sore Muscles ;-(

Charlea1981

Hey everyone,

Should I still exercise if my muscles are sore? should I push through the pain? I have not had a break from exercise since Wednesday, usually I am ok however the spinning class I did on Saturday tore me up!!!

Thanks for your comments in advance x

JE55Y

I think you are supposed to have a rest day. I've heard that you shouldn't do the same exercise two days in a row.. but I'm interested to know what the answers you get

sandyw127

when i started this i got sore muscles to but just pushed right through it. i know me and if i gave my self the excuse that my muscles were sore i wouldnt go back to excercising. its a good hurt.

luppic8

Get yourself a foam roller...that gets rid of the sore tight muscles after a workout. It's also a good idea to use it before a workout to stretch your muscles before you workout.

husker_gal

I always push through the sore muscle pain...that being said I always make sure that I take a rest day each week. Sometimes two... good luck and just listen to your body. If you are too sore to work out then take a day or two off to recover.

torregro

There's nothing wrong with working out daily, but you deserve a day of rest, and you should absolutely work a different set of muscles each day if you're working to capacity....that's why strength training is arms one day, legs another day, chest and back another day, etc. There *is* such a thing as working out too much, but there is NEVER such a thing as too much stretching. Long steady stretching after an intense work out is the best way to keep the muscle soreness away. Even if you don't stretch at the gym, you can still stretch later on at home while you're watching tv or just hanging out. Too many people skip this part.
I've been working out with a trainer and definitely working with much heavier weights than I ever imagined, but the stretching is what has saved me from having to deal with sore muscles the next day. Good luck!

LuckySe7en

I think you are supposed to have a rest day.

Definitely need a rest day if you are feeling super sore. Those muscles need time to repair! I would suggest, if you really want to exercise still, to do an exercise that focuses on another area of your body.

chevy88grl

Soreness in your muscles is their way of telling you that they're healing and rebuilding after you've worked 'em hard. Always remember to give them a chance to heal otherwise injury can (and does!) occur. They say you should give your body a break at least twice a week. However, when I first started losing weight - I went to the gym 7 days a week. Eventually, my body had enough and I ended up hurt. They also recommend taking 1 full week off from all exercise every 4-6 weeks. Every time I take my week off, when I go back I've lost weight.

SandyLee1961

Since here where i live there really is no good option for gym I use a workout CD from home. Now, the program I use (EA Sport Fit 2) - mandates that I have rest days. What I've done is use the EA on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday - then on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday I'm using Wii Fit. The Wii Fit is not as (not even close) intense as the EA. The first couple of times I tried the EA my muscles were VERY sore. What I did though was took a bit more time and did some stretching exercises before I got into the full workout. For about 4 days I was sore. Now, though I'm doing the same thing - the muscles are going - ok, we are getting used to this. Now, there is a difference with working out with sore muscles and working out if you are injured. Anyway, my suggestion, do take rest days, and maybe on those days do low impact exercises

gailosborne

I actually find that a bit of not too intense cardio really helps to losen me up after a big workout Some swimming or elliptical at a lower level should help them!

That said, you may need a rest day!

rileysowner

If your muscles are sore, doing a light workout and lots of stretching afterward will help a great deal in recovery. You also need a rest day (at least one) where you don't exercise at all. Daily activity, walks and the like are fine, but if you are fairly fit walks don't burn that many calories. If the pain is sharp or very isolated, you may have an injury, you should not exercise with an injury.

TiDinzeo

I don't think I've taken a real rest day out of the 25 I've been logging here at MFP and I do tend to do the same exercises every day. In fact one of the few constants in my day is that I'll be on the Wii playing tennis for at least 30 mins. So far I've had no real pains. A couple of minor ones when I first started working out maybe, but I expected that and pushed through. I guess I've been lucky. Or maybe it means I should be working out more/harder.

audjrey

If your muscles are super duper sore and you feel a need to absolutely exercise, then I'd opt for gentler exercises instead like walking or yoga. Some movement helps prevent muscles from becoming even more sore. However, if your muscles are 'reasonably' sore, then I don't see any harm in exercising again today in similar fashion. As for rest, if your body has absolutely no soreness, rest truly isn't necessary. Still, it's good to try to aim for every seventh day as an active day in which you do very gentle to no exercise at all. Very gentle exercise includes hatha yoga, stretching, and slow to moderate paced walking.

maldini2

You may want to get into the habit of taking a "dose" of protein (I like Body Fortress Vanilla Whey with some diet Hawaiian Punch) to help the muscles recover faster. I've found that this approach minimizes sore muscles... I'm leery about pounding the same exercises onto sore muscles (I'm 50!)... instead, perhaps, try variations...different exercises... but GO TO THE GYM! Haa haa

starboardzor

I have been "working through the pain" myself, but I'm beginning to see it more and more as detrimental to the overall cause. What I want is to push myself to the point I'm making progress each time I work out. To do otherwise is kind of a waste of time, to me. But if I'm so sore that I'm not able to give it my all (which I've done) I don't see that as a good workout. So I'm going to be better at giving my muscles a break so I can always have a good workout.

jillybeanruns

Sore muscles and pain are not the same thing. You can take a rest day, but I find that my soreness gets much better with a light workout and stretching.

mrphil86

The soreness in your body is just a buildup of latic acid. There are a couple of easy fixes:

My favorite and works just about every time:
Spend 10-15 minutes in a sauna or steam room after you work out. Works like a charm! I'm never sore after that.

The most common way however is:
Stretching. A good 15-30 minutes of stretching throughout the body helps too. I'm usually a little sore after that but it is a difference.

I hope that helps!

SandyLee1961

Sore muscles and pain are not the same thing. You can take a rest day, but I find that my soreness gets much better with a light workout and stretching.

Jill, I have found the exact same thing. Which is why I use Wii Fit on the off days of the intense workouts. My muscles feel less sore too afterwards!

SandyLee1961

Sore muscles and pain are not the same thing. You can take a rest day, but I find that my soreness gets much better with a light workout and stretching.

Jill, I have found the exact same thing. Which is why I use Wii Fit on the off days of the intense workouts. My muscles feel less sore too afterwards!