Question about pulling muscles

holland1982

I've been in kickboxing for 2.5 years, it's a bootcamp-like training style with lots of running, squats, sprawls, etc. between drills and sparring.

Whenever we do lunges, or ridiculous exercises like hold your ankles and hop across the room and back, (basically anything using my thigh muscles heavily) I cannot last long and my thighs feel numb and/or like jelly. In all this time I've never gotten used to it. I went to class last Wednesday and today is the first day I can walk or sit like a normal person - that's not okay! It's the front and backs of my thighs and butt that get incredibly tight and hurt for days. I stretch a lot after class, I go through jujitsu training after, but I go to bed knowing it's going to get very sore the next few days. This weekend was especially bad, and my doctors can't really help or give tips to prevent it other than doing it more often (I do several times a week) or stretching more (I stretch a lot). They are so sore and stiff my knees tend to lock when I stand or walk, making me do that knee-buckle thing where you almost fall randomly. I had to hold my husband's arm walking around all weekend. I take stairs like a 90 year old.

Does anybody understand this kind of pain I'm getting, or have any suggestions to lessen it? Special stretches I can do before class, updated versions so it's a bit less pull on my thighs? It's insane, and embarrassing when I have to give up before everyone else. I am overweight and of course that's a strain on my body but this is crazy.

EDIT: I'm also adding in that running has never been easy for me, thin or fat. Running begins every class and then leads to the lunges and that helps aggravate the muscles. I always get stiff, numb-feeling ankles and feet not long after starting a jog around the room - I am really good at all other parts of the classes though!

cafeaulait7

It sounds like it might just be too much at one time for your particular body. And you go to jujitsu after?

I think maybe for 2.5 years you have never let your muscles, ligaments and tendons fully heal and progress like they could with those activities. If it were possible to do a half class and then have a couple of rest days and then progress up from there, that's what I'd recommend. I know that's hard with classes, so it's tough. Is there an easier class you could take first for a while?

Alternatively, you could do weight training and lots of targeted stretching to work on certain areas first and then go back to that class after training for it beforehand. Good luck!

holland1982

I've been down to once a week lately because I've been sick a lot, but it's been 2-3 times a week for basically 2.5 years. It doesn't always hurt like that - only when a certain person instructs the warmup and she just LOVES lunges and anything for the thighs. I'm fine if I don't have her, ha ha! But unfortunately no, with my belt level I cannot take something lower.

I've definitely had rest periods, I just can't get past this numbness/pain/stiffness after too much thigh workouts. My teammates all feel sore after doing these but I definitely hobble and seem to be in the most pain.

I'm going to try more and more thigh stretches. I see some more recent posts about more than normal pain when doing certain exercises, at least I'm not alone.