To Tell the Truth: Exercising HURTS!

In all honesty, exercising is PAINFUL. I'm willing to bet this is one reason so many couch potatoes out there are turned off by it. Not only does it take WORK, it also HURTS.

But there is a big difference between the muscle pain that is your body's natural recovery response to exercising and severe joint pain or muscle tears/sprains that come as the result of overdoing it.

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is the sore, painful, stiff feeling you experience in your muscles after working out. DOMS is most often felt when you are starting a new workout program or dramatically increasing the intensity or duration of your workout. This is completely normal and given time, your body will adapt and DOMS will eventually go away.

When you are a beginner, it is very important to be SMART about your workouts. You have to ease yourself into exercising, being careful not to do too much too soon.

At first you might not be able to make it through the entire workout video. You may have to press pause for a quick breather (but if you do, don't stretch out on the coach or floor! Walk around to keep your heart beat up!). I admit that I do this often. Sometimes you just have to get your breathing under control.

As someone with arthritis, I have to be especially careful. Sometimes the most simple movements can cause me to be in severe joint pain for days. And the trouble is that I never feel the pain DURING it, only after the fact several hours later. That's when I kick myself. You have to learn your limits and I'm still learning mine!

One trick I've found that really helps me is to take a warm shower BEFORE I work out. Now this sounds a little backwards and I admit that it's strange. But it REALLY works. If you want to reduce the post-workout muscle and joint pain you feel, try taking a shower beforehand. Not only does it help wake me up in the morning before I push play, it greatly reduces the stiffness and joint pain I wake up with every day. After a few minutes of letting the warm water run over my body, I emerge from the shower alert with my body warm and ready to tackle my workout.

You should try it!

So I admit that working out is painful. Working out is a balancing out for arthritis sufferers and for anyone new to exercising. You have to take it slow, no matter how anxious you are to start seeing results. A severe injury will just set you back all the more!

Make sure to take things slowly at first. And LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Over time the pain will lessen, I promise!