I have some questions about frequency and length of work out

kimber0607

Hi al

Im 46 and have never ever been athletic....I was so bad I didn't even own a pair of sneakers (true)
So a few months ago I started working out at home..I have a treadmill, an elliptical, weights and have been using youtube/videos etc
I started with only 5 pounds weight..I know pretty wimpy
I was working out 45-1 hr , 6x a week
I was alternating cardio, light weight and yoga

Due to a change in my schedule, I have been working out 4 days a week for 1.5 hours
I am doing light cardio, weights, HIIT, lunges etc

I would love to lose about 10 pounds and tone up (more importantly)
Ive moved from 5 to 10 pounds fo a lot of arm exc and have been using 2/10 pound weight for lunges, deadlifts etc

Im sore all the time...LOL....even w the rest days in between and my left shoulder really acts up/hurts a little after the work out...only left
When I was using only 5 pound weight, it hurt..couldn't tie it to any particular move or incident
I have no issues with movement/range...it hurts from arm pit diagonal to top shoulder

I dont know if my work out schedule now could be tweaked....does it matter as long as im putting in the work and hours at the end of the week?
Also when I give me shoulder 2-3 days break the pain goes away but starts up again as soon as I do weight/arm exc

any thoughts appreciated
thanks kim

Courtscan2

I would go to the doctor to find out what is happening with your shoulder, before you do anything else - could be a problem with your rotator cuff, could be bursitis, could be all kinds of things but recurrent pain isn't something you want to blindly push through. If these is a genuine problem there, you could just be exacerbating it. Your frequency etc of working out otherwise sounds reasonable, 1.5 hours 4 days a week isn't excessive as your workouts don't sound overly intense.

Sharon_C

You're probably working out too much. Are you doing whole body? If so you should give yourself 2 days rest between workouts. Are you doing an upper/lower split? If so, then you should do upper/lower/rest/upper/lower/rest/rest and that will give you the recovery you need.

Workouts break the muscle down. Recovery is where the magic happens and the muscles rebuild themselves. Adequate recovery is essential.

And if something hurts then stop working that right away. Listen to your body. See a doctor.

lorrpb

Weight training is great. If you want to lose 5-10 lbs you also need to focus on how much you’re eating. Please read the sticky posts to learn the best tips about weight loss and weight training.

kimber0607

Sharon_C wrote: »

You're probably working out too much. Are you doing whole body? If so you should give yourself 2 days rest between workouts. Are you doing an upper/lower split? If so, then you should do upper/lower/rest/upper/lower/rest/rest and that will give you the recovery you need.

Workouts break the muscle down. Recovery is where the magic happens and the muscles rebuild themselves. Adequate recovery is essential.

And if something hurts then stop working that right away. Listen to your body. See a doctor.

Yup since I only have 4 days...and I have more time on those days
I was doing everything....legs, arms, abs, w weights
etc

I just can't imagine I hurt my shoulder severely doing work out at home w 5 pound weights
recently increased to 10 pounds for some exc only

I gave me safe 2 days of FULL rest...today is day #3 and it still hurts
I was hoping it would feel better and I could try a different routine *sigh*

Thanks for the feedback..appreciated!
kim

kimber0607

lorrpb wrote: »

Weight training is great. If you want to lose 5-10 lbs you also need to focus on how much you’re eating. Please read the sticky posts to learn the best tips about weight loss and weight training.

Thanks..def need to clean up my diet

ElizabethKalmbach

Women are more susceptible to repetetive motion injuries than men because estrogen inhibits collagen production. See a doctor about your shoulder, and follow the advice given, ESPECIALLY IF THEY TELL YOU TO REST, but also if they give you a bunch of super-boring exercises with embarrassingly low weights that seem dumb. Those exercises are important, and I highly recommend you do them on BOTH SIDES, even if only one side is hurting. Go to PT as needed. I'm having similar shoulder pains and I have a sports PT appointment on Dec 20th that can't come soon enough. Rotator cuff injuries are no joke and I am doing my very best to see to it that I head this problem off before it becomes a muscle or ligament injury.

kimber0607

ElizabethKalmbach wrote: »

Women are more susceptible to repetetive motion injuries than men because estrogen inhibits collagen production. See a doctor about your shoulder, and follow the advice given, ESPECIALLY IF THEY TELL YOU TO REST, but also if they give you a bunch of super-boring exercises with embarrassingly low weights that seem dumb. Those exercises are important, and I highly recommend you do them on BOTH SIDES, even if only one side is hurting. Go to PT as needed. I'm having similar shoulder pains and I have a sports PT appointment on Dec 20th that can't come soon enough. Rotator cuff injuries are no joke and I am doing my very best to see to it that I head this problem off before it becomes a muscle or ligament injury.

I hear ya! Thanks for the advice...good luck to you with your appt
pls , if u remember, LMK how it goes
for now im going to give me shoulder a complete rest indefinitely

Thanks and good luck

sijomial

You shouldn't be sore all the time - build up steadily, maybe take 2 days off between workouts at first?
It's not just muscles that need to adapt, your joints, ligaments and tendons also need to adapt too (as you may be finding out...).

BTW - really hope you aren't doing real HIIT which would be maximal, or very close to maximal, effort, very short duration cardio intervals.
If you are calling circuit training HIIT (which is the fault of the fitness industry hanging the name HIIT on every damn workout that isn't steady state!) then that's maybe appropriate.

Maximal effort pushing yourself to the limit (real HIIT) wouldn't be a good choice for you right now.

kimber0607

sijomial wrote: »

You shouldn't be sore all the time - build up steadily, maybe take 2 days off between workouts at first?
It's not just muscles that need to adapt, your joints, ligaments and tendons also need to adapt too (as you may be finding out...).

BTW - really hope you aren't doing real HIIT which would be maximal, or very close to maximal, effort, very short duration cardio intervals.
If you are calling circuit training HIIT (which is the fault of the fitness industry hanging the name HIIT on every damn workout that isn't steady state!) then that's maybe appropriate.

Maximal effort pushing yourself to the limit (real HIIT) wouldn't be a good choice for you right now.

I hear ya!..thanks for the advice
I was really enjoying working out for the first time in my life, and felt motivated/committed....
I'm still sore and my shoulder hurts, so I'm taking today off as well...rest day #3....haven't done that in a long time
Miss it...silly but im worried all my efforts diminish ..but I hope to recover/feel better in a little than start over...
Start with as new more realistic plan

Kim

MT1134

Do you do any mobility work when warming up? Do you warm up before working out? Shoulders are complex, however, if I know anything about them, it's that they need to be cared for by really warming them up before exercise.

I had a shoulder impingement that worked itself out by slowly warming up before every workout by doing shoulder mobility routines that took my shoulders through the full range of motion.

I had the same thing going on with my knee and once again an adequate warmup and slow progressions helped me get rid of all pain.

Obviously I can't diagnose you (not that I'm qualified) but if you're going to keep at it on your own then my best advice is start working mobility and really get the blood flowing (break a light sweat) by doing full body/full range of motion warm ups.