Muscle soreness with Insanity, please help

becess96

I'm doing Insanity and as some of you recommended instead of stopping the DVD when I'm too tired, I let the tape run and take a few moments of breath. But I do have another problem: I'm always sore, since I started Insanity my legs have always been really sore (the first days) and kinda sore right now and this affects my performance cause I know I could be better, faster etc.. if I wasn't sore. Any recommendations ?

SkepticalOwl

How long have you been doing Insanity and what's your general level of fitness? Are you just sore or possibly injured? If it's just soreness, I generally try to work through it.

Liftng4Lis

Work through it!

Smiley0514

Make sure you are drinking plenty of water! Don't forget to stretch to help prepare your muscles. Keep pushing through. The first 2 weeks are the worst, but the soreness will subside. You got it!! I still get sore and need to take water breaks because I push myself too far sometimes. Don't give up!

Cortneyrenee04

I'm having the same issue. I stretch a lot before working out and I drink tons of water all day. The other day, I tried drinking a protein shake after working out to help the soreness and it maybe helped a tiny bit (hardly!). Would love to know if anyone has suggestions too.

Go_Mizzou99

When I did Insanity it took me 3 weeks to get through the warm-up without hitting the pause button. I thought the Fit Test was going to kill me too. In fact, I was perpetually sore until I did a slight modification to Insanity.

MY MODIFICATION: I did it every other day (as opposed to the Insanity suggested schedule) to allow my body to recover in the off days. It took twice as long to complete, but I did complete it. I know this was the right move.

I suggest spreading out the schedule and take some rest days. Remember all of the DVD's are promising you miracle results in 60 to 90 days...so what if it takes you twice as long.

amyoliver85

Hi there! You are sore because you are micro-tearing your muscles and putting them through hell. And that's okay. I am always sore after a round of Insanity. ALWAYS. Even after doing it for a month. As you get stronger you naturally push your body harder, and there's nothing wrong with having muscle soreness after you workout. But ask yourself these questions:

1- Are you working out in the morning or at night? If you work out in the morning you will be moving around all day which will help push the lactic acid out of your body throughout the day and reduce your muscle soreness.

2- Is it soreness or pain? Are you doing the exercises with correct posture?

3- Are you using a pre-workout formula or a recovery formula or supplement after you workout? For me this is essential. I'm doing T25 right now and always take a pre-workout and use a recovery supplement or I can't move the next day.

4- Are you putting enough effort into your pre-workout stretch and your post-workout stretch?

5- Are you drinking enough water? 8 - 8 ounce glasses is malarkey. You should drink your body weight in ounces. I weigh 172ish so I drink 172 ounces of water on days I workout. I also drink additional water while I workout if I can.

6- Are you getting enough protein? Remember, you've got to fuel your body for it to be able to workout appropriately.

Most importantly, don't worry if you're not putting in "full effort". Do what your body can do. And NEVER turn off the DVD because you get tired. If you're getting tired don't work out as hard, but finish the work out! My first inkling would be to believe that you're doing half the workout and then not stretching because you're turning it off. But I really want to encourage you to reduce the intensity of your efforts and do the full workout from beginning to end. Make sure you are tightening your core through the entire workout because that is where most of the work should be happening in the first place, and it will take some of the pressure off of the rest of your body.

If you are in the right health condition, don't be afraid to take a Tylenol Extra Strength tab at night before you go to bed when you've worked out particularly hard. Also, I find that soaking in the tub in epsom salts does wonders for my body and makes me feel amazing.

I know this also might sound strange, but if you don't see a chiropractor I would recommend it. I've found that I have less difficulty working out since I started seeing a chiropractor on a weekly basis. I don't know where you live, but The Joint is in a lot of places and is $49 per month and you get 4 adjustments. I go there to keep the cost low so I can take care of myself. I also get a massage once per month to help push out toxins and lactic acid. If you can't afford that, do yoga 3 times per week with an online free video and go to Wal-mart and buy one of the those blue foam Gold's Gym rollers and lay on it and roll it up and down your back to help adjust your spine. If you're getting a lot of soreness around your neck and upper shoulders, buy one of those ice bag things in the pharmacy and fill it with cold water and lay it under your head/neck where they connect to reduce inflammation there, which can help to reduce inflammation in your whole body. Also, roll up a hand towel and lay it under the back of your neck to help your head roll back into a natural position and stay there for about 5-10 minutes to release pressure in your spine. Anything you do to release pressure in your spine will help inflammation and soreness pretty much everywhere in your body. I also recommend looking up reflexology online and doing some pressure point massages on your own feet.

If you've been doing Insanity a while and are still feeling soreness, I highly doubt you will ever see a decrease in the amount of soreness. Your body is just going to keep pushing itself and you will forever feel that way. It is High Intensity Interval Training (HiiT) so it makes perfect sense that you're feeling this way. Just try all of the above and take good care of yourself. You can friend or PM me if you want additional help. My boyfriend is a mixed martial arts professional and a personal trainer, and I'm a homeopath so we've been working for a long time to figure this kind of stuff out and we seem to be on the right track.

CherylG1983

Have a nice glass of chocolate milk when you're done. This is a great article to read that explains how and why chocolate milk works for a post-workout replenishment. http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/superfoods/chocolate-milk-after-workout/

Also, I take a hot, 20-minute bath in epsom salts about three times a week. And it works WONDERS! I get the kind that has lavender essential oil in it to make it more relaxing, but plain old epsom salts work just as well! Magnesium is a primary component of Epsom salt. It's absorbed through the skin, and helps relax skeletal muscles by flushing lactic acid buildup in the muscles, which can happen after a workout, or any type of physical exertion, really. Magnesium also helps your body absorb vitamins, regulate muscle and nerve function, which influence muscle soreness, which also affects muscle stiffness.