I'm showing my age. And not just because of the old John Mellencamp song reference from 1982. It is a great one, though. No, I'm talking more about muscles, joints, and recovery time. Sometimes I simply whine about it. Other times I actually behave in a quite infantile manner. Shameless confessions aside, it seems that the common attributes of everything that's good for us are painful, unappealing, or difficult.
It's a love-hate thing, actually. Sometimes more hate than love, at times. Take your vitamins! Study for finals! Say you're sorry! The results are worth it but it's always work at some level. Accomplishing goals takes work. Great relationships take work. Achieving fitness takes work. Getting to where we want to be in life is sweet, wonderful, and euphoric! But it's not always fun or easy.
A lot of fitness centers and personal trainers understand this and will state this fact to their clients openly. Everyone has heard "no pain, no gain" uttered through clenched teeth. It's not really a masochistic thing at all. Not for the average mentally stable person anyway. Of course there are always those who would take such phrases to extremes, individuals I personally take great care to avoid, by the way. The idea is the same no matter how you say it.
Feel the burn! Embrace the suck!
Uhm, okay. But is all that pain really necessary? Well, yes and no, according to research of the body's anaerobic and aerobic energy systems. To understand a bit more about this process read What Does "Feel the Burn" mean...and is it good or bad?. The good news is that muscles eventually learn how to manage through that burning sensation and it will lessen, over time.
Consider this truth: "No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way." Hebrews 12:11 (NLT) That pretty much tells it like it is, huh?
The Marine corps have adopted the quote "Pain is weakness leaving the body." Yeah, I can appreciate that on more than one level. No matter how much it hurts, in a get-your-lazy-self-moving sense, I know it will make me stronger. Bring on the pain!
Glory
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