Sore muscles: to workout or not to workout

greynotesfall

Since my issue is with my legs, I'm only going to talk about my cardio exercises.

So for the last 3 or 4 weeks I have been pretty consistent with getting on the elliptical for 30-45 minutes (speed between 3.5-6.5), followed by the treadmill (walking at 3.5) for 30-60 minutes. I have 2 rest days a week.

I know rest days are good so your muscles can repair themselves and you don't wear yourself out. However! I just had 2 rest days in a row (typically they are spread out during the week) because my thigh muscles are so sore.

I've heard conflicting ideas of what is better to do. I've read that you should workout through the pain because that is when you build the most muscle. I've also read that you should take rest days when needed to prevent hurting your muscles/yourself.

So my question is: do I workout through the pain, or do I take another rest day? It may be worth it to note that prior to these few weeks, I was working out about 30-60 minutes on the treadmill only (majority walking, but running for a mile every other workout day).

Thanks for any input and no negative comments!

hazleyes81

If its just soreness I usually work out anyway (when it comes to leg muscle soreness and going for a jog). The workout warms up my muscles and stretches them and I usually don't feel as sore after. Stretching and using a roller also help me.

What is making you so sore? Do you lift weights?

greynotesfall

I think it's the frequency/intensity of the cardio that I'm doing. I'm just benching (very low weight) for weight lifting, so I know that's not it. Thanks for your input about working out through it!

omma_to_3

Work through soreness but don't work through pain. If you'd truly call it 'pain' continue to rest.

But, when I'm sore, a nice run really helps alleviate the soreness.

jSampada

Take a day off if you feel like it. Don't overdo, you'll end up injuring yourself. If you do some other kind of workouts that use other set of muscle group then do those for a day or two. Working the same muscle group when you are too sore might end up in injury. Give it some time to heal...that's how they tend to be more flexible!

JohnH71

I'm not a physio, but this is my basic take on it. This is overly simplistic, but gives you an idea to my approach.

Scenario 1 ~ I'm sore, so I start to warm up, and then do some cardio. If the soreness goes starts to go away, then I carry on with a full on workout, but take note to warm down and stretch more, especially focusing on the muscles / muscle groups that were sore, as thats often the cause.

Scenario 2 ~ I'm sore, and I start to warm up, and realise that I'm not sore, I'm actually experiencing pain. I assume I am injured so I either tailor my workout to avoid that muscle / group, or if that isn't possible, because its a muscle that is basically used in most workouts (I'm thinking of core / back muscles here) then I stop completely. I will then rest that muscle completely (and if this means no work outs whatsoever, so be it) until it has healed / doesn't hurt. If this takes more than a few days, off to the the physio I go to see if I need any specific remedial treatment, and perhaps to try and work out how I've done it.

Just my opinion, hope you find that useful.

soonrryan

I don't take rest days for soreness, but I will if my body is just too tired to go that day. When I did Insanity, I was very very sore, but I had to do the next workout every day and I had no problem doing them.

maasha81

I'm not a physio, but this is my basic take on it. This is overly simplistic, but gives you an idea to my approach.

Scenario 1 ~ I'm sore, so I start to warm up, and then do some cardio. If the soreness goes starts to go away, then I carry on with a full on workout, but take note to warm down and stretch more, especially focusing on the muscles / muscle groups that were sore, as thats often the cause.

Scenario 2 ~ I'm sore, and I start to warm up, and realise that I'm not sore, I'm actually experiencing pain. I assume I am injured so I either tailor my workout to avoid that muscle / group, or if that isn't possible, because its a muscle that is basically used in most workouts (I'm thinking of core / back muscles here) then I stop completely. I will then rest that muscle completely (and if this means no work outs whatsoever, so be it) until it has healed / doesn't hurt. If this takes more than a few days, off to the the physio I go to see if I need any specific remedial treatment, and perhaps to try and work out how I've done it.

Just my opinion, hope you find that useful.

That's what I do

MinnieInMaine

Basically what JohnH71 said.

My quads are super sore today and likely will be tomorrow as well (aka DOMS - delayed onset muscle soreness) because I upped my game a bit yesterday with weighted squats & lunges. So the plan for today and tomorrow is to walk, do some abs and upper body work since I'm not sore in those areas AND get a really good stretch in.

IMHO, it'd be one thing if you planned on doing strength training because I believe doing that with DOMS (to be clear, when DOMS are more severe) can lead to bad form and possible further pain/injury but cardio is different. Sure, it might not be a bad idea to take a rest day especially if you're doing cardio that's intense enough to bring on DOMS, BUT you can still do it if you want to. Just find something less intense to do and stretch well after. Many times it will make you feel better in the long run.

P.S. You can't really build muscle on a calorie deficit - but you can help retain the muscle you have and make it stronger.