A beginner's guide to good pain

No pain, no gain, they say. But how do you tell the difference between 'enough' and 'too much'? Chris Judd explains.

Good pain. Trust me - it's a thing. And if you're setting out to make some positive changes for your health this year, you two will need to become familiar.

But what is 'good pain'? And how can you tell the difference between natural exercise discomfort and something more serious?

'Good pain' is the slow burn you feel during exercise.

A good hard workout should hurt a bit. If you're pushing yourself correctly, you should be just outside of your comfort zone. Your muscles should be flooded with lactic acid, which leads to a burning sensation. Your natural instinct might be to throw in the towel, but when that good pain hits, you should try to push though if you can.

The first few times you work out, you might be sore for a few days afterwards - that's still good sore. As you get going, the time it takes for you to bounce back will reduce - and quickly. You'll find you can push harder for longer before that good pain kicks in. That's because, as you continue to train, your muscles and systems are learning and expanding. Your body's correcting itself, and that's a celebration.

If you don't want to feel that discomfort - if you want to stay the same - then do nothing. But if you want to improve, lose weight, or get stronger, when you feel that good pain, just remember - this stems from your body struggling to do what's being asked of it. In time it adapts, and it's that adaptation and journey to becoming a healthier person that's driving most people's exercise routines.

Then there's 'bad pain', usually sharp or shooting, which you'll feel when you've been injured. If you do hurt yourself, there'll generally be no confusion - it's a different kind of pain. You just need to listen to your body.

If you're just working out and not playing sport, and if you're making sure to stretch and take time to recover, the risk of pushing yourself to the point of injury isn't as great as the long-term risks that come from living a sedentary life. So, the biggest piece of advice I can give you is to not let the threat of hurting yourself keep you on the couch. Oh, and try not to run on concrete too much.

That said, if you do injure yourself working out, try to keep it in perspective. It's probably not the end of the world. For example, if you pull a calf muscle or hamstring running, you can rehabilitate it, get stronger, and go again. Don't let that deter you or use that as an excuse to not work out, because it's far riskier in the long-term if you let the excuses win.

If you're trying to get fitter, you'll need to test your limits and learn to gently stretch them.

If you're starting from a place where you feel like you're particularly unfit, or if you're over 60, a good way to find those boundaries is a stress test. Official stress tests are usually carried out in a hospital or lab where you're hooked up to an ECG (GPs will often recommend them and can assist with booking one). Even if you're not worried about an adverse health event during exercise and don't want to do a stress test, another simpler test can be useful. Pick something measurable and use it as a benchmark as you move forward. You might test yourself on how long you can run without stopping, or how far you can run in five minutes.

Take that test again three months or six months in. That improvement will give you that buzz of good feedback that shows your efforts have been worthwhile, and that you've made a transformation - no matter how small.

There'll no doubt be a time where you hit a low, or you just can't be bothered, or the weather's cold, or there's a family commitment…or any other of the million excuses you might cook up to give the exercise thing a miss.

But remember, if you've taken a test at the start of your journey, your improvement will be trackable and you'll have clear evidence to demonstrate what you've been doing has been worth it. This takes power away from those excuses you tell yourself. Don't beat yourself up for a day off, but get back on the horse.

Most people will overestimate what they can achieve in the short term, but underestimate what they can achieve in the long term. Play the long game; compounding takes time.

Former Australian Rules footballer Chris Judd is familiar with how to get your heart rate up and push yourself physically. Twice winner of the prestigious Brownlow Medal, Chris is an honoured sportsman and father to four children, Oscar, Billie, Tom and Darcy. The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances.