Recovery??

ksy1969

3 weeks ago I started All Pro's Simple Beginner Routine. One thing I can say for sure is by the end of my workout I am exhausted. It is funny, when I first start out I feel like I am not getting much of a workout, even with the squats being first, but by the time I am done I am shot. This is probably why he has squats first because I could not imagine trying to do them last.

One thing I have noticed is the DOMS are really bad the next day right. The first two weeks I was still doing the elliptical or bike on All Pro's designated rest days. I noticed day 2 and day 3 of All Pro's I was still really sore which made the lifts harder even though they are lighter. This week I decided to take the advice from a nice write up on bodybuilding dot com about the All Pro's workout and not do any cardio on the days that AllPro designates as rest. I noticed my day 2 workout yesterday was much easier than it was the last two weeks. I still have the same DOMS today as last week, the workout was just easier.

To my question. Have others experienced this? Does it get easier? I have always been a cardio person, so I am feeling really guilty for not doing any but I can tell, right now, that my lifting is going better by actually resting on those designated days.

BikerGirlElaine

That's pretty much my experience. I do take walks on most rest days, and I do some cardio after I lift -- 15-20 minutes of sprints on a stationary cycle. But I try to let rest days be rest days -- because I *love* getting stronger and don't want that to suffer.

tomcornhole

Maybe it's our age (I'm 47) but I cannot do full body workouts. I started with 3 day/week all body workouts per Starting strength and made good progress for a While and then stalled. Switched to twice a week and made progress. I am now on 5/3/1 and I hit bench, squat, deads and OHP once a week on a 4 day split. That has allowed me to progress again. Anything more than that and it hurts my progress. That and I'm not eating at a surplus and screwing up my carb intake. But I press on.

Sarauk2sf

Tagging to respond to shortly.

ssaraj43

Bump for info:-)

EvgeniZyntx

Tagging to read.

bumblebums

On a more constructive note, do you warm up before you do the lifts? I am talking about a general warm-up, something like 5-10 minutes on an exercise bike or a rowing machine. That's supposed to prevent DOMS to some extent. Stretching and foam rolling afterwards also helps some people (although both one's experience of DOMS and what helps alleviate it seems to vary a lot).

And yeah, as you get older, recovery becomes a problem.

ksy1969

Yep, I do warm up on a bike or elliptical for 5 minutes before hand. I am really not concerned about the DOMS. I am pretty much expecting them. My question more has to do with doing cardio on designated rest days. Do people find recovery and lifting harder when doing cardio on days they are supposed to be resting. That has been my experience so far but should I just suck it up and do cardio and my body will eventually adapt?

bumblebums

Yep, I do warm up on a bike or elliptical for 5 minutes before hand. I am really not concerned about the DOMS. I am pretty much expecting them. My question more has to do with doing cardio on designated rest days. Do people find recovery and lifting harder when doing cardio on days they are supposed to be resting. That has been my experience so far but should I just suck it up and do cardio and my body will eventually adapt?

I gave up cardio when I got more serious about lifting. Recovery was a major problem for me otherwise. Some people manage to run half-marathons and lift, but I do not get the impression that they are the majority. I do, however, think that they tend to be in their 20s, not 40s.

There is an argument for doing cardio as "active recovery", but for me, it just drained me and turned going to the gym into a chore instead of something I enjoy.

The_Enginerd

Tagging to follow.

danasings

Following. I have a similar issue.

Sarauk2sf

Yep, I do warm up on a bike or elliptical for 5 minutes before hand. I am really not concerned about the DOMS. I am pretty much expecting them. My question more has to do with doing cardio on designated rest days. Do people find recovery and lifting harder when doing cardio on days they are supposed to be resting. That has been my experience so far but should I just suck it up and do cardio and my body will eventually adapt?

I had tagged to respond, but now realize that the question was re cardio and recovery as it relates to lifting......I got nothing...:flowerforyou:

Otterluv

Yep, I do warm up on a bike or elliptical for 5 minutes before hand. I am really not concerned about the DOMS. I am pretty much expecting them. My question more has to do with doing cardio on designated rest days. Do people find recovery and lifting harder when doing cardio on days they are supposed to be resting. That has been my experience so far but should I just suck it up and do cardio and my body will eventually adapt?

I hope it's okay to respond here. I do run on my non-lifting days, for about an hour. The only time I get DOMS is when adding in a new lift, but they are pretty short lived. It's been working okay for me so far. I have both running and lifting goals, and enjoy both. If I didn't run, my lifting might progress faster, but, that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make at this point.

I did build up my cardio, starting with shorter times. Easing into it may help give your body time to adapt.

EvgeniZyntx

I've given up a lot on cardio and fucused more on lifting but principly due to time and focus issues.


A light run has always helped me with DOMS but I understand that isn't the question. I honestly do not know how it actually impacts my lifts. Someone is going to have to test this out. :bigsmile: Er, no, not me. Or at least not in the near future. I'm really just trying to go to the gym consistently - a run a week is all I can give right now.