No Pain, No Pain
My back hurts.
I dead-lifted 110 kg for six reps this morning, and it seems that my body has decided that was too much. My mind considers this weight to be embarrassingly light, but my body has other ideas.
Now, I’m not one to chant the “no pain no gain” mantra, and it’s safe to say that you will never see me crushing a beer can on my forehead. However, as I sit here in my ergonomic chair waiting for my back to go into spasm, I have to conclude that if I didn’t injure myself slightly every once in a while, I would probably be doing something wrong.
It about limits. If you go beyond your limits, you injure yourself, but the only way to know what your limits are is to occasionally go beyond them. And, of course, once you go beyond your limits a few times, you discover that your limits aren’t where they used to be and the process begins anew.
This is true, not only in sports, but in business, relationships, new experiences, and just about everything that’s worth doing.
March 22nd, 2006 at 8:12 pm
Also true for basic health, though could be fatally dangerous. I was recently watching a program on how our relatively sterile lives have weakened our immune systems. They gave an example of an African tribe that uses mud on their faces and body for religious purposes and instead of making them sick, the bacteria in the mud improves their immunity to other, more serious ills.
I’ve always thought about how health may be improved in general by exposing ourselves to various types of diseases and viruses, a multi-vaccination of sorts. Off course, we’d have to survive them first.
March 23rd, 2006 at 11:28 am
I think it’s true for a lot of things. I read a book some time ago that made a convincing case that the “epidemic” of RSI and carpal tunnel syndrome so common in America today is caused not by the movement itself, but by the lack of movement in general.
I suppose part of wisdom is knowing when pain means “Don’t do that.” and when pain means “Take a break and try again later.”
March 29th, 2006 at 2:30 am
Interestingly it also has a lot to do with your psychological state. It may sound absurd, but I’ve often managed to avoid getting ill just by concentrating on not getting ill. Same goes for pushing yourself in everything else.
Another example, why is it that it is mostly disgruntled and overworked office workers who suffer from RSI/carpal tunnel and not gamers or coders who keep at it for hours and hours, non-stop?
March 31st, 2006 at 12:37 pm
> Another example, why is it that it is mostly disgruntled and
> overworked office workers who suffer from RSI/carpal tunnel
> and not gamers or coders who keep at it for hours and hours,
> non-stop?
I never thought of that. I think you are onto something there. If it were as simple as RSI being caused by repeated motions, RSI should be crippling the gaming community.