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We’ve all heard a version of the old saying, “Are you strong enough to handle the pain?” I see this another way: “Is your pain great enough to make you strong?”
This past weekend I asked every Elite and Pro lifter we have in the gym a question. I emailed the same question to a handful of our sponsors. I asked, “How much physical pain do you have on a regular basis?”
Almost everyone said they woke up at least once a night because of shoulder or bicep pain and they all had one or two additional things that were bothering them at the moment. This short list included shoulders, knees, and lower backs. While this wasn’t a surprise, it did make me decide to probe a bit deeper. What I discovered is something that I feel to be one of the keys to success in anything you do.
I then asked them to rate, on a scale of 1-10, how every body part felt. Now the short list became very long and included: feet, ankles, knees, hips, hamstrings, lower back, upper back, neck, shoulders, elbows, one trap or the other, hands, forearms and on and on. Now all of these sub-issues were only ranking 2-4 on the pain scale while the main issues were up around 7. They are so used to dealing with the pain that the majority of their issues are just ignored or chalked up as being “part of the game”.
The longer an athlete is in a sport, the more messed up they will become. This is part of the game and if you get out unscathed you are one of the lucky few. Most of us will have we have a lot of pain to endure if we plan to reach our highest potential. The farther down the path you go, the more minor pain you find needs to be ignored. Throughout our journey we will be tested. As athletes, when we pulled our first muscle we felt it was the end of the world and were out of the sport for good. If our joints hurt we would run to the doctor because we “knew” it was major. The ones who figure out how to deal with the pain and keep moving forward are the ones who succeed. Let me rephrase that; the ones who know the difference between what is “part of the game” and what is not are the ones who succeed. Simply put, they’re the ones who “ball up” move forward. The ones who bitch and complain that they can’t take the pain and look for excuses are the ones who stay put.
The ones who will never make it to the top are the ones that can’t handle the pain. When you look deep at what determines if someone “feels great” is where you can see the difference. If a Pro lifter with ten things wrong can go into a session and only be hindered by a couple issues, then he (or she) feels great. Meanwhile others would call it a day or back off if one small thing was bothering them (but they don’t think it’s small, to them it’s major drama). When you are pressing to get strong(er), things are supposed to hurt. The pain comes before the strength, not the other way around. Strength is the side effect of overcoming pain, uncertainty, and discomfort, if the strength you seek is extraordinary, that is.
The ability to deal with pain is not unique to the weight room. It is the same quality that will make us better in business, as employees, friends, fathers, mothers, husbands, and wives. Those who have the ability and the will to deal with all the pain life tosses their way and still keep pressing ahead are the ones who will be happiest. Non-physical pain, I think, is much like the physical pain presented above. As you deal with things you feel are major issues, the minor issues tend to matter less. How many times have you spoken to someone who has serious problems or read a story about loss and said to yourself, “Wow, that really puts things in perspective?” This is what I’m talking about. When your perspective of what pain truly is begins to change, that’s when we begin to get strong(er). We you begin to truly understand that pain is “part of the game,” you learn to ignore most of it. When we see pain as something to strive for and embrace instead of something to avoid at all costs we become stronger physically and mentally. Most people fear the pain they are suffering and are scared of any potentially negative outcomes. This is normal. The ones who move forward through the pain see the positives of what it can bring.
Embrace the Pain!
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Dave Tate is the founder and CEO of elitefts.com, staffed by experienced professionals dedicated to providing strength coaches, athletes and trainers with the highest-quality equipment, personalized service and extensive knowledge needed to advance their training programs.
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excellent post, thank you for writing it.
to quote you, it “put things in perspective”!
Meshes well with Jackson Yee’s article Psychology of Strength article
this reminds me of the Infantry mindset. We were taught, “suck it up and drive on!” and “hardship builds character!” for this article i say, “Hooah!”
This is exactly the perspective all athletes should have, and the kind of post that should be ready every day you feel like you are hurt. Thanks for the great post!
now make a “EMBRACE THE PAIN” t shirt
I have just started lifting again three weeks ago after two months of rest due to re-herniating a lumbar disk. Really needed this, thanks!
pain is weakness leaving your body
“Strength is the side effect of overcoming pain, uncertainty, and discomfort” …. Another “Tate-ism to live by.
I like that. I feel that too many people far too often think that a good life should be free of physical stress, I very much DISagree, I don’t think you should aim to get damaged but the body is actually designed to be worked. . . well that’s what I believe anyway.
Great article Dave I tell my clients this all the time “stop thinking about what could go wrong, and think about what will go right.”
I really appreciate, and can identify with your application of success in the weight room to life outside of the gym. Keep it coming.
Pain is a mindset, can you move forward or is the pain holding you back from reaching your goals. My dad always told me to “toughen up”. Saturday I tore my bicep tendon at the distal end deadlifting. came in on tuesday for speed work, changed to a hook grip, and did it. Getting surgery in 2 weeks, only a minor set back. Be back on the platform in November.
New Shirt idea ” Embrace the Pain”! Excellent post.
I have always said know BAD pain, and TRAIN with regular pain. so many nipple sucklers don’t know pain , or their first 700+ squat and on the second rep it goes skiing down your back like a freight train. that means get up, drink a sip and snuff up some big “A”, and go again with better form. I appreciate all you have shared Dave and how you surround us TRUE Powerlifters and Stronmen with great people to look to for advice. Thanks Mr.Tate.
Jerome Cook
The Dungeon Crew Gym ,Kalamazoo MI
A private place for Dungeon Dawgs looking to become warriors, then Vikings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will buy an embrace the pain shirt.
I’m in for an “Embrace the Pain” shirt, or any other shirt that declares our community’s dogged pursuit for strength through adversity. “If it ain’t raining, you ain’t training” and “Pain Train” come to mind.
Great read. i train with chronic pain ALL THE TIME. Some days are better than others, but I KEEP COMING BACK. It is embedded in me to keep striving. This a positive reminder. Keep up the outstanding work……………………..much appreciated
I see where the article is headed, but you know there are going to be those idiots out there who take this as gospel (just as everything else anybody on elite says) and train through serious shit. If you’re in serious pain, that’s your body telling you something is jacked. Would probably be better to address it, IMO.
Jimmy Dugan(Tom Hanks) from “A League of Their Own” : “It’s supposed to be hard! If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great!”
Great article Dave. Articles like this help keep all things in life in perspective. Thanks.
life without pain has no meaning!
after reading this i had the song Face the Pain… from STEMM in my head. “face the pain, face the pain rip it into pieces” definitley helps me put things in perspective. especially as i try to make a career out of MMA and start my own business. thanks again dave for all ur experiences u share with us and ur knowledge.
Great post, so true on every level. Thanks Dave
one of the best articles i’ve read regarding this topic. just sent it out to many of my friends on facebook. oh and about the “embrace the pain” tshirt…you gotta do it. i’ll def be in line for one.
This Article to me has been the deepest one to really reach me so far. In order to get to the top, your going to have to be able to deal with alot of pain.
“If a Pro lifter with ten things wrong can go into a session and only be hindered by a couple issues, then he (or she) feels great. ”
If a pro lifter (or anyone for that matter) has ten things wrong on a regular basis then they really should rethink there training. I’m just saying.
I’m going to have to agree to disagree: Waking up from pain is not something that one should embrace and overcome (whether mentally or physically.)
The pain game. I ofter try to rationalise the pain that’s coming before a set of 30rep kroc rows for example and embrace it… funny thing is when you’re in the middle of the set and the pain is ramping up it’s quite hard to remain rational, I guess this is the real trick.
Pain is a part of the game and must be overcome, however an intelligent lifter should always be seeking ways to improve their training in an effort to get as strong as possible while eliminating unnecessary injury. Instead of simply “embracing the pain”, I’d rather use it as a tool to recognize what I may have done wrong and what I need to improve.
When I am an old(er) man, I would rather be able to play with my grandchildren than tell them from my geriatric chair how strong I used to be.
Just what I needed to read. Thank you.