“No pain, no gain”

No pain no gain is an outdated and toxic thinking. This kind of mindset does nothing sustainable for your health and fitness. Sure, no pain no gain has it’s applications in extreme cases, like the special forces training or the Olympics. But are we striving to do those activities?

Pain, particularly the nerve and joint type is important, but as a messenger from your body to you, which says, please stop what you are doing. I lived through chronic knee and lower back pain for most of my late 20s and 30s, not because I wasn’t strong but because my mind was too weak to resist a very strong ego. The need to be the strongest and to constantly impress others. I trained through pain, blocked it off so well that I wasn’t even aware I was slowly decaying. I changed my entire mindset and thus the way I trained.

I now focus on moving better, getting stronger, eating well and getting sufficient recovery, especially quality sleep and rest time.

I’m turning 47 at the end of this year, and I sure am happier, more confident and move better than I was in my 20s.