Have you ever heard the expression or someone say, no pain, no gain? If exercise hurts, it must be working. Today I want to challenge that idea. I’ve seen far too many people quit exercising because they thought pain was just part of getting healthier. Pain is your body’s alarm system. Pain is not weakness. Pain is information. Exercise should prepare you for life, not make life harder. exercise shouldn’t hurt.
All right. Welcome back. The vendors. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the Vanessa Carlson fitness podcast. I’m doctor Vanessa Carlton, physical therapist and founder of Vanessa Carlson Fitness, where we help busy women get stronger, healthier and more confident without spending hours in the gym. Question for you today. Have you ever heard the expression or someone say, no pain, no gain?
Or maybe you thought if exercise hurts, it must be working. Today I want to challenge that idea because as a physical therapist, I’ve seen far too many people from various seasons young, middle age, older. I quit exercising because not because they were lazy, but because they thought pain was just part of getting healthier. Let’s talk about what your body may actually be trying to tell you.
First, let’s just clarify some things. Exercise can absolutely be challenging. You’ll breathe heavier. Your muscles may feel tired. You may even feel saw the next day or maybe two days after. That is very different than pain. Pain is your body’s alarm system. It’s communication. It’s your body. Saying something needs your attention. The goal isn’t to ignore that single.
The goal is to understand it. And I’ll give you just one of my personal examples back in like 2017. I was working out in our gym at that time. We had two ladies gyms and I was doing a great workout workout. Listening to this motivational podcast about mindset and overcoming fear and doing my workout, I just felt something really.
It felt like crunching metal in my shoulder. I dropped the weights and I knew exactly what that meant. Did it keep going? I didn’t push through it. I literally put the weights away. Ran home. I lived close to the gym at that time, got some ice on my shoulder, and knew in my mind that it was time to rehab, that I had overdone or possibly tore part of my rotator cuff.
Now, a good thing is that I was able to rehab my shoulder, but I knew the difference between pushing through something and really listening to my body and know I wasn’t going to go back into the gym and lifting those 30 pound dumbbells. Instead, I was working on passive range of motion. I working through the different stages of healing and then slowly, progressively over time.
After about a couple of months, I was able to go right back to the routine of strength, endurance, and then lifting heavier. So I share that with you. Yes, it was very difficult to take a step back, but it would have been even more difficult if I were to just ignored it, maybe took some pain meds and would have tried to continue.
Probably would have done more damage. So that was a personal story, but I can’t tell you how many clients have walked into either my office or gym and said I thought this was normal. My knee has been hurting for so long, for so many years. My shoulder always hurts when I work out. My back just isn’t what it used to be.
I have worked with thousands of clients, whether in the military or older population, or coming after surgery, you know, after having a total of replacement, hit replacement things of that nature. And some of them had stopped exercising just altogether. Others simply just pushed through it. But then other things started hurting, right? Thinking that they were getting stronger, unfortunately, many times they were making either that problem worse or creating a different kind of problem.
Here’s something I want you to remember. Pain is not weakness. Let me say that again. Pain is not weakness. Pain is isn’t failure. Pain is information. Let’s say that to yourself. Pain is information. Your body is incredibly intelligent. Sometimes it’s telling you this movement needs to change. Sometimes it’s saying that muscle isn’t doing its job or we need to build strength before doing that.
Another example I’m working with a client right now. She’s a grandmother. She lives in Florida part of the year. She lives in Maine the other part of the year, and she has been having a fairly consistent need, discomfort from injuries, surgeries, so on and so forth. And I’ve been working with her for about a month now, and I’ve been working on her hips, her mobility, and there is definitely improvement in her movement patterns.
She still has some discomfort in her knee, but we are trying to look at the whole body and she has been telling me I am feeling stronger. I am feeling good, and that’s awesome because when we listen, our bodies often respond remarkably well. One of the biggest Smiths in fitness is that if you’re not hurting, you’re not improving, or that’s just part of life and that simply isn’t true.
Pain isn’t just, you know, that knee pain or shoulder pain or back pain isn’t just part of life. Some of the best workouts you’ll ever have won’t leave you unable to walk the next day. They’ll leave you feeling stronger like that. One example I just gave you of my gal that lives in Florida and in Maine. It’ll leave you feeling more energized, more capable.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we’re after. Exercise should prepare you for life, not make life harder. I mean, we got enough hard things on our plate. I my goal with each session that I have with my clients, one on one during our live zoom sessions, is to make that one of the best parts of their day the most rewarding, energizing, uplifting parts of their day.
I truly believe God designed our bodies to move. Movement is a gift we were made to move, and strength is also a gift. Our bodies aren’t something to punish, right? This body is a temple of the living God. It’s something to steward. There’s a difference. Taking care of your body is just one way. We honor the gift God has given us.
That doesn’t mean you’ll never have eggs or maybe have an injury. Because things happen. Sometimes life happens. Just like in my example with my shoulder. I’m not sure why that happened. I was feeling good, but it did. Thank goodness. Thank God I was able to rehab it, nurture it, build the strength, the movement as it was healing, build it back up and now I can lift and do the things that I still enjoy to do.
It means we learn to care for our bodies wisely. Right. I had to I had to take care of my body wisely. And that’s what I my hope is for you is to take care of your body wisely, instead of ignoring what our bodies are trying to say. And like I mentioned before, I remember working with so many clients of different age levels, but one client in particular who told me, I remember working with one client who told me, I guess I’m just getting older.
And that’s actually something I hear quite often from my middle age and on up clients. I’m just getting older. I’m getting old. But this particular client believed that pain was simply part of aging when she would come into the gym. So I challenged her thought and said, what if we just approach this differently? Right? And during my reach and rise assessment, I could see that there was some limited range of motion in her hip, her balance.
And so we looked at what she was doing before and made some adjustments. We slow things down. We spent a little bit more attention on the hip. We worked on her movement where her feet should be, where she should be feeling it, engaging her core muscles, taking some pressure off the knee, and over time this improves her understanding.
Like why am I doing what I’m doing? That mind body connection where she can tell her body her muscles to move the right way, it improves her strength. And we modified a few exercises and we focus on the quality of her movement, engagement of muscles as opposed to just the quantity of 15 reps or 30 minutes here. Game changer.
Week after week, she became stronger, her confidence grew, and the pain that she was feeling that was limiting her in her knees started becoming less and less. Not because we pushed harder, but because we trained smarter. And the big, big takeaway is not only was she feeling better, but she noticed that she was doing more with her family.
She wanted to take those walks before with her husband, but she had too much pain and now she was able to take walks with him after dinner. I mean, that’s that’s quality of life right there. Here’s something I tell clients all the time. There is no award for suffering through a workout, modifying and exercise. Taking a different approach doesn’t mean that you’re weak.
Using lighter weights or using cables instead of free weights, or using a kettlebell instead of a dumbbell, it doesn’t mean that you’re feeling it failing. If we’re trying something different, taking a little longer to build strength doesn’t mean that you are behind. The time is going to pass anyway. Might as well make the most of it, I always say.
Do the best of what you know and when you know more, do better. It means that you’re training for the long game and that’s where real success happens. Okay, so here is my challenge for you. Here’s your challenge this week. The next time you exercise. Pay attention. Whether you’re lifting for your shoulders or your legs or your squatting.
And ask yourself, does this feel like healthy effort? Does it feel good? Am I feeling it where I need to feel it, or where I should be feeling it? Or is my body asking me to make a change? If something hurts, please don’t ignore it, especially after listening to all this. Adjust. Modify. Slow down if needed. And if you’re unsure, please, please, please reach out to someone who can help guide you safely like me.
I would love to help you. I don’t want fear to keep you from moving. I want you to have wisdom. I want you to learn so that you can keep moving for years to come. Because the goal isn’t just exercising today, right? The goal is being able to enjoy life, playing with your children, taking that walk, taking that trip, traveling, gardening, trying something new, going on an adventure.
My family and I love adventures this past holiday of our nation’s birthday, we went to the easternmost part of the continental US and it was this huge, huge rock boulder stone I want to call it a mountain, very jagged and we climbed it. My husband, myself, my my almost six year old and four year old. We have been teaching them how to climb.
We exercise. We were a little scared, but we did it together as a family and that is what life is all about, right? Being able to move and do the things you enjoy and to challenge yourself and to build memories. Good memories, not only for me and my husband, but also our kids. You know, that was great for them to challenge themselves and to move their body safely, to follow directions from someone who has done this before me and their dad.
Right? Not only to climb up this top of this, I want to call it a mountain. But it wasn’t mountain. But it’s time to the top and then also safely navigate and make our way down. So I want those adventures for you, those great memories, and I want you to feel good about it. Or maybe for you, it’s walking on the beach, or it’s being able to get on the floor with your fur babies or grandchildren one day without pain or limited range of motion stopping you from what you love to do.
So if today’s episode encouraged you, if it spoke to you, if you’re motivated, you please share it with someone who’s been afraid to exercise because of pain, or not knowing what to do or where to start. They’re not alone. There is hope. Like I always tell people, I, arts and crafts and painting is not my jam. But when I go to like a painting class or they call it like a sip and draw class, that teacher is excited and motivated and I’m going to come out of there with a beautiful painting.
I’ve done it before, so if they feel like they’re not motivated, surround yourself with someone who’s motivated and knowledgeable in this field. They won’t regret it. And remember, remember, remember exercise shouldn’t hurt. It should help you become stronger, healthier, and more confident. And if you’d like help creating a safe, personalized exercise program or plan, I’d love to walk alongside you.
Visit VC Fitness dot Live, or you can message us at (207) 467-5509 to learn more about our one on one coaching, live virtual training and supportive community. And there’s really nothing to lose. The first assessment-the reach and rise is only a dollar. And even if it doesn’t work out. My hope is that you get great, valuable information to propel you into this awesome season of your life, of feeling stronger and healthier.
Thank you so much for spending time with me today. Until next time, keep moving. Keep smiling. Keep listening to your body. And remember the healthiest journey is the one you can continue for a lifetime. God bless you and I’ll see you in episode six where we tackle the limiting belief that exercise or taking care of yourself is selfish.
All right. Ciao for now. Until next time.
Vanessa Carlson, and I am the owner of Vanessa Carlson Fitness. I am Raider Carlson and I am the general manager. At VC fitness our first goal is our fun first approach with all of our clients. Working out should not feel like a punishment at all, and we strive to make it the highlight of their day. The workouts are tailored.
I love using my background as a doctor, physical therapy to make sure that we’re meeting our clients where they’re at, to help them to get to where they want to be. And I think the third thing is the accountability and communication. So not only do we have one on one sessions with our clients in person and via zoom, but with the app, we are communicating with our clients almost on a daily basis so that they feel confident.
Those companies don’t have a doctor of physical therapy on staff. And so obviously Vanessa is a doctor of physical therapy and highly sought out around the country. And that brings me to my next point that we are the highest rated, the most reviewed personal training company in Portland, Maine, where our headquarters are located. However, we train virtually nationwide through zoom, through live zoom sessions, and so it doesn’t matter where you live.
You can work with Vanessa. And then the third thing is our very first session with Vanessa is only a dollar. We call it the region rise assessments, where basically it’s a meet and greet where she looks at your body using her Doctor of physical therapy skills to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your session and make sure that it’s a good fit for you.
I mean, obviously, we know that we can work with anybody, but obviously it’s got to be a good fit for you. So when I was a child, my grandmother had breast cancer and I was very close with her and was with her for a lot of her appointments with chemo, radiation, all the things and kind of seeing how that affected her.
And I just knew early on I wanted to do something to help people with their health. I didn’t really know what that was going to look like. Fast forward as a child, I remember getting my first Barbie workout video working out with Dance Barbie, and that just was a core memory for me. It closed the door, worked out, felt great, and then fast forward some more.
I knew that I wanted to do something in the health and medical field, and had really great mentors and teachers that helped direct me where I knew I wanted to have a gym one day. I didn’t know how I was going to look, and we had our opportunity. As I was a physical therapist to open our first gym, I just went for it and just really wanted to help people learn how to take care of their bodies.
I just knew that fitness was my passion. And just over the years, it just all worked out together. And here we are. The rest is history. So here’s the thing you don’t have to figure this on your own. And I totally understand how exercise can be overwhelming. We all know that we need to eat healthy and exercise and work out on carve time for it, and don’t feel like you have to know it all.
Do it all by yourself. And even if you’re feeling unmotivated, know that you’re not alone. So my my message to you is surround yourself with someone who is motivated. For someone that is passionate about exercise and eating well and building a positive habits, good healthy habits. I don’t know how to paint, but if I want to make a canvas painting, I’m going to go to a place that the person is a great teacher and passionate about it.
And I’m going to come out with a beautiful painting. Same thing with this. Take the shame. Take the pressure off of your shoulders. You’re not alone in this. Many people I work with all the time don’t know where to start, and I am honored to come alongside and help you figure it out. And just start building that momentum and get in your stride.
And I promise you, you won’t regret it. So anything that we’re saying resonates with you. Don’t wait. Just call the number. Or you can put your information on our website and someone will get. Get back in touch with you very, very quickly. I mean, you got to do it so fast and you don’t know what you’re doing because your mind, which I get in the.
So don’t let them get in the way. Only it’s only $1 to try, Vanessa. And it might be the most impactful hour in 15 minutes of your life. Here at VC fitness for your first consultation, it’s only $1. The assessment is going to just go over some things that are on your heart. Give me a good idea of your body awareness, your mechanics and see if we are a good fit and it only costs $1.
So you can find us at BC fitness. Or you can call the number (207) 467-5509. Again, that is (207) 467-5509. And you can look at us and VC Fitness dot live. And one more time you can call (207) 467-5509. And we are waiting for your call.