Working Through The Pain Barrier

You’ve probably been bracing yourself for this chapter. After all, isn’t this what exercise and healthy living is all about?

In some respects, it most certainly is – but perhaps not in its most traditional sense. Sure, the process of breaking down your muscles in a bid to make them even bigger is a form of pain, but it’s not going to be the only one in your fitness journey.

In fact, a lot of the pain will be purely psychological. A lot of this pain will simply involve you being out of your comfort zone. As we all know, there are plenty of occasions where these mind-related barriers are far worse than the feeling when you’re attempting to break your record on the bench press, or run 1km further than normal.

The problem is that progress is only fueled when you actually start to work through this pain barrier, and record uncomfortable achievement after achievement.

Bearing this in mind, this chapter will take a look at how you can work through the pain barrier to realize your goals much more easily.

What is the definition of “comfortable” and “uncomfortable”?

Before we embark on the important points of this article, let’s get a couple of definitions out of the way. These are by no means Oxford dictionary-esque, but they should provide you with something you can resonate with so you firmly understand what we’re talking about when we refer to being comfortable and uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, being comfortable is all-too easy. It’s something that most of us simply bask in doing, as we are never pushing ourselves.

Let’s pick a few examples to highlight our point. When you watch TV, you’ll be comfortable – you’re not stretching yourself in any possible way. When you’re playing a video game it’s the same story – there’s no tangible way in which you are pushing yourself. In other words, being comfortable is when you don’t encounter any challenges and your life, in simple terms, is pretty easy.

Now, let’s move onto the opposite. As we’ve already spoken about, it’s crucial to keep reaching this uncomfortable stage as it’s this which can fuel your real progress in life.

The examples which relate to your fitness journey are aplenty. Every time you work out (and we mean REALLY work out) you are pushing your body. You are asking it to reach a level which it is not used to, and it’s therefore uncomfortable. In weight lifting, your muscles are being stretched to such an extent that they eventually break down – before being built back much stronger than ever before.

We can also relate being “uncomfortable” to foods. When you try a new food, usually of the “healthy” variety, you might experience an uncomfortable sensation. This is again because your body, or your taste buds in particular, just aren’t used to munching on such food.

Finally, let’s apply the logic to your way of thinking; the mindset which is going to really power you through this new lifestyle. You’ll probably find that the initial stages of building a habit are very difficult, as it’s just not something you are used to doing and it throws your brain “out of sorts”.

Similarly, if you venture to the gym for the first time, you’re also going to feel uncomfortable. Thoughts questioning who all these strangers staring at you are will enter your head (even though they absolutely aren’t – it’s just the typical thoughts of someone new at the gym).

Hopefully, all of these examples will have highlighted exactly what being comfortable and uncomfortable really entails. Now, we can get onto the “how” you can become uncomfortable, as well as the next steps you should be looking to initiate.

How can you make yourself succeed at being uncomfortable?

Now that all of the definitions have been laid out on the table, how exactly do we progress from that comfortable life to an uncomfortable one? In truth, there are umpteen different approaches that people will succeed with, but one of the most popular comes in the form of the “courage test”.

It’s based on the fact that one of the main reasons a lot of us don’t embark on uncomfortable tasks is because of those initial seconds where we have to approach the situation. It might be walking through the door of the gym, or talking to an instructor whose class you want to participate in.

Once most people have got past this obstacle, they tend to feel fine and start to enjoy the task at hand. In other words, the main element of feeling uncomfortable is over.

Therefore, the best way to overcome this is to just focus on beating those first twenty seconds where that initial fear strikes.

This might mean just talking yourself into actually opening the door, or sparking a conversation with the instructor in question – just to make that first step. Once you’ve managed this, most people feel like they are over the worst and can plough on accordingly.

What happens when you do succeed at that “uncomfortable” stage?

The answer to this question might surprise some people, but in truth there should never be a point in your life where you stop feeling uncomfortable. Sure, you might stop feeling uncomfortable in certain situations, but in terms of the overall feeling there should always be an element of this sensation in your life.

If you find that you have become comfortable in all aspects of life, it’s time to worry. It’s at this point you have stalled and you are no longer making progress. In other words, making progress is all about feeling uncomfortable (at least, a lot of the time it is).

So, when you do start to feel comfortable about a task that you used to dread, it’s time to push on and see how your body and life can progress further. For example, your first challenge might have been actually visiting the gym.

Now that this feels completely normal, and part of your day-to-day routine, you might push yourself to visit a spin class which places your body out of that elusive comfort zone once again.

In simple terms, and to end with something of a cliché, there’s no gain without pain. Contrary to popular belief, a lot of this pain isn’t physical though – it’s all in the mind.