Pushing Through Pain Is Not Making You Stronger

I was asked something on a podcast last week and my answer might change how you think about pain during workouts.

I recently joined Dr. Anna Marie, MD, on The Duration Wellness Show, where we busted some common strength training myths and talked about what actually helps you get stronger and stay pain free.

It was such a good conversation, and I will be sharing pieces of it here over the next few months. 

Today I want to start with something that has come up a lot in my DMs lately, the idea that pushing through pain during a workout means you are getting stronger.

During the conversation I talked about a Loa member who once said something to me that completely changed how she thought about modifying movements. 

 “Customized, not modified.”

 It is one of my favorite perspectives on fitness I have heard in a while, and it is exactly the mindset that applies here too.

So many people believe that if a movement is causing them pain, the solution is to keep doing it until they get stronger and the pain goes away…

But, here is the thing: if a movement is causing you pain every single time you do it, doing it MORE will simply cause MORE pain.

Let's take a Hinge or Deadlift. 

If every time you Deadlift you just feel pain in your lower back instead of fatigue in your glutes, then it’s unlikely to “grow your glutes” and very likely to increase your back pain! 

If you want to effectively build muscle, you need to fatigue THAT particular muscle.

In short, your Glute work needs to fatigue your GLUTES, not your lower back.

And let’s not forget… the goal of strength training is to feel stronger AND to feel BETTER.

If a movement is causing pain, that is feedback from your body that something needs to be changed, not a green light to push harder.

This is exactly the kind of information I provide for you inside of Loa Movement classes- how to feel the RIGHT muscles working, and how to customize if you feel pain.

If this is the kind of approach you have been looking for, movement that is customized for real results, come join us!

You can get started with these 3 classes (no credit card required) → Loa Class Sampler

And if you want to hear my full conversation with Dr. Anna Marie, you can find the full podcast episode here → (give it a listen).