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By
Phil Stevens |
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With my past, injuries, training
for meets and competitions, dealing with client both in person
and distance in training and nutrition and just daily life
in general.
Pain is always something that’s
comes up at some point in a day, inevitably strain must come
along with it if one is going to extremes and training hard,
getting mentally or physically taxed.
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There is a fine line between the two
that one must walk to make above average progress. One being good,
Strain and one being bad, Pain. It’s figuring out that cloudy
gray that can take effort, and mainly so for either the extremes
the beginner, and the elite. Both of these groups tend to be on
the opposite side of the spectrum and have to take the most care
when dealing with these if they are to continue to make great progress.
Let's start with a simple definition
of each.
(omitting some of the ones that are
not relevant like removing liquid from a can of beans in a strainer
etc.)
Pain
1: punishment
2 a: usu. localized physical suffering
associated with bodily disorder (as a disease or an injury)
; also : a basic bodily sensation induced by a noxious stimulus,
received by naked nerve endings, characterized by physical discomfort
(as pricking, throbbing, or aching), and typically leading to evasive
action b: acute mental or emotional distress or suffering : grief
4plural : trouble, care, or
effort taken to accomplish something <was at pains to reassure
us>
Strain
2 a: to exert (as oneself)
to the utmost b: to injure by overuse, misuse, or excessive pressure
<strained his back> c: to cause a change of form or size in
(a body) by application of external force
3: to squeeze or clasp tightly:
as a: hug b: to compress painfully : constrict
5: to stretch beyond a proper limit
<that story strains my credulity>
6obsolete : to squeeze out :
extort
intransitive verb
1 a: to make violent efforts
: strive <has to strain to reach the high notes> b: to pull
against resistance <a dog straining at its leash> c: to contract
the muscles forcefully in attempting to defecate —often used
in the phrase strain at stool
3: to make great difficulty or
resistance : balk — strain a point : to go beyond a usual,
accepted, or proper limit or rule
As you can clearly see both of these
have many things in common by definition, excess, injury, overuse,
going beyond the physical limits. Requiring healing and adaptation.
The difference and problem being one we should seek and will cause
us to progress, straining without which we will stagnate, and one
we should aim to avoid and can be a major set back, Pain, yet they
are so closely related we have to take great care in IDing each
and inevitably if one does Strain enough, they will at point have
some and even great amounts of Pain and or injury they have to come
back from.
Its limiting the Pain and maximizing
the strain that we want to accomplish. Find or limits our breaking
points, That takes time.
Like I alluded to at opposite ends
off the spectrum here, and who really need to take the most care
in deciphering the difference between these two are beginners and
the elite. Lets take a look at both and a few reasons why I make
this claim.
The Beginner...
The problem and the blessing. Every
stimulus is new, everything registers as pain in their minds even
strain, and even strain in minute variety will cause pain. (DOMS)
I have also seen this as problematic in many new trainees trying
to explain the difference between pain and strain. They don’t
know what strain is.
They are not mentally equipped or
have the vocabulary to differentiate between straining against an
object or at a task in training and the task causing real pain.
Strain to them at this point is Pain. The simple act of lifting
a object heavy enough to cause an adaptation, cause them to strain
in their heads does not register as a great but achievable effort
but as something that is painful.
This is where the beginner and we
as coaches have to take great effort and care. We have to somehow
start things slow and make small easy progress as we know everything
this population does is enough to cause adaptation and strain, but
we also have to get across the picture to them that in order for
them to keep progress coming after the initial break in period they
are going to have to learn to work DAMN hard to strain at completing
a task.
Teach them that really their mind
is their biggest limiter, as they are physically capable of much
more then their mind will allow their body to do without thinking
a straining stimulus is painful. It is with these in mind that with
beginners we have to pick our battles and really push the limits
at times get it across that they are going to have to work hard,
that at he cusp of great progress is great effort, but to SHUT it
down when it is painful.That
not when an activity is a strain, but when it is causing pain in
a way it shouldn’t for the effort being put forth they need
to let the mind shut them down.
I would argue in many, many, cases
those who never progress from a young training age to a more advanced
training age are those who never really learn this. Never really
learn that strain is warranted, needed and should be desired to
make progress above and beyond that of average, or a small bit above
average.
The Elite.
Then in the very advanced and elite
we have the polar opposite. This is the population that long ago
learned what strain is, to seek it, gained the ability to block
out great amounts of strain that many would register falsely as
pain. The problem in this group arises in several areas.
They have gotten so efficient at blocking
out even Very High levels of strain they are constantly and consistently
on the verge or actually stepping into the pain side of things,
when they are aiming to strain. They have achieved a level of ability
to create an amount of effort needed to adapt that it could in many
cases be classified as pain.
In reality EVERY athlete who is near
the pinnacle and pushing the bounds is daily dealing with some type
of real pain and injury. It is simply part of the game, and it is
a fallacy that many perceive this population at the pinnacle of
health. They see the actions and feats these people perform in an
almost effortless fashion and believe that they are in great physical
health 99% of the time when that is anything but he truth.
The reasons why the actions they do
look effortless, easy, pain free and awe-inspiring is due to #1
the amount of strain they forced on their bodies for Years even
to the point of putting up with and accepting a great deal of pain.
They have created margins of ability so large that even the greatest
feats can be done in a fashion that seems elementary to them.
Secondly these individuals have became
so mentally strong that even large amounts of pain can be blocked
and accepted much like strain HAS to be ignored to get the job done.
They are NOT pain free they are simply conditioned, physically and
mentally strong enough to over come pain and still perform at great
levels.
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So the problem
the elite and very advanced athletes face is much the same
as the beginner, it is themselves. The opposite of the beginner
the elite cant recognize pain. They have such high levels
of tolerance for pain and an over recognition that strain
leads to progress they often over step those bounds.
Unlike the beginner
the elite need to not strain further but be throttled back.
We have to coach them and possibly our selves very carefully
and know when the correct times are to strain to great levels
and when those times are to simply put forth a solid effort
as even simply an above average effort for the very advanced
is a great bit of stimulus and strain on the human body.
While not 100%
clear or defining, I am not sure it can be, I hope this gave
you some things to ponder in your selves and those you work
with, That you can use these thoughts to better ID what you
and they need to continue progress.
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About The Author
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Coach Phil Stevens is an accomplished
strength athlete with considerable experience in both powerlifting
and strongman competition. Phil is the 2007 APA World Champion
in the 242-pound class (total). He currently holds the APF
275-pound class raw National bench, squat, deadlift, and total
records. Phil’s marquis lift was his 700-pound raw deadlift,
performed on February 14, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Phil has been ranked in the “Top 10” in the deadlift Nationally across all powerlifting federations, also serves as the Arizona State Chair for the North American Highlander Association, as well as the founder of Lift For Hope, an annual strength-competition
with proceeds donated to Charity (www.Lift4Hope.org).
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