Guest Post; No Pain No Gain?

My boy Jamie V. was nice enough to let me share with you the recent newsletter that he sent out to his bootcamp clients.  I think Jamie hit he nail on the head with this one!  Nice work Jamie! 

Enjoy…

No Pain No Gain?

Trust me, there is a fine line between a trainer structuring a tough workout that is efficient and meaningful,
and one that just beats the living daylights out of you without a clear plan. Soreness is an indicator of
microscopic muscle tears, but is total and utter soreness the ultimate goal? This topic has some debatable
components, but the mindset of the trainer and trainee is where my point rests.

I will be totally blunt with you. People eat like crap and gain poor weight. They hire a trainer and tell them
they want to lose the weight. A trainer beats the sh!t out of them (because that produces fast results
right???). The person hobbles and cusses the trainer for weeks, but thinks he/she knows what they are
doing. A month later everything is back to normal. The person is frustrated, eating poorly again, and the
same trainer is beating the crap out of someone else. The person blames the trainer for not doing their job,
and the trainer blames the person for not being tough enough or committed.
The cycle continues…and continues…and continues…

A boot camper of mine went to a personal trainer and thought she was in good shape. The trainer really
put her through the grinder and she was sore for a looooong period of time. She told me that she “thought”
she was in good shape. I told her that she was, but the trainer structured a workout to beat the living tar out
of her. The workout was not appropriate for her. I asked her if she was still with the trainer. The answer
was no. Now, I am not bashing her trainer, I am just filling you in on my philosophy here.
I will give you some straightforward information. I could take a very high level athlete and make them
vomit. It does not take much for a trainer to evaluate and push you harder beyond the norm, if pummeling
you into MUSH is the goal.

This is a disturbing fitness trend if we want people to LIVE healthy lifestyles
and exercise frequently. People want FAST results from poor eating, and they accept an a*s kicking for it.
I will tell you that what you do in a ONE-day workout is not as important as the cumulative results of a real
program. The REAL goal should be to create a workout plan that is appropriate, has challenges and
progressions, yet encourages the person to continue and strive to keep going. There is a fine line between
tough, and downright too much. A good trainer sees that and makes adjustments. Should the person be
sore from it though? Well, soreness is a side factor, but it is not necessarily the ultimate goal every time.
The trainers goal is to take you to a new level, get you out of your comfort zone, but also keep you
motivated and interested…without living in total pain and discouragement. It is a PLAN, not
PUNISHMENT.

At YOUR boot camps, you will experience some soreness, but my intention is for that soreness to become
more tolerable and evenly distributed. MY goal is to make you work HARD, but also provide a
meaningful opportunity for you to want to continue. If the soreness is not tolerable, adjustments will be
made to help you continue. The ultimate goal of mine, is to make you want to continue your health program, teach you new ways to get results, and do it in a manner that is not discouraging. You still will be pushed, however.
If I turn YOU off, then I have failed you as well. Let’s find YOUR balance of tough and challenging without tipping the scales towards the side of discouragement.

All the Best,

Jamie Vanderheyden