Should we push throught the "pain"?

[cat44]

I just finished working out with Tracie Long on "Weights First". There is a moment when she tells us to push through the fatigue AND THE PAIN. This really surprised me. I have always heard that no one should continue to exercise if experiencing pain. Any comments? Thanks.

[Redeye]

It always made me laugh to see the sign on the treadmill at the gym: If you experience pain or discomfort, stop immediately." If I followed that advice, I'd never get on the treadmill; man, I experienced pain and discomfort for the first 10 minutes every time I ran!

There's pain and then there's pain. Any severe pain can be a warning sign.

That being said:

One day I asked my PT, "What happens if you are doing say, leg presses, and you have that awful burning pain in the muscle, but you keep going and don't stop. What happens?" She said, "Eventually, the pain subsides." Me, "Okay, I'll try it!" So I did.

I sat on a leg extension machine and started pumping out the extensions. The pain in my quads began to instensify, but I kept going. My entire body began shaking, and I thought I was going to puke, but I kept going and guess what? She was right. The pain went away. I couldn't walk for a few minutes, I was still shaking and sick to my stomach, but my quads didn't hurt. Would I do that again? Hell no! But it was an intersting experiment.

I pushed through the pain, and I sustained no injury, but I knew this kind of pain was not going to hurt me.

I think Traci is talking about that kind of pain.

[Apryl]

Adding to Redeye's answer...

There's a difference in pain of injury and pain of lactic acid building in a working muscle.

If the pain is in a *joint,* yes, stop. Allow time to determine if there's an injury.

If the pain is sharp and sudden in the *muscle,* stop. This also could be injury.

If the pain is in a muscle and feels like a burn, it usually means you're working it well. Good for you! This is the pain you "can" work thru, but isn't necessarily the right thing to do, depending on your fitness level.

[cat44]

Thanks for your input. I understand it better now.