Exercise and fitness are inevitably accompanied by fatigue and even pain.

About 90% of the fatigue and pain that occur during exercise and fitness are the body's normal stress response to exercise stimulation. You don't have to stop training completely when it hurts, nor do you ignore it. The core judgment criteria are the type of pain and the time of occurrence.

Those of us who often go to the gym must have had this experience: after a leg workout, my legs are shaking when going up and down the stairs the next day. I have to grin when I raise my arms to put on my underwear. Even a cough can make my abdominal muscles hurt. If I have just finished a deadlift, I am afraid I have to find someone to help me tie my shoelaces. This wide range of soreness is, to put it bluntly, delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). It is a normal manifestation of slight tearing of muscle fibers after being stimulated by resistance and the accumulation of metabolic waste. It is a necessary process for muscle growth. It is really not an injury due to training.

Regarding how to deal with this kind of normal soreness, the methods of playing in different circles are quite different. Old bodybuilders believe in "it's only when it's sore" that they have to find a light weight and hit a few sets of the same parts the next day, euphemistically called "activating congestion and speeding up metabolism."” ； Several rehabilitation therapist friends I know are more conservative and recommend foam rolling + 20 minutes of low-intensity aerobics, such as walking slowly or riding an elliptical machine, to use blood circulation to take away metabolic waste. ； There is also the "lying flat to restore flow" that has become popular in recent years. You don't have to do anything, drink more water and take protein, and wait 72 hours for the soreness to disappear on its own. I have tried all three methods. To be honest, apart from the refreshing feeling of doing a set the next day after practicing, the effects are not much different. Just choose what you can accept.

But you have to be able to distinguish which kind of pain is normal and which kind of pain is your body saying stop.

Normal soreness is basically widespread, and the muscles feel hard to the touch. It only hurts when you press or exert force. There is no sharp tingling sensation, and there is no snapping or jamming of the joints. But if the pain is concentrated in a certain small point, such as the inner side of the knee, the acromion, or the seam of the wrist joint, and there is a sharp pain like a needle when you exert force, or even a dull pain when you don't move at ordinary times, then there is a high probability that the movement is wrong or the weight is too heavy and the injury is caused. Don't hesitate, stop training immediately and take a picture when it is time to take a picture, don't bear it.

I've suffered from this problem before. When I was practicing deadlifts last year, my shoulders almost sank. It was normal for my trapezius muscles to be sore the next day, but there was a small spot on the inside of my wrist that made me feel bad when I held the barbell.

Nowadays, there are always quarrels on the Internet about "should you stop if it hurts?" One group says, "If it hurts, it means you have practiced correctly. Only when it hurts can you grow muscles." The other group says, "Stop as soon as it hurts. Don't sacrifice your health for fitness." In fact, both sides are right, but they are applicable to different groups of people.

The former is talking about a person with two or three years of training experience. He has already understood his body's reaction, can accurately distinguish between soreness and pain, and knows what kind of pain is normal. Of course, he can continue to practice.； The latter is a safety suggestion for novices. After all, many people just enter the gym and don't even know the movement pattern correctly. They can't tell what is muscle soreness and tendon pain. Stop when it hurts, because they are afraid that you will cause permanent damage if you push hard. When I accompanied a friend to the rehabilitation department, I saw a young man doing bicep curls and swinging his waist like crazy. His arm hurt for a week and he thought it was muscle growth. When he came for a checkup, the tendon of the long head of the biceps was torn. In the end, he had a minor operation. It was really not a mistake.

To be honest, fitness is a process of talking to your body. Don’t be afraid of soreness, and don’t suffer to save face. Don't increase the amount too much in normal times. For example, if you have been squatting 80 kilograms before, don't rush to 120 suddenly. Don't do a perfunctory warm-up. Don't just add weights to the barbell. Dynamically stretch for ten minutes and walk on the empty bar for two sets. It is much better than if you are so painful after practice that you can't sleep.

After all, we exercise for the sake of good health, not to compete with others in terms of weight, nor to show off in a circle of friends. When you feel pain, rub it twice more and feel whether it is the soreness of the entire muscle or the tingling of a certain point. It is more useful than reading ten popular science articles. If you're really unsure, taking two days off won't delay your muscle growth, right?