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Fit and Fine by Kamal Singh CSCS: No pain no gain
There are plenty of reasons why this phrase is not applicable when it comes to working out efficiently
“No pain no gain” has been the personal mantra of many a fitness fiend over the last couple of decades. But I think time has come for us to dump this ridiculous slogan for an improved one which cannot be so easily misinterpreted. I am aware that the phrase, “no pain no gain” was not to be taken literally. It was meant as reminder that working out takes you out of your physical comfort zone. Adaptation does not occur if the body is not pushed beyond its current limits. The pain most people would encounter would be from the soreness that accompanies a hard workout and not the pain from torn muscles, blown tendons and ligaments!
General Adaptation Syndrome
In 1946, Dr Hans Selye, a medical researcher, described the process of how the body responds to stress. He called it the General Adaptation Syndrome. According to Dr Selye, the body goes through three stages whenever it faces any kind of stress. Working out is definitely a type of stress.
•The first stage is called the Alarm Reaction Stage – the body releases chemicals like cortisol as it encounters an unknown or a new stress. Heart rate and blood pressure go up. Basically, the body is out of its comfort zone and fighting to find equilibrium.
•The Second stage is called the Resistance Phase – the body starts to repair itself; cortisol is lowered, heart rate and blood pressure is normalized. Tissues become stronger and resilient.
•The third stage is the Exhaustion Stage – prolonged stress leads to break down. It could show up as burn out, mental fatigue, illness or injury.
GAS can be simply explained through an example of how our body would react to exposure to a hot sun. Initially you might have reddish skin which is hot to touch etc. The second stage is when the skin gets tanned and the person is able to tolerate the hot sun. The third stage is sun burn or skin damage because of too much exposure.
The General Adaptation Syndrome also applies to any kind of physical fitness training, especially those guys who are perennially in a “beast mode” or believe in No pain no gain. Endurance guys and gals are also not exempt from this warped thinking. More is better manifests all the time in the endurance community too. People wanting to run marathons without taking at least a year to prepare for their first one are just looking for trouble!
Minimum effective dose
I propose a smarter slogan for the 21st century – Minimum Effective Dose. A doctor does not give the patient kilos of medicine for any ailment. They try to give the Minimum Dose that would have an effect. Exercise, I believe, is also a type of medicine and we need to find the least amount which would have a positive impact and not the maximum we can do. Here are some of the basic and simple guidelines for the general fitness trainees:
1.Do three full body weight training sessions each week. Including a warmup, 45-50 minutes is more than enough.
2.Do three days of easy cardio where the heart rate goes up and there is some discomfort while doing the cardio. You can do a fast-paced walk, jog/run, cycle or use an elliptical.
3.If pressed for time, you can cut the training down to one day of strength training and two days of cardio in a week.
4.Intensity is the name of the game and not volume. Lift with good form but push the heavier weights as you get stronger and not just add sets.
5.Very few of us need five exercises of any body part!
6.You cannot out train a bad diet. Get leaner by controlling your diet and through exercise.
Now go and do it.
Kamal Singh is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist who has been coaching for 15 years.
From HT Brunch, July 9, 2022
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