Working out is hard work and I work out hard. Very hard.
Just back from my usual two-hour stint at the gym. Did a hard workout starting with a warm-up on the exercise bike, then a stretch, and then PAIN.
Yeppers, PAIN.
Well, not pain in a bad way. Some pains can be good.
Like the feeling you get when your muscles are burning because they are working so hard. That’s a good pain – it means you’re actually exercising instead of just flopping about like most people at the gym.
Then there’s the pain of sweat in one’s eyes. Sweat is salty, and when it gets into your eyes, it burns.
But this is a good burn too, as it means you’re working up a sweat and burning off calories.
Then comes the pain of first beginnings. This is the pain you get about 15 minutes into a cardio routine on a treadmill, eclipse machine, or other type of cardio machine. It comes from your body getting over the “hump” of going from a normal heart beat, to an exercise heartbeat.
Many people fail the pain of first beginnings. They think it is too much pain. But if they only kept at whatever it was they were doing, eventually, the pain subsides and you get into a rhythm and begin to enjoy the workout. The pain of first beginnings only
lasts about 15-20 minutes, but often people give up well before it goes.
Or, they constantly switch exercise machines to try and stop the pain. I see a lot of women at the gym do this. They get on a treadmill and run at full tilt for five minutes. The pain of first beginnings kicks in and they walk briskly for a few minutes. The pain subsides, but it hasn’t completed because they slowed their workout down.
Thinking the pain is gone, they get back up to a running pace, only to give up in a couple of minutes when the pain of first beginnings comes again. Then they do the exact same stupid thing, on another cardio machine, only to go to yet another cardio machine.
You don’t get a great exercise by constantly jumping ship every time you start to work your muscles. Actually, you can pull a muscle that way, because just as your body starts to limber up, you stop, cool down and then get back into an intense workout pace – all while being cooled down.
But not all is pain at the gym. One of the best feelings comes after a good long workout – the success of satisfaction.
The feeling of actually lifting more weight, doing more repetitions, doing more sets, running further or faster, or at a higher inclination – all of these are great rewards to the PAIN.
But I still find the best reward, is the steam room afterwards. There’s more pain, as the heat builds up in and around you until you can’t stand it anymore and you just have to escape.
But until that moment comes, the steam fills and surrounds you making you feel so relaxed, and soothed.
And of course, there is a burst of satisfaction upon leaving the steam room, hitting the showers, knowing you have completed a good workout.
Just back from my usual two-hour stint at the gym. Did a hard workout starting with a warm-up on the exercise bike, then a stretch, and then PAIN.
Yeppers, PAIN.
Well, not pain in a bad way. Some pains can be good.
Like the feeling you get when your muscles are burning because they are working so hard. That’s a good pain – it means you’re actually exercising instead of just flopping about like most people at the gym.
Then there’s the pain of sweat in one’s eyes. Sweat is salty, and when it gets into your eyes, it burns.
But this is a good burn too, as it means you’re working up a sweat and burning off calories.
Then comes the pain of first beginnings. This is the pain you get about 15 minutes into a cardio routine on a treadmill, eclipse machine, or other type of cardio machine. It comes from your body getting over the “hump” of going from a normal heart beat, to an exercise heartbeat.
Many people fail the pain of first beginnings. They think it is too much pain. But if they only kept at whatever it was they were doing, eventually, the pain subsides and you get into a rhythm and begin to enjoy the workout. The pain of first beginnings only
lasts about 15-20 minutes, but often people give up well before it goes.Or, they constantly switch exercise machines to try and stop the pain. I see a lot of women at the gym do this. They get on a treadmill and run at full tilt for five minutes. The pain of first beginnings kicks in and they walk briskly for a few minutes. The pain subsides, but it hasn’t completed because they slowed their workout down.
Thinking the pain is gone, they get back up to a running pace, only to give up in a couple of minutes when the pain of first beginnings comes again. Then they do the exact same stupid thing, on another cardio machine, only to go to yet another cardio machine.
You don’t get a great exercise by constantly jumping ship every time you start to work your muscles. Actually, you can pull a muscle that way, because just as your body starts to limber up, you stop, cool down and then get back into an intense workout pace – all while being cooled down.
But not all is pain at the gym. One of the best feelings comes after a good long workout – the success of satisfaction.
The feeling of actually lifting more weight, doing more repetitions, doing more sets, running further or faster, or at a higher inclination – all of these are great rewards to the PAIN.
But I still find the best reward, is the steam room afterwards. There’s more pain, as the heat builds up in and around you until you can’t stand it anymore and you just have to escape.
But until that moment comes, the steam fills and surrounds you making you feel so relaxed, and soothed.
And of course, there is a burst of satisfaction upon leaving the steam room, hitting the showers, knowing you have completed a good workout.
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