There is the old phrase: no pain, no gain.
There is the new phrase: pain is weakness leaving the body.

We can do better.  Because physical pain isn’t usually as plangent as the battle most of us wage before even getting into our workout clothes.

That battle is the pain of doing vs. the pain of not doing.  And it’s as real as the nose at the end of your face.

When we talk to folks in our No-Sweat Intros, the pain of doing is never really very far from the surface.  As I was before starting to train, folks are worried that they won’t be good at it, that it will be embarrassing, that things will prove too difficult.

That they will fail.  That they won’t be good enough.  That they’ll lose.

When we dig a little deeper, we unearth the pain of not doing.  For most, this is far harder to talk about.  I won’t lie, these conversations can get tough–the dad afraid he won’t live to see his grandchildren, the new parents who can’t keep up with their kids, the college kid ten years removed who sees the hill approaching, the masters athletes who want to stave off assisted living.  These go deep, these go personal, and they hurt.  I know we’ve cried with people, that’s for sure.

But in the end, it comes down to simple math.  The pain of doing vs. the pain of not doing.  How many beads on one side of the abacus and how many beads on the other?

If you’re reading this and nodding, I want to tell you that we would be happy to sit with you and have that talk.  We don’t have all the answers, and no program is perfect, but we are kind, diligent professionals who have all had our own fears, struggles, and triumphs.

Working out doesn’t need to hurt to work.  But it can help end the pain if you let it.