Sore Muscles-

penelofur

I started going to the gym again! I think I over did it though, because I went on Saturday and I am still pain today. It is not an "ouch" pain more like I "feel the burn pain". I went hard on the treadmill for 40 minutes. That is all.
Now it hurts with each step.
When can I go to the gym again? Is it just a matter of listening to my body- when the pain goes away?
Thanks!

sailorsiren13

get on the treadmill and start slow. sometimes when i get really sore just moving and getting my heart rate up helps the soreness go away!

mary_kate23

i work through the pain.. i find once my body warms up, the pain goes away. i'd miss out on too many days at the gym if i didn't go when i was sore!

Capt_Apollo

you probably over did it, which is normal. you also probably didn't warm up properly before your work out, or cool down and stretch afterwards, which are both also normal for beginners and veterans alike.

drink water, and take some advil. stretch and do some light exercise, and you;ll feel fine in another day or so. recovery time improves as you start working out more.

ps, i love swimming after i'm really really sore.

AileenLeslie

Just recently a physiotherapist said to me that when you have sore muscles you do not have to stop doing exercises until its gone, but you can go on doing less exercises or lighter exercises without pushing yourself to hard.

juleszephyr

Often the soreness is a build up of lactic acid in the muscles as a result of the full on exercise. One of the best ways to break this down is do some slower less aggressive exercise to help the muscles untighten and it will also lift your mood.

I swear by a hot bath before bed, especially if I have done a lot in one day, it relaxes everything before you go to sleep.

Just try not to overdo it to start with and give yourself regular rest days, every 3rd or 4th day initially to allow your body to recover. On rest days by all means walk and stretch and do toning but not too much high impact cardio.
Hope this helps
Jules xx

CherokeeBabe

Usually I work through it whenever I can. It's discouraging sometimes, and makes me want to give myself an extra rest day or two, but I fight it unless I've actually pulled something, which does happen sometimes due to my medical condition(degenerative muscle condition). When I'm significantly sore, but not 'damaged', I pop two Ibuprofen and make myself do it anyway.

skinEme1018

If you are in a lot of pain then take a day off for recovery....otherwise it would be best to get back on the treadmill at a slow pace and keep going. The muscles get more blood flow while being worked than when they are being still. (blood flow helps relieve the pain) I started the Ripped in 30 dvd last Monday...oh my where my muscles sore! I felt like even my eyelashes hurt after about the third day.:bigsmile: And I go to the gym for at least 90 minutes several days a week. Remember to strech really good too. That is one of my mistakes. I kind of rush through that and then suffer for it. I hope you keep going and the muscles start to realize they are not dying.

NPetrakis

warm up and cool down exercises. Not necessarily stretches per se but stress relieving exercises such as certain yoga forms can go far in supercharging your recovery periods and give you something to do every day. But do something, even a rest day should contain some light exercise that targets the relief of stress and tension. In time you will get better at recovering and when you get better at recovering you will see dramatic gains in performance as well. People often focus on the opposite. Results come from mastering recovery.