Health Tips

How many times has a coach, trainer, or instructor said “feel the burn”, particularly when you’re doing a high rep exercise like calf presses? Why do they say that and what does it mean?

Technically speaking, when you feel a burning sensation in your muscles, that means those muscles are not getting enough oxygen. Some of that is inevitable, but it’s a good reminder to check and make sure you’re breathing rhythmically, inhaling on the release and exhaling on the press.

If your aren’t, you’d do well to adjust so that your entire body is aligned in the effort. You should be completely focused on the task at hand and regulating your breathing with the movements of your body is one of the best ways to do it. That’s why breathing is so important in meditation.

But wait, doesn’t that sound like “feeling the burn” is a bad thing. Well, yes, it does and it is. So why do so many people use it as a sign of a good work out? My educated guess is that most trainers consider monitoring the effort that goes into the workout to be far more important then some slight loss due to irregular breathing. And frankly, they’re probably right.

When it comes down to it, most people simply don’t realize how much effort should go into a productive work out. They think that anytime they feel the slightest strain or least resistance, they’re putting for enough effort. The task of many trainers becomes teaching their student/client what real effort feels like and one of the simplest measurements is the burn on your muscles.

So until you have reached the point where you understand the level of effort necessary, look for that burn. But always keep it in perspective.