Exercise is amazing for our health ― it helps our mood, keeps our bodies healthy as we age, and may even help lower your risk of developing dementia. 

The NHS writes: “Exercise can reduce your risk of major illnesses, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer, and lower your risk of early death by up to 30%.” 

Amazing, right? If something free, often fun, and completely customisable to your preferences has such an amazing effect, why aren’t we all doing it?

Well, a few reasons ― one of which being that it hurts to really push yourself. So, when is the gain not worth the pain?

If you’ve got a bad back...

It’s estimated 2.8 million Brits suffer from a persistent bad back and, believe it or not, exercise can be really helpful for the issue. 

But sometimes you can overdo it. In an article designed for those with back pain, the NHS shared exactly which level we should work up to. 

In their NHS Inform entry, they shared how their pain scale works:

• 0 to 3 – minimal pain
• 4 to 5 – acceptable pain
• 6 to 10 – excessive pain. 

Anything above a five on the pain scale is a sign you’re working out too hard, they say. 

If you find yourself getting above that middle point then lowering the weight you’re lifting, doing fewer reps, slowing down, and resting more between sets can help. 

For the rest of us...

Speaking to Les Mills, physiotherapist Bryce Hastings suggested it’s normal for exercise to feel uncomfortable but added it shouldn’t be painful. 

Instead, he spoke about discomfort zones and suggested we should be exercising at a moderate to hard intensity “where the discomfort of fatigue probably sits between 6.5 and 8.5 out of 10” – this will help improve fitness and burn fat.

When should I worry?

If something is hurting, Hastings said you should think about where the pain is. If it’s on one side of the body, and the pain is above 3 out of 10, you might have an injury. If this is the case, get some professional advice. 

Where we feel the pain also matters. The following, he said, are warning signs: “Pressure in the front of the knee while you squat, pain in your elbows when you grip, pressure in your neck or upper back when you’re doing an overhead press, pain at the top of the shoulder while you bench press.”

If your pain is sudden, severe, and/or doesn’t go away after five days, see your doctor.