Why Workouts Should Be Painful Sometimes

Why Workouts Should Be Painful Sometimes

When you exercise, you use oxygen. But when your oxygen is depleted, your muscle gets acidic. You start feeling a burn. Your body realizes this and sends a molecule called lactate. Lactate is good for you. It buffers the acidity and helps you exercise for longer. But it's not just that.

Although you're only working on muscles, lactate influences hormones across other areas of the body like the heart, liver, and especially, the brain. It improves cognitive and hormonal functions outside of just working out.

Okay, so how do you secrete lactate?

You need to work your muscles to failure and feel the burn. The burn comes around the end of moderate to intense exercises with high repetitions. So it's rare during zone 2 and heavy lifting. And you shouldn't do it often. Huberman says "10%" of the time. But we don't speak neurons :). So just do this once a week.

Action for the day

Whether you have a run, HIIT, or gym session today, focus on feeling the 'burn'. Imagine yourself in the workout and exercising through the burn. This tiny difference in protocol will make you healthier, stronger, and more productive in less than a week.

Focus on the burning feeling in your next workout. Enjoy!