Holy Muscle Soreness....

wiredkell

Hi all!

I'm brand new to Stronglifts and am super excited to keep going with it. I've only done 1 workout and my legs are killing me! Weakling! lol Obviously doing new activities always causes soreness in the body, but this is crazy. I half like the feeling because it makes me realize I'm helping my body, but when it gets to the point where I can barely sit down or get back up from sitting down... or walk funny.. it's a bit much.

I'm curious to know what everyone does to recover from muscle soreness quicker. Any tricks?

canadianlbs

- anti-inflammatories and ice can help with the actual inflammation.
- stay hydrated. kind of goes without saying, but step it up as your body's hoarding a lot of that water in your muscles, so you need more just to keep the overall level good.
- geeeentle stretching feels really good and gives at least temporary relief, and it's also just a good thing to do for keeping the muscle quality long and smooth as it heals.
-foam rolling or other massage don't help in absolute terms afaik but it sure feels like it does while you're doing it. just don't overdo it to the point where you're bruising your muscles on top of what's already troubling them.
- i think i heard vitamin d is one of the few things that may actually help. and i think when i tried it it did seem like it did. just, y'know. don't go overboard and poison yourself with too much of it.

a big hit of protein right after the exercise also helps. too late this time, i guess, but it can't hurt while you're recovering. and i take bcaa's and creatine too, these days. the bcaa's seem like they prevent doms and/or speed recovery. the creatine really makes sure my muscles are properly hydrated so they don't get 'sticky', which may not be technically meaningful for doms but it sure makes me more comfortable.

wiredkell

Thanks for the tips! I've already been drinking an insane amount of water and taking anti-inflammatories. I must get DOMS worse than some people. It doesn't help that I have a desk job and am sitting for longer periods. I try to move around as much as I can, but even just a bit of sitting makes me more sore. I'm a bit worried for my workout tonight though lol I think after my workout tonight, I'll try an Epsom salt bath.

SideSteel

I would consider starting with lower volume and build up to 5x5 over a period of about 2 weeks.

One example might be 3x3 for the first week then 4x4, 5x5 or something to that effect.

Make sure that your total volume ramps up over a couple weeks and also make sure no individual sets are taken anywhere near failure and you'll likely improve work capacity and also see soreness drop substantially over that period.

wiredkell

Great advice. I'll see what today's B workout is like and take it from there. Thanks @SideSteel

canadianlbs

pre-lift warmup helps sometimes. like, stretch gently to make sure your muscles are mobile and flexy before you start asking them to move and flex. or if nothing else to get a health check on how sore they are. if you're sore when you start then i'm also a big fan of doing as many warmup sets with the bar as you need before you start to add weight again. just because the app says x sets for warmup doesn't mean you can't/shouldn't tweak that as needed.

post-lift stretching is mandatory, according to my chiropractor anyway. according to him you need to stretch to 'remind' your body which direction to align fibres in while you're body's busy repairing them.

also, just sympathy: first time i squatted it was just air squatting (fairly fast though) in some circuit-training session. i think it took me two or three weeks to recover fully.

canadianlbs

also, fwiw: i'm only now starting to catch the doms from doing dimel deadlifts correctly for the first time ever, at volume and weight it took me four to six weeks to work up to doing.

in other words, maaaaajor bum death. so i'll just mention when i've got really sore muscles my entire body craves orange juice. i'm assuming it's a vitamin c thing, but i don't second-guess it too much.

and at least you have company in your misery atm. so there's that.

wiredkell

@canadianlbs Thanks for the company lol

I managed to complete Workout B without too much difficulties... which is good. Today I'm not as sore as I was yesterday, but I'm assuming it'll get worse as the day goes on. I might need to check my form, as the only thing that's really super insanely sore are my upper legs and that would be from the squats. I definitely need to take the time to warm up better and to do some stretching afterwards.

christch

I can relate to your soreness with first lifting session in four weeks on Sunday. Monday I was a bit stiff but omg this morning everything aches. I don't remember having doms this bad when I first started. Mainly through quads and pecs. Debating whether to go again tonight or leave it to tomorrow night.

Mouse_Potato

I'm just getting back to it after a 6 month hiatus and my experience was that the first workout left me sore for about 5 days. Then, once I finally got brave enough to do the next one, I was sore for about 2 days. After workout 3, I was no longer sore. YMMV.

But, oh, that first workout...!

whmscll

It totally gets better as you progress and your body gets stronger. You can workout again if you still have some soreness...in fact, I have found that another workout makes the soreness go away. BUT not the very next day if you are super sore...in fact, not at all if you are super sore, period. Wait a few days until you are only "sort of" sore. You have to listen to your body and gauge when you think it can handle the next session.

wiredkell

Thanks guys. It does seem to be getting a bit better. I don't find myself too sore the next day, but 2 days later.. OMG. lol