The Myth of Pain—How to tell if your workout is working out

By Team Beachbody

Americans have been programmed in the "no pain, no gain" school, but achieving "pain" is no indicator that you are getting in shape. You needn't be doubled over and so sore that you can't raise your arms to wash your hair to know that your workout is getting results. On the other hand, if you are getting results, your body is experiencing some physiological changes so you should feel something you aren't used to.

Here are a few things to look for to see how your program is working for you:

1. The "no pain, no gain" myth—This saying is, to put it simply, not true. There are times when you need to put your body through some pain, but it is not a gauge as to whether or not your program is working. The only time exercise should really hurt is when you are in a power-endurance phase and your body is building up massive amounts of lactic acid. Even for athletes, this represents a small percentage of the time they work out. Most exercise should not hurt. If it does, chances are that you have an injury. (Of course, if you've never exercised at all you may think everything hurts but that is just getting used to exercising. If it feels good when you're done, chances are the "hurt" did not do any damage.)
2. Soreness—How sore should you be? A little sore, but not so sore that you can hardly move. If you find yourself getting too sore, back off a little on your next few workouts. Don't skip them, just allow yourself to go light. Soon your muscles will recover and you'll be energized to increase the intensity. Conversely, you should be a little sore. If you aren't, try increasing the intensity slightly. Think about this: your body is changing, and for the better. You have to feel something. Once you start to believe that this stiffness or heavy feeling means that you are getting leaner and more ripped, you may start to even crave the feeling. Also, soreness should decrease throughout a program. The longer you stay at it, the more used to it your body becomes.ould be clearer. If this is not the case, ask your trainer because this is why you are working out in the first place.
3. Energy level and appetite—When you start a program, you usually go through a tough period where you are both sore and ravenously hungry. Don't worry, this won't last long. You are habitually hungry because you have both changed your diet and started working out. You may even feel tired for a couple of weeks, which is more mental than physiological. A couple of weeks into the program, your body will adjust and you should start to have more energy than you did when you started. Your body starts to adjust and becomes used to using stored body fat for fuel. You may even have trouble sleeping because your body will start to require less sleep. (If this is the case, try intensifying your workout, which almost always does the trick). If you are doing a program where your energy is not increasing after a few weeks, start asking questions because it is an indicator that something needs to change.ould be clearer. If this is not the case, ask your trainer because this is why you are working out in the first place.
4. Sweating—it isn't a barometer on how your workout went. Like pain, many people feel that if they didn't sweat they didn't have a good workout. True enough, sweating is healthy and if you never sweat then you aren't exercising hard enough. However, you don't always need to be sweating buckets. Resistance training, especially if you are going light, doesn't necessarily build up much sweat and that doesn't mean you aren't getting benefits. So stay with your program, and beware of changing it so that you sweat more because this may actually cause you to over-train.ould be clearer. If this is not the case, ask your trainer because this is why you are working out in the first place.
5. Changes may vary—Everybody is different and there are no hard and fast rules about how you should feel all of the time. This makes starting a program a little difficult because you can't just ask your friends on the same program how you should feel because you may be adjusting at a different rate. You have to learn how your body reacts, and this will take some time. For now, just concentrate on really listening to your body. There is one constant for everybody: you should start to feel good! After the initial adjustment period, everyone should start feeling better than they did when they started. You should have increased energy and your thoughts should be clearer. If this is not the case, ask your trainer because this is why you are working out in the first place.