Working out Advice Please ; Really need help

Wheezzy

Hello Everyone,

I am not new to the site but I am really new to posting on the forums.

My sister and I are dieting and doing exercise together. However I am pretty much double the weight and size of her. She weighs approximately 155lbs and I am sitting at 320. (My lowest was 293, but school and stress got the best of me and I lost my way)

I know that diet is the majority of the weight loss, however I do want to build muscle while dieting. I have massively plateaued and gained a lot of weight. We started doing exercise while eating a proper diet except she recovered in 1 day and my arms and legs and tummy are STILL sore. It's the 3rd day now.

What we did was ; These were all done in sets of 10
10 minute warm up cardio
3 sets of Air Squats
3 sets of Lunges
3 sets of Bar Curls
3 sets of Shoulder press
3 sets of Tricep Pushdown
3 sets of Hyperextensions
3 sets of planks for 20 seconds each. My sister did 30 seconds. I couldn't hold more than 20.
then finished with 20 minutes of HIIT cardio.

I think perhaps it might be weight that is affecting my muscles? We are going back today because I feel better but I am worried I might be over exerting myself. How can my legs STILL hurt when it's been well over 48 hours since I did those exercises. I am worried. Did I pull something? I am just so sore, going up stairs brings tears to my eyes.

Any advice? I mean I am no health expert. i do tend to live rather sedentary as we are both video editors but I figured that my weight currently might not be the best for those exercises?

Any tips please. =]

Cherimoose

You did too much too soon. The normal response to that is to get sore.. and sometimes that lasts several days. Subsequent workouts won't be as bad, if done consistently.

By the way, consider swapping out some of the single-joint sets (curls, pushdowns, etc) for multiple joint sets (squats, etc), since they work more muscles. And add upper back & chest exercises. See my profile for a more balanced routine.

runner475

I got rid of majority of my initial weight by walking.

I started walk / run pretty much after I reached in low 200s. I also added spinning during that time period.

And then gradually moved to running.

Good Luck.

jemhh

Wow, that was a lot for beginners. Try going down to two sets of 4-6 and then work up from there. I feel your pain. I did something similar when I started out and the lunges about did me in. Ease yourself into it and it will get better.

rick_po

It sounds like DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). It's common for it to start a day or so after working out, and it can last several days. It's not serious. In fact, one thing that helps the pain is more exercise.

It'll hurt less in a few weeks, and it may even go away completely.

If the pain gets worse during exercise, then it might not be DOMS - it might be an injury. So be careful!

I would second the suggestion to do a proven beginner strength program, rather than trying to design your own. Here are a few I have some experience with, and I know they're great programs:

Starting Strength
Stronglifts 5x5
all-pro beginner
New Rules of Lifting
Strong Curves

Salvatrucha30

That's normal..you can actually hurt up to a week...specially if you guys just started working out.. is a good sign it means your muscles that you have never work are hurting because you are using them..;)...if you want to do strength training..you need to rotate your work outs..every other day maybe so that you can rest your muscles..how I know..well, my husband stays in the gym..he is good at it..I learn a lot from him..just me that I am not so sociable so I rather work at home..;)..but if I was to applied what I know on my own self I will be fine..;)..do cardio always you can do that every day..but to work your muscles and get firm you have to work them and rotate exercises so that your body don't get bore.good luck!!

BlueBombers

You did too much too soon. The normal response to that is to get sore.. and sometimes that lasts several days. Subsequent workouts won't be as bad, if done consistently.

By the way, consider swapping out some of the single-joint sets (curls, pushdowns, etc) for multiple joint sets (squats, etc), since they work more muscles. And add upper back & chest exercises. See my profile for a more balanced routine.

^ This! Compound lifts are the way to go.

MagnumBurrito

The soreness is only that bad after the first workout. Get back to it. Your body will be fine.

212019156

First off medium to high rep ranges will make you sore.

Second, you are a big guy so even the leg work you are doing with body weight only is pretty intense for a beginner so a lot of muscle soreness is to be expected.

Sam_I_Am77

You did too much too soon.

3 sets of 10 for six exercises and 3 sets of static holds for 3 different days is not too much. If it's too much, then the OP needs to re-evaluate their diet and sleep.

First off medium to high rep ranges will make you sore.

The OP is largely inactive as they have admitted and now they're moving forward with some exercise which is awesome. Because exercise is new, the body is now dealing with a brand new stimulus and was unable to adapt to the training which is why they are sore. As they continue to train the body will adapt and the soreness will diminish. Whether the OP was doing SL5x5, CF, or their circuit training they would've been sore regardless of their programming.

crfeen

A month ago when I started, I did too many hip flexor exercises and I literally couldn't walk for a week. Then I lost all my progress! Better to start slow

jemhh

You did too much too soon.

3 sets of 10 for six exercises and 3 sets of static holds for 3 different days is not too much. If it's too much, then the OP needs to re-evaluate their diet and sleep.

She's on here to lose weight. Clearly she already is re-evaluating her diet/sleep/health/etc. For somebody who is out of shape, 3 sets of 10 can be a lot for the first ever workout. It might be something to work toward as a goal but as a starting point? Too much.