No Pain No Gain?

“No pain no gain”, the gym instructor proclaimed somewhat like a pundit (in the fitness arena), as he peered, more like glowered down at the trepid but determined new entrant into the local gym.

The said new entrant clearly needed to get in shape, even if only remotely so. He had a pouch the size of which would have anyone speculate how soon before labor, if he’d switched sexes. His wife’s nagging was the worst – or best, as far as incentives go. And then there was the occasional sharp, and then throbbing pain in his chest (usually after any strenuous work which, for him, was most rare indeed). “Angina pectoris”, his doctor told him, a precursor of a much more fatal myocardial infarction (a heart attack, to the lay man). So yes, he knew what he had to do.

Still, he realized that far from being a walk in the park, this was most likely going to resemble a trip through the North African desert barring the usual conveniences. In the end though, potentially arduous and likely grueling the journey may be, he was determined to make it.

Today, an increasing number of young to middle aged men and women have become wholly sedentary, resulting in an increase in the incidence of degenerating illnesses like angina pectoris (mentioned above), athero and arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure and the rest. These conditions were, until recently, considered an attendant peculiarity of the elderly. These days however, increasingly younger individuals are seen to suffer from these conditions and no, this unsavory trend isn’t restricted to the obese.

The campaign, therefore, regarding which physical fitness proponents are protagonists, is for increased physical activity amongst the younger population. Yes, structured physical activity has been determined to be the single most important factor towards a reversal in the above trend

Why is structured physical activity vital?

Consider that physical activity, especially of the aerobic type (jogging for example), strengthens the heart and lungs. Therefore your body is better able to cope with physical activity, even of the intense kind, without wearing out easily. Also, the potential for heart disease is quite tenuous indeed. The physically active almost never suffer from the debilitating illnesses enumerated earlier. Further, increased physical activity strengthens bones and joints – you feel stronger and sprightly. Further still, structured physical activity has been fingered as perhaps the most significant remedy for stress. It’s capacity to ameliorate stress and its unwholesome effects are indeed astounding. Need I say more?

However, the ‘slogan’ expressed rather pithily by the fitness instructor above, “no pain, no gain”, has decidedly become a disincentive for potential disciples of this movement towards improved health through physical fitness. Sedentary individuals pretty much cringe at the idea of having to suffer any amount of discomfort in order to achieve increased fitness. The fact is that, for beginners, pain and discomfort are attendant upon a sudden ‘burst’ of physical activity in these otherwise sedentary individuals. The complaint is usually of pain in the ‘surprised’ muscles usually a day or two after the exercise bout. This fallout (of exercise) is often referred to as “delayed onset muscle soreness” (DOMS). This is most common with newcomers in this fitness ‘swing’.

Still, all is not lost. My postgraduate thesis was on this DOMS, and I discovered that the ‘gains’ of physical activity – especially for the sedentary – should not necessarily be accompanied by the touted ‘pain’. It was determined, through scientific experimentation (validated), that massaging the strained muscles after the bout of exercise will indeed significantly decrease the incidence of DOMS in these individuals. Yes, good old massage. All test subjects recorded a significant decline in the experience of pain. Quite a number didn’t even register any pain at all. So if you’re a beginner contemplating starting an exercise regimen, you might want to consider throwing in a full body massage. If you can’t afford to have a masseur do this, you could get a book on massaging (there are quite a few in the market) and train your spouse, or anyone close enough, to have one done for you. The trick is to have one done immediately after each of the first few exercise bouts. Bye-bye pain. Trust me, it’s surprisingly easy.

The implication? The fitness instructor quoted at the onset, along with his cadre world wide would do well to construct a working phrase/slogan that would hopefully serve to incite rather than deter the numerous ‘Mr. new entrants’ the world over.

Yes, while there are numerous ‘gains’ resulting from an appreciable level of physical fitness through structured physical activity, there need not be any significant pain in attendance.

“No pain, no gain?” Not necessarily.