Lasting Soreness

kellehj

Whenever I work out (usually a little bit harder or longer) I get extremely sore, though not on the first day afterwards. It seems like it's much much worse on the second day after. It's a little bit more painful than I feel it should be depending on how I hard I work. And it also seems like it takes 4 or 5 days to fully clear up till I don't feel anything just from simply standing up from a chair.

Is this normal, or is it maybe that I'm doing something wrong during my workouts that's causing pain? Like if this isn't soreness but a different kind of pain i'm not meant to be feeling. For example I did some exercises (lifting small weights, squats etc) for about 25 minutes on Wednesday and I'm feeling it really badly right now (in my upper back/shoulders, arms, legs and stomach). Just wondering if this is normal and if all it takes is water and stretching to clear up, or if I should do something more like walking for a little bit every day.

Jeff92se

Make sure your protein intake is high before / after your workouts. Add some light cardio. I've also added BCAA drink during my workouts to help speed recovery.

I feel very sore after my leg days.

thecrossfitter

How long have you been working out in this manner? When I switched from marathon training to crossfit, I experienced major DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness - read a little about it here http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/2011/02/doms-2/ ). Mine was the worst on days 2-3, but lasted awhile. It wasn't an exact science, but I never waited until I totally felt it go away to workout again, because then I'd be only working out once a week. I also didn't want to work out that very day either.

For me, 3 times a week was the magic number starting point to cope with DOMS - and I maintained this degree of working out for about 6 weeks before bumping up to 4 and then 5 days a week. (And we were doing such varied stuff, too - not the same exercises and focus on the same muscle groups over and over in a row) Your body will adjust, it just takes time. And I was sore.. like really really really can't-lift-my-arms-up-to-wash-my-hair sore - but this was different than pain from being injured.

Also, if you aren't consistent in working out I'm not sure your body will adapt? I'm pretty sure you have to keep it up so your body learns (ie - you don't want to have to go through this every month or so because you stopped your routine!)

Sp1nGoddess

DOM, da DOM, DOM, DOMS..... I get this unless I workout each body part 2x/ week. Once a week or less and you'll be sore. Make sure you have some good protein before and after working out. Incorporate berries in your post workout shake. Also, i find stretching afterwards and an easy cardio workout help with soreness. I don't find that pain killers help at all.

shmo1969

This happens to me too, first day after a little sore and stiff, next day worse and then gets better. Drink lots of water, it will get better as you build more muscle.

shmo1969

And it is good to keep moving and working through it with walking or light cardio to get the lactic acid out of those muscles. Soaking in a hot bath at night helps too.