“Train, don’t strain” (exercise adage)
“Train, (but) don’t strain” is one of the most popular of exercise adages. New Zealand runner and athletics coach Arthur Lydiard (1917-2004) used the saying by at least 1963. University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman visited New Zealand and returned to Eugene, Oregon, to popularize jogging in that city, instructing “train, (but) don’t strain.” There is an isolated citation of “train, don’t strain” in a 1957 magazine article on weightlifting.
An opposite rhyming exercise adage is “No pain, no gain.”
Wikipedia: Arthur Lydiard
Arthur Leslie Lydiard, ONZ, OBE (6 July 1917 – 11 December 2004) was a New Zealand runner and athletics coach. He has been lauded as one of the outstanding athletics coaches of all time and is credited with popularizing the sport of running and making it commonplace across the sporting world. His training methods are based on a strong endurance base and periodisation.
Lydiard competed in the Men’s Marathon at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, coming thirteenth with a time of 2h:54m:51.6s.
Lydiard presided over New Zealand’s golden era in world track and field during the 1960s sending Murray Halberg, Peter Snell and Barry Magee to the podium at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Under Lydiard’s tutelage Snell went on to double-gold at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Athletes subsequently coached by him or influenced by his coaching methods included such luminaries as Rod Dixon, John Walker, Dick Quax and Dick Tayler.
Google Books
December 1957, Boys’ Life, ‘Wise Weight Lifting” by Frank Giles, pg. 75, col. 2:
Train, don’t strain.
Google News Archive
22 January 1963, Eugene (OR) Register-Guard, pg. 6A, col. 1:
Jogging
Bill Bowerman, the University of Oregon track coach and therefore a man who knows a great deal about running, is just back from New Zealand.
(...)
The principal rule is “train, but don’t strain.” By doing only what he can do comfortably—plus a little push aimed at getting better—the jogger finds in a few weeks he can cover far more ground much faster than he had imagined possible. And he feels better, too.
4 February 1963, The Oregonian (Portland, OR), “Duck Coach Boosts ‘Jogging’ As Good Physical Conditioner,” Sports, pg. 4, col. 2:
Bowerman’s basic rule is, “Train, don’t strain.” Within this basic maxim the Webfoot coach recommends jogging at a pace a bit faster than a walk and going as far as possible until breathing becomes difficult.
(Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman—ed.)
14 February 1963, Christian Science Monitor, “Jogging Clubs Combine Fun, Fitness, Friends,” pg. 14:
“Train, don’t strain,” is the motto brought from New Zealand.
16 January 1964, Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale-Herrin-Murphysboro, IL), “Jogging Latest Fad In Eugene” (AP), pg. 12, col. 1:
“Train, but don’t strain,” is Lydiard’s motto.
Google Books
Run for Your Life:
Jogging with Arthur Lydiard
By Garth Gilmour
Sydney: Shakespeare Head Press
1966, ©1965
Pg. 72:
Work on the same simple principle as Lydiard’s athletes: train, don’t strain.
Google News Archive
14 February 1965, Youngstown (OH) Vindicator, “A Lift for Family Health,” Parade Magazine, pg. 15, col. 2:
“TRAIN, DON’T STRAIN”
Hoffman advises beginners to start with barbells. ‘Train, don’t strain,” he says. “You have lots of time. It took you years toget into your present poor condition, and you will need some time to work out of it.”
(Robert Hoffman, coach of the U.S. Olympic weightlifting team—ed.)
Google News Archive
5 August 1974, Portsmouth (OH) Times, “The Doctor’s Advice” by Lawrence Lamb, M.D., pg. 22, col. 2:
Remember, whatever you do, start at a low level, increase the amount gradually, and do it regularly. The key to success with any good exercise program is to train, don’t strain.
Google Books
Dr. Sheehan on Running
By George Sheehan
Mountain View, CA: World Publications
1975
Pg. 38:
Starting a personal program of endurance training means following one general rule: “Train, don’t strain.” For example, don’t make the mistake of running up grades in the early sessions. I made that mistake.
Google Books
Running to Win:
Training and racing for young athletes
By Brian Mitchell
Newton Abbot: David and Charles
1976
Pg. ?:
As is often said but seldom understood, ‘train don’t strain’. Train hard, but train intelligently.
OCLC WorldCat record
A Clinical guide to exercise prescription / two case histories / Emil J. Bardana, Jr. The athletic ankle injury : protective wrapping and taping / Kerkor Kassabian
Author: James Stray-Gundersen; Emil J Bardana; Kerkor Kassabian; Network for Continuing Medical Education.
Publisher: Secaucus, N.J. : Network for Continuing Medical Education, 1986.
Series: NCME, no. 489.
Edition/Format: VHS video : VHS tape Visual material : English
Summary: Suggests ways for physicians to emphasize a “train, don’t strain” approach in tailoring an exercise program to meet each patient’s needs. Using two case histories as examples suggests how to determine whether a patient’s cough and chest tightness are aggravations of pre-existent conditions or asthma cases with occupational origin. Illustrates protective measures for athletic patients who sustain repetitive ankle injuries.
OCLC WorldCat record
Train, Don’t Strain - 9 easy ways to run faster this summer. (Note: They’re actually fun. We promise.)
Author: Bob Wischnia
Publisher: Emmaus, PA : Rodale Press, c1987-
Edition/Format: Article : English
Publication: Runner’s world. (June 2002): 12
Database: ArticleFirst