Why are we so obsessed with working out to exhaustion?

Image: iStock.

If you’ve ever encountered #fitspo memes, you’ve probably noticed they can be quite… intense. Actually, they can be kind of scary.

“Sore is the new sexy,” declares one quote currently floating around the Pinterest echo chamber. “Train insane or remain the same,” cries another. “Don’t stop when it hurts, stop when you’re done.” “Go hard or go home.” “My body says no more, my mind screams two more.” “No pain, no gain.”

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They’re meant to be inspiring, but if you took these statements literally you’d be forgiven for believing a workout doesn’t really count unless you’ve run your feet down to bloodied stumps, vomited up your breakfast, and collapsed in a heap.

Of course, exercise isn’t easy. It shouldn’t be — challenging yourself physically requires exertion, determination and yes, sweat. There’s often a level of discomfort involved, especially if you’re new to exercise, trying something new, or stepping up your regular workout.

However, there's an attitude that fitness results are synonymous with pain, suffering, and utter exhaustion— and that anything less than a 10 on the intensity scale is simply not worth the time. According to personal trainer Jonathan Angelilli, our culture's "obsession with aggression" has caused us to perceive exercise as a "war on the body", with soreness and exhaustion being the measure of victory.

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"I call it the militarisation of fitness - all the boot camps, Marine-inspired workouts, ridiculously intense body building routines, and general glorification of pain. Even our recovery and regeneration techniques are prioritised by how painful they are," he writes.

Personal trainer and lifestyle coach Kirsty Welsh agrees this 'no pain no gain' ethos is symptomatic of a wider societal belief. "I think it's really ego-based, this notion that we always have to be competitive to get ahead... It can be a good thing, but if it's coming from a feeling of 'I'm not good enough as I am right now, I have to change something about myself' that's when it can be a bit destructive, perhaps," she says. (Post continues after gallery.)

Lauren Hannaford, a personal trainer and former elite gymnast, believes it also stems from a patchy understanding of how exercise works.

"I think it's a lot of people who haven't been educated enough [about fitness] — they just listen to bits and pieces around and they've got that attitude, rather than listening to their body and working to what suits them."

This fetishisation of constantly 'going hard' is problematic for a few reasons. First of all, if you're continually working at a high intensity without proper rest in between, you could really hurt yourself — especially if you're not paying attention to your technique.

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"I don't think working out to complete exhaustion is the right attitude because you've got more chance of doing damage than of building muscle or improving fitness or whatever you're trying to achieve," Hannaford says.

"If you're so sore you can barely walk, and you then go and try and work out, you're just going against any muscle repair or rebuilding. You're going to do the opposite. Your body needs time to repair and rebuild."

Slogging it out can also detract from the more enjoyable, mood-lifting aspects of being active. Despite what those Pinterest memes might suggest, exercising isn't actually meant to be a painful, punishing ideal or a warzone — it should simply be a healthy, enjoyable and sustainable part of life.

"Exercise is so fun... We just have this collective belief that it's a painful experience. It's a matter of shifting that belief and relating it to the pleasure exercise brings to our lives and to our health and how that feels," Welsh says.

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Measuring the success of a workout by how utterly wrecked your body feels afterwards can also distract you from the progress you've made — and ultimately deter you from sustaining that level of activity because the satisfaction of 'going hard' eventually wears off.

"People say, 'I smashed a session yesterday, I can barely walk today', but it's like, what did you achieve in your workout? They've forgotten about it... It's not about completely hammering yourself. You should be able to work out comfortably and listen to your body; if it doesn't feel like it's up to it, it's not ready," Hannaford explains. (Post continues after gallrey.)

Although it's not wise to push your body so far beyond its limits you fall into a heap, both Hannaford and Welsh say it's important to weave some intensity into your exercise regimen and challenge yourself.

You just need to listen to your body, and recognise the difference between comfortably working your muscles and ruining them. In other words — check yourself so you don't wreck yourself.

"You want to feel that little bit of fatigue, so you know your muscles are working and your body's working, but you don't want to be hurting... If you don't feel anything you probably weren't working hard enough for what your strength is. You want to be challenging and pushing your fitness," Hannaford says.

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"Every intensity has its place and its benefits. It's like anything — if we do all of anything and ignore the other half we're just going to burn ourselves out," Welsh says.

"If we're just being lazy, we're missing out on the benefits of that increase in intensity — greater circulation, muscle strength, all that juicy awesome stuff. A good blend [of intensive and moderate exercise] is the way to go." (Post continues after video.)

Rather than battling through a workout because you don't want to 'be a quitter' and face the wrath of the #fitspo gods, it's better to focus that attention on perfecting your form, feeling the effect of the activity on your body, and actually enjoying the session. That way, you'll feel more satisfied and more inclined to do it again.

"You want to focus on your technique and make sure you're doing your exercise right, not just getting through the numbers or getting through the session," Hannaford says.

"Focus on the feeling inside your body... rather than thinking of a squat as a squat, be like, 'Okay, where am I feeling this in my body? Where should I be feeling it? Am I feeling it in my glutes or am I replying on my quads and my knees to take it?'" Welsh says.

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Above all, don't buy into the notion of 'no pain, no gain'. Your body gains a multitude of fantastic benefits from physical activity — you don't need to push it to the brink of collapse (or vomit) in order to get there.

"I think people think they have to sacrifice things and deplete themselves to achieve a body goal or a health goal. Looking back at how you truly feel, and seeing exercise and health as nourishing your body and giving to it rather than depleting it, makes it more fun," Welsh says.

Do you ever feel pressure to push yourself too hard?

You can follow Lauren Hannaford on her website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

You can follow Kirsty Welsh on her website, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube.