If you practice this, you are also more likely to experience the "runner's high," or the euphoric release of hormones that can happen after exercise. Some runners never experience this, and it is because they go too hard. Moderate intensity is the key!

Set a goal

I come to this again and again, don't I? But it is the easiest way to see progress. So how do you set a goal to improve your relationship with your body? There are several options.

You could set a goal to practice the small steps above twice or three times a week.

You could set a goal to notice how you are feeling, preferably a few times a day. There are many mood and symptom tracker apps available for free, or you can just use a notebook and note down time, how you feel, and any relevant notes (what activity you are doing, the source of any pain or discomfort, or life factors contributing to the feeling.)

You could set a goal to practice a mindful meditation practice, maybe even while you are exercising, or a practice like yoga nidra or progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) to fully relax and let your body experience a period of time free from pain and discomfort (especially helpful for my chronic pain sufferers.)

What NOT to do

Do not just push through it. This is the path to injury.

Many influencers and inspirational speakers will talk about pushing through pain and the fulfillment they found. Maybe it is true for them! But this crowd is often suffering from injuries. They are often running away from other pain, such as addiction or mental illness. Some of them even say that their approach is not recommended.

If you want to pursue Olympic gold, or set world records, I imagine some pain might be expected. But if you are just a person seeking a full, healthy life, pain and injury are going to prevent that more than they help you.

Even David Goggins' approach of "embracing the suck" could be potentially interpreted as a way to become comfortable with discomfort, NOT pain.

Remember, discomfort is good, even desirable in order to see progress. Pain is a signal to stop.

It takes time to learn your body, learn to understand the differences between pain and discomfort, but it is important if you want to see growth and progress in your health goals. You will never get better or stronger by avoiding discomfort, but you will also set back your strength and improvement by ignoring pain and worsening bad form and injuries.

Learning to enjoy discomfort and honor pain is a skill just as important as learning good form or technique for your exercise of choice.

She gets it.