Soreness - protein, mix it up, or suffer through??

acarmon55

I have been exercising (treadmill for at least 60 min and 10 Min trainer, 3 videos at home) and I am so sore the next day I have to rest. Yesterday I still was sore and my shins hurt just to make it to the basement. I have read to eat more protein and that would help. What kind of protein shake is good? I don't want to waste money and don't know where to begin. I feel I am totally off in my fitness goals right now and need some help getting back on track. Should I mix up the workouts more? Get more protein? Suffer through the soreness til it gets better? Thanks for any advice to get rid of the soreness and on track.

beemerphile1

Slow down and don't feel guilty about rest days. Your body gains strength and heals when you rest, not when you workout.

It took a long time to get where you are, there is no shortcut to getting back where you want to be.

OliverP1994

If your shins hurt I might suggest some proper running shoes if you don't have any already? When I was well into running I used to get pretty bad shins but all that stopped with some decent running shoes... If you feel too sore to run, take the rest day and allow your body to heal, also MyProtein is good for shakes, I myself use Whey protein banana flavour, I train weights so have two of these a day and find they don't get sickly!

hdrenollet

Well, there's a lot to consider and I don't have a lot of info to go on, but I'll give you some pointers that may help you out.

First, most people get enough protein in their diet as long as you're eating right, so start with your diet. Make sure you are getting enough lean proteins: chicken, fish, turkey, pork, or even a good lean steak occasionally.

What does your workout look like? Are you taking time to warm-up and stretch before your workouts and are you taking time to cool-down and stretch after your workouts? This is very important. I do a 15 minute warm-up and a 20 minute stretch before each workout to make sure my muscles are ready, then I do a 15 minute cool-down and a 20-30 minute stretch after each work out. Also, rest days are necessary to allow your body to recover. If you're just starting out with an exercise program, then take it slow and allow your body time to get used to doing the workouts. It's not good for your body to go from sedentary to working out 6 days/week. Your body will be telling you to give it a break, and you should listen so you don't risk injury. You should push yourself and try your hardest at every workout, however, know your limitations and don't over-do it. If you get injured, then you won't be able to work out for a long time until your injury heals, and it'll be completely counterproductive.

Are you drinking enough water? Going back to your diet for a minute, if you're consuming lean proteins regularly, then the creatine in the meats allow your muscles to absorb the water that you're consuming which reduces the lactic acid buildup that occurs after working out. Make sure you're getting enough water consistently throughout the day. You should drink half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. For instance, if you're 150 lbs, you should drink at least 75 oz of water every day.

Are you getting enough vitamins and minerals from your diet, or are you taking a daily multivitamin supplement? If your diet does not include enough fruits and vegetables, then consider taking a daily multivitamin supplement so your body can produce the amino acids necessary to repair the muscle tissue.

As a last resort, you may want to consider adding a protein supplement, but all protein supplements are not created equal. This largely depends on your goals and some other details about you as well. A quality whey isolate is good if you are trying to add some lean protein to your diet without adding a lot of calories or if you have a sensitivity to lactose. Most protein supplements will contain BCAA's (Branched-Chain Amino Acids) which will assist in muscle recovery and building new muscle. Use caution when choosing a supplement though. Some contain additional additives that you may not need, or want to be consuming.

I highly recommend tracking your protein intake on myfitnesspal.com, and if you are regularly showing a daily protein deficit, then you may want to talk to your doctor about adding a protein supplement to your diet. If you are not significantly low in the protein department, then maybe a glass of milk or two will be sufficient to supplement your protein without the use of additional supplements. Protein supplements definitely have their place, and I use a supplement regularly, but not everyone needs them and you should make sure that you're doing everything else right first before considering this option.

Hope this helps

acarmon55

hdrenollet wrote: »

Well, there's a lot to consider and I don't have a lot of info to go on, but I'll give you some pointers that may help you out.

First, most people get enough protein in their diet as long as you're eating right, so start with your diet. Make sure you are getting enough lean proteins: chicken, fish, turkey, pork, or even a good lean steak occasionally.

What does your workout look like? Are you taking time to warm-up and stretch before your workouts and are you taking time to cool-down and stretch after your workouts? This is very important. I do a 15 minute warm-up and a 20 minute stretch before each workout to make sure my muscles are ready, then I do a 15 minute cool-down and a 20-30 minute stretch after each work out. Also, rest days are necessary to allow your body to recover. If you're just starting out with an exercise program, then take it slow and allow your body time to get used to doing the workouts. It's not good for your body to go from sedentary to working out 6 days/week. Your body will be telling you to give it a break, and you should listen so you don't risk injury. You should push yourself and try your hardest at every workout, however, know your limitations and don't over-do it. If you get injured, then you won't be able to work out for a long time until your injury heals, and it'll be completely counterproductive.

Are you drinking enough water? Going back to your diet for a minute, if you're consuming lean proteins regularly, then the creatine in the meats allow your muscles to absorb the water that you're consuming which reduces the lactic acid buildup that occurs after working out. Make sure you're getting enough water consistently throughout the day. You should drink half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. For instance, if you're 150 lbs, you should drink at least 75 oz of water every day.

Are you getting enough vitamins and minerals from your diet, or are you taking a daily multivitamin supplement? If your diet does not include enough fruits and vegetables, then consider taking a daily multivitamin supplement so your body can produce the amino acids necessary to repair the muscle tissue.

As a last resort, you may want to consider adding a protein supplement, but all protein supplements are not created equal. This largely depends on your goals and some other details about you as well. A quality whey isolate is good if you are trying to add some lean protein to your diet without adding a lot of calories or if you have a sensitivity to lactose. Most protein supplements will contain BCAA's (Branched-Chain Amino Acids) which will assist in muscle recovery and building new muscle. Use caution when choosing a supplement though. Some contain additional additives that you may not need, or want to be consuming.

I highly recommend tracking your protein intake on myfitnesspal.com, and if you are regularly showing a daily protein deficit, then you may want to talk to your doctor about adding a protein supplement to your diet. If you are not significantly low in the protein department, then maybe a glass of milk or two will be sufficient to supplement your protein without the use of additional supplements. Protein supplements definitely have their place, and I use a supplement regularly, but not everyone needs them and you should make sure that you're doing everything else right first before considering this option.

Hope this helps

This does help. I do warm up, but I don't stretch before I work out. I think I will start trying that to see if it helps. I do stretch afterwards for about 15-20 minutes. I do drink a lot of water, but not that much. I will also try adding more water. I LOVE LOVE milk and drink 3 cups every morning and would drink more if I could (but calories are high). I do take a some vitamins, but not much. I have been trying to adjust my diet to include more fruit and veggies, maybe I should try to add a few more. If that doesn't work, then I will talk to a dr. Thanks for the advice!!

acarmon55

OliverP1994 wrote: »

If your shins hurt I might suggest some proper running shoes if you don't have any already? When I was well into running I used to get pretty bad shins but all that stopped with some decent running shoes... If you feel too sore to run, take the rest day and allow your body to heal, also MyProtein is good for shakes, I myself use Whey protein banana flavour, I train weights so have two of these a day and find they don't get sickly!

I do think I need new running shoes. I think the shin hurting is from trying to run without shoes because I thought trying that would be better than my knee hurting. My knee didn't hurt with no shoes, but the blisters and shins sure do. I guess I am going to have to fork out the cash for some more shoes! Hopefully the running store here in town has some that are on sale or clearance that will work!!