Why Does It Hurt When I Work Out?
Good question. If you’ve ever asked yourself this question, you’re definitely not alone. Many people experience pain when they’re doing exercises such as weightlifting.
When you exercise, you should never be in pain. You want to be exhausted, out of breath, and uncomfortable, but there should never be pain that prevents you from living.
If you’re experiencing back pain in the gym, there are a few things that could be the culprit. Here are four reasons you may be experiencing back pain while working out:
Injury and soreness
This one is the most painful for sure. If you feel severe pain when you exercise, stop exercising and consult a doctor.
You’ll know it’s severe if you are unable to go perform simple tasks like walking and standing. Also, you can probably pinpoint the pain to a specific moment, such as pop, snap, or twist followed by sharp pains.
Injuries are the most severe form of pain you can experience in the gym if you think you’ve experienced one, consult your doctor before continuing to train.
Overuse and Soreness
After a long, hard work out, it can be difficult to move around. That is a natural part of the process. It’s uncomfortable, but it will go away after a day or so.
Soreness is not an injury. Soreness is a natural part of the exercise. When you exercise, your muscles undergo a lot of strain and damage. The tightness and pain you feel after a hard workout are symptoms of your muscles’ recovery process.
Over time, you will experience it less and less. Try managing it with ice, massaging, light stretching, and low impact exercise such as walking.
In general, you should not train the same muscle group two days in a row. This prevents the natural recovery process from taking place and can lead to injury.
Improper Form
Improper form is a major cause of discomfort during exercise. Lifting heavy weights in a way that places strain in places that can’t take it is a recipe for injury and pain.
Before you ramp up the intensity of your workouts, be sure you know how to do each movement correctly. Start with a lighter weight and practice the form. It will only make you better down the line.
FNS Coaches can help you correct your form when you are in the gym. It may feel embarrassing to ask for help, but that is what they are there for. We want you to be at your best.
If you’re at home, a great way to correct your own form is to film yourself working out and double check if it’s correct using online resources.
Lack of Mobility
If you find yourself unable to comfortably use the correct form on certain exercises, you may need to work on your mobility.
Compound movements such as squats and deadlifts require a lot of different muscles to work in tandem. If one group falls behind, the whole movement will become more difficult.
One way to increase mobility is to warmup correctly with dynamic stretching and warm up sets. This ensures that the blood is flowing to all the right areas and your muscles are ready to work.
You can also do exercises like yoga to increase your mobility on off-days.
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