Pain vs. soreness: Know the difference

If every person who joined your local gym actually went, it would be near impossible to get in and out of the place in less than three hours. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), research shows that around 60 percent of people who start an exercise program throw in the towel within the first six weeks. While there are many reasons for this precipitious rate of attrition, one stands out as the most widely reported: Pain.

Be it soreness or injury, many people discontinue their workout program soon after starting because they experience physical discomfort. Normal delayed-onset muscle soreness is what you feel the day (or the day after that) following a day of intense exercise. Your muscles are not accustomed to such stress, so they feel very taxed by the new workload. This is, as stated before, normal. Does it being normal make it suck any less? Not really, but if it makes you feel better, this is a sign that your muscles are becoming stronger.

What's not normal is pain caused by injury. Unlike delayed-onset sorness, injury can be felt almost immediately or within a few hours. And, unlike muscle soreness, it does not always go away within a few days. What's more, exercising while injured will almost invariably exacerbate the problem, whereas soreness can be dealt with with rest and light exercise.