Stop it! It hurts! Role of pain and suffering in my workouts.

(can never get enough old Far Side's)

I was in yet another deathly painful spinning class this past Sunday morning, and I started to have an existential crisis.  What is with the whole exercise = pain thing?  I am a person who seeks misery?

I was back in the gym this morning, doing my best to put in a good workout on the weights.  While I was going through my routine, I kept hearing loud grunts and whelps from a largely built young dude who was lifting giant quantities of iron.  He is a trainer (and according to his civilian T-shirt, a bodybuilder), who clearly works out a lot harder than I do.  I started wondering if I lifted hard enough as I rarely make grunting or any other variety of animalistic noises.  I started wondering if I should I be upping the workout ante?

This led me to the broader question about exercise:  is it supposed to be a little painful?  Is it really a workout if you aren't a little miserable while you're doing it?

Technically, the easiest way to think about this is by considering the difference between moderate and vigorous intensity exercise.  From an aerobic exercise perspective, the difference is in the heart rate:

• Moderate intensity:  50% to 70% of maximum heart rate (depends on your age) or 89 bpm to 124 bpm for a 43 year old person (which might be kind of my age)
• Vigorous intensity:  70% to 85% of maximum heart rate or 124 bpm to 150 bpm for the same 43 year old person

 Some specific examples of the different types:

• Moderate intensity activities (again, courtesy of CDC):  walking briskly (3 miles per hour or faster, but not race-walking), water aerobics, bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour, tennis (doubles), ballroom dancing, general gardening.  [I will resist the temptation to tease them on their choices.]  
• Vigorous intensity activities:  race walking, jogging, or running, swimming laps, tennis (singles), aerobic dancing, bicycling 10 miles per hour or faster, jumping rope, heavy gardening (continuous digging or hoeing), hiking uphill or with a heavy backpack (no, jet-packs don't count)

The physical fitness guidelines (via 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which Weight Watchers supports) are:

• 2 1/2 hours of moderate intensity activity per week plus two or more days of muscle strengthening activity OR
• 75 minutes (1 and 1/4 hrs) of vigorous intensity activity per week plus two or more days of muscle strengthening

The same HHS guidelines suggest that doubling this provides event better health benefits.  Yes, they would really like you to get in 300 minutes of moderate activity or 150 minutes of vigorous activity per week.  

Suffice to say, it's not a target you hit by falling out of bed (unless you are a really restless sleeper).  What about me?  I am currently hitting the following:

• Lifting 4X per week (50 minutes per session):  I'm good here.  
• Aerobic:  1 spin class (50 min @ vigorous), 2X45 minutes on stationary bike (fairly vigorous, but maybe could be made more challenging) and 2-3X 30 minutes (on lifting days).  That's about 200 minutes at moderate-to-vigorous intensity.  

Therefore, according to Uncle Sam, I'm hitting the guidelines for "Even Greater Health Benefits".  Go me!  So what's the problem?  

Technically, I have no problem per the above guidelines.  Yet I am wanting more and am feeling obligated to want more.  The reasons for this are twofold:  first, I am hopelessly competitive and the idea of people working harder than me in the gym makes me slightly crazy.  Second, I have come to learn that pushing myself in my workouts allows me to gradually move up to new levels of exercise performance.  This in turn feeds my competitiveness.  It's either a virtuous circle or a doom loop depending on your perspective.  

So for health reasons, there is no real reason for me to push it any more, yet I do for competitive reasons. Is this smart?  I think it works for me because it keeps me engaged and keeps me from getting bored.  Having a new goal is a helpful way for me to stay interested.  Being able to lift a little more weight is rewarding and is a yardstick to measure progress.  Upping my intensity on aerobic workouts has a similar effect.  Also, I've never felt anything but great after a horrifically tough workout.  

This logic doesn't seem that different from someone who runs a lot and is constantly trying to improve their distances and times.  I don't love running, so I seek the equivalent process in the gym.  

In summary, I guess this inner monologue that I've just shared would suggest that I should keep pushing myself a little harder.  If you hear me grunting like an elk in Spring, just ignore me.  I will also do my noble best to not become an irritating no-pain-no-gain person. 

What's the role of pain and suffering in your workouts?  

Cheers,

dk