Soreness and resting (P90)

catabolicmind

I'm just getting back into exercising again with Power 90. I started with doing just cardio and light weightlifting in the gym to get back into a reasonable state of fitness before attempting the P90 program, but even so I've noticed that I have continuing muscle/tendon soreness where it hurts to walk many many days after doing the Sculpt (strength) part of the program. So my question is, is it more beneficial in terms of fitness and strength gains to work through the pain as per the program calendar (6 days alternating strength/cardio + 1 rest day) or to skip the strength days until the pain is mostly manageable? Also, for people who started from no exercise to doing P90, was it normal for you to be sore/in pain for a very long time (up to a week or more) after?

DJ478

i hear eating a banana daily helps a bit and drinking lots of water soreness isnt to bad just as long as your exercising safely dont want to get hurt i am doing insanity now and i was sore the first few days but havent been since today i started month 2 so ill see if ill be sore tmm also i would love to see your final results if you pull through im trying to see what i do after insanity

tress29

The first time I did P90, I remember getting very sore! In order to still "push play" I just did one set of each of the exercises, instead of two. I kept working/stretching the same muscle groups that were sore, but let my mind think it was getting off easy cause I wasn't doing all of it! If I'm in a time crunch, I'll do the same thing. Half of P90 is better than none!

tricksee

DOMS (delayed onset muscle muscle soreness) is NOT, I repeat NOT a sign of an effective workout.

Ensure more rest, and go easier for a few sessions.

SoilFoodWeb

DOMS (delayed onset muscle muscle soreness) is NOT, I repeat NOT a sign of an effective workout.

^ This. Also Self Myofascial Release with a foam roller or lacrosse ball (or other tools) works wonders by bringing blood/ nutrients/ oxygen to the targeted area. Make sure to drink plenty of water if you do the SMR as it will release toxins. Warming up properly and regular stretching will also help. Some people supplement with glutamine and say it helps with soreness, I personally believe there is no need for exogenous glutamine supplementation if you are getting adequate dietary protein.

happysherri

When I haven't done P90 in a while and then go back to it I get sore (muscles). But not tendons just muscle soreness.

Maybe ease up a little

catabolicmind

Thanks for the quick replies! It's funny, I can do the workouts with the video with no problems at all (with the exception of Power Yoga which I skip every time, haha), but it's the days after that get me. Maybe if I lower the reps and do gentle yoga on the cardio days I can work up to doing the whole video without a week of arthritic hobbling.

As an aside, whenever I do an exercise by myself I feel like I've done a good job, but when I go hiking/cycling with other non-athletic people I'm always dead last and straggling at least 30 steps behind. I honestly can't tell if that's just how out-of-shape is supposed to be, or if there's something "off" (nutritionally, biochemically, whatever).

Dragonflag07

When I started did P90X 3 1/2 years ago, I was pretty sore for the first week or so and know where you are coming from. I do think if you take an extra day between the workouts thats fine - the programs are just guidelines but dont need to be followed with the to the letter. I would stretch or workout light and concentrate on full range of motion - you want to go deep on your squats / lunges and so forth. Better to get the blood back into the muscles so the tissue recovers faster. The opposite is when you limit your range of motion because of soreness or apprehension and you get all 'mummified' for days. Good luck.

catabolicmind

That's a good point. I'm also a fan of working up slowly rather than jumping into something and burning out.

fitmusiclifeviola

When I get DOMS it's a GREAT sign that I did a good workout. Not sure what these folks are saying about it being bad. Certainly if it's in your joints, pain is bad, but general muscle aching is only achieved through working and stressing the muscles enough that they will come back stronger after adequate rest, nutrition and hydration. Self-manipulations like the roller are great as well.

If DOMS doesn't let you work at all the next day, it is a sign you may be training so hard that you need multiple days of recovery. I think the p90 schedule is quite intense, and I just added rest days as needed. Your mind may try to convince you need rest when it isn't quite necessary. Try and experiment with an open mind, and stretch what you think you're capable of. I think that's part of what exercise is all about.

Good luck, and stay mindful.

fitmusiclifeviola

I just found this article here, which supports the DOMS isn't a good indicator of exercise quality argument most.
http://www.myosynthesis.com/articles/doms-muscle-soreness

The article goes into more about why DOMS isn't always associated with muscle growth. In general, I would maintain that I would celebrate any DOMS, mostly in that you have done something NEW, and at least for me, getting off my butt and trying something new would only be that much harder if I feared DOMS. Instead, anytime I'm sore, I try to enjoy the feelings by having them be a momento of the good work, effort or positive choice that I made.