Working out when sore/stiff

xcatsaxon

Stretch and ice/heat until your body adjusts- I learned this the hard way. Also, make sure your drinking tons of water to help get that lactic acid out from the muscles that get trapped when working out. Hope this helps!

daj150

It's my understanding that there is no consensus on whether stretching helps. Some studies show that it helps, some show that it makes no difference, some show that it makes injury more likely (that last thing probably due to people believing they're magically immune to injury if only they stretch).

Stretching isn't required, and you are correct, it's not proven stretching should be mandatory or not. But tight muscles that are put through high impact or high extension will cause negative results. The results will vary person to person based on their physical condition and their muscle strength around the areas where the impact occurs. I personally only stretch when I am tight. Dynamic stretches are for initial stretching because static stretches are high extension movements. You can lessen the extension of course, but then you aren't really gaining as much benefit from the stretch.

SLLRunner

When I increase the intensity of my workouts, I get pretty stiff and sore. Now, I just do my regular workouts, but with less intensity if I'm sore from the day before.

When I first started working out and got stiff and sore, I would give myself a rest day in between. That really helped.

Listen to your body and decide what works best for you.

splashtree2

i stretch before and after workout, is helpful to keep joints healthy, and i van handle my weekly routine!

brianmaclennan

I wouldn't recommend working out stiff. Just throw a towel over it until it goes down some and isn't noticeable.

HAHA!!! Boner Joke!