Is it normal for ribs to hurt when working out at the gym?

There is really no absolute yes or no to this question. It depends on what kind of pain you have and how it hurts. I have been practicing fitness for three years, and both novices and veterans around me have basically encountered rib pain. Most of them are normal reactions with no serious problems, and a few are real injuries that need to be paid attention to.

When I first got into strength training, I would do bench presses. I was always greedy for weight. When I reached failure, I couldn't help but push my ribs up high to gain strength. The lower edge of my ribs was so sore that night after the training. It hurt when I laughed or yawned. The soreness was even more obvious when I pressed. I panicked at the time and thought I had injured a bone. I asked the coach at the gym and said it was the intercostal muscles and external abdominal muscles. The oblique muscles were tired due to compensatory exertion, so they adjusted their movements and deliberately kept the ribs in during practice. After two days of rest, everything was fine. This is a typical normal situation. To put it bluntly, small muscle groups that are rarely used are suddenly mobilized to exert force, or muscle fatigue caused by a slight problem with the force exertion mode is the same as your legs being sore after training and your arms being sore after training.

But not all rib pain can be classified as "normal". Last month, a novice next to me was doing weight-bearing crunches. In order to stand up higher, he pulled his upper body to lean on his knees. At that time, he gasped with a "click" and said that the side of his ribs hurt. He did not dare to take a deep breath. After three days of applying the plaster, it was still not healed. I went to the hospital and took a film and said it was a costal cartilage contusion. The doctor said that if he came two days later, he might develop into costochondritis. This kind of pain must be abnormal and it is a sports injury.

I talked about this with veterans at the gym before, and many of them thought that as long as the pain was not unbearable, and they could practice for a few days and get used to it, it would be fine. They said it was all a matter of the muscles not stretching, but when I went to a sports rehabilitation specialist to adjust my posture, they specifically mentioned that it is necessary to adjust my posture. If you feel pain every time you do chest and abdominal exercises, it is most likely because your core is not tightened and your ribs are always in a valgus state. In the long run, it is not only easy to cause chronic inflammation of the costal cartilage, but in severe cases, it may even cause stress injuries to the ribs. This is not an alarmist.

To put it bluntly, you don’t need to be too nervous or take it seriously. If you only feel soreness after a day or two of training and it doesn’t affect normal eating and walking, then it’s basically fine. Just adjust your movements and pay more attention to tightening your core. If the pain is a sharp stabbing pain that occurs when you move or take a deep breath, and it doesn’t relieve after three days, stop practicing immediately and go to the hospital. Don’t drag on a small problem and make it bigger.