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by blitzpoet 356 days ago
I find the military saying "pain is weakness leaving the body" effective for workouts. The slogan is short and sticky, and I tend to exercise harder when I think of it.
2 comments

Sometimes its cartilage leaving the body.
Hah yes or broken down muscle tissue in the case of rhabdomyolysis.

As I've gotten older I've had to discard this kind of maximalist thinking with exercise and think of every workout as just a smidge more than the last, after an appropriate period of rest and recovery.

That's the kind of toxic masculinity platitude that causes men to not seek medical help when they are in pain, which causes worse outcomes for things that are preventable.
I don't work out as much as I should. I'm generally a creaky guy, so any exercise for me is borderline painful.
Is there a word for the good kind of pain that comes from healthy exertion?