More exercise if still feeling sore?

Options
witchy_wife
witchy_wife Posts: 792 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
If you are still feeling sore from a workout, are you ok to work out again using same muscles or should I wait until less sore?

I went to gym on Tuesday evening (Thursday afternoon here now). I was full of energy and had a really good work out. About an hours worth of weights, followed by about 40 minutes on the cross trainer.

Felt great that night and yesterday morning but started getting sore yesterday afternoon. Last night and today my arm, shoulder and back muscles are sooooo sore! Just tensing my muscles or stretching my arms hurts.

I've got a day off tomorrow and was planning on enjoying the gym while it's quiet during the day, But should I rest until I am less sore, or do you think once I start warming up I will be ok?

The gym has a pool so I could do some swimming instead, but if I still feel like this tomorrow, would a weights work out be a bad idea or ok?

Replies

  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
    Options
    bump cause I wanna know too
  • NutellaAddict
    NutellaAddict Posts: 1,258 Member
    Options
    In my case, If I am lifting weights I try not to do the same body parts 2 days in a row. For example Monday I workout Chest, tuesday I did legs, yesterday I did biceps, today I'm doing HIIT and triceps and tomorrow back and HIIT....That's just me though...
  • Beezil
    Beezil Posts: 1,677 Member
    Options
    Take a day off - do some nice relaxing stretches or yoga (relaxed, light swimming would be great, too) and drink plenty of water, get plenty of protein too! If you're feeling worse tomorrow I would say you should rest then too, but if you're feeling better or the same tomorrow, go ahead and do a work out. Just be careful and don't push too hard if you're still sore. I find doing cardio when I'm sore or working out actually sometimes helps with soreness, just be careful. :)
  • chellec23
    chellec23 Posts: 147 Member
    Options
    I'd like to see what other people say on this as well, because I'm sore from last night's workout and am anxious to work out again tonight!
  • crazybookworm
    crazybookworm Posts: 779 Member
    Options
    I do strength every other day. So if you did it yesterday, and want to get back at it tomorrow, you should be fine. Your muscles need to have a good day to rest and repair themselves. It's recommended that you shouldn't work the same muscle group in a row. If you want to Strength everyday, that is fine. Just break it up. For example: Monday: Abs and Legs, Tuesday, Arms and Back, etc. Or Monday: Upper body, Tuesday, Lower Body, etc. If you find mid-workout that certain moves are painful, then just layoff a bit and move to something else.
  • Beezil
    Beezil Posts: 1,677 Member
    Options
    In my case, If I am lifting weights I try not to do the same body parts 2 days in a row. For example Monday I workout Chest, tuesday I did legs, yesterday I did biceps, today I'm doing HIIT and triceps and tomorrow back and HIIT....That's just me though...

    Also this, you shouldn't work the same muscle groups two days in a row. They need time to rest, recover, and mend. :)
  • Sarahmeridith
    Sarahmeridith Posts: 298 Member
    Options
    I go even if Im sore, working out actually usually helps and makes the soreness go away faster. But maybe ill just do a little less time at the gym if I am really sore like 40 minutes insttead of an hour or something
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    Options
    I do compound heavy lifting three days a week. If I am still sore from the last workout I workout anyway (as I have had 48 hours rest in between, like you). If I am in PAIN...that is another issue altogether. If you are sore and recovering, then do it. If you are in pain and injured, then do not.
  • daniellemm1
    daniellemm1 Posts: 465 Member
    Options
    bump
  • SarahIluvatariel
    SarahIluvatariel Posts: 96 Member
    Options
    I'm definitely new to this, so I'm not sure. But I think I've read that you should take it easy. Give your muscles time to recover. And eat more protein to help your muscles recover? (within an hour after working out, I think I've heard.) And potassium avoids muscle cramps, I hear... (Sorry, I'm still a beginner, here.)
  • c8linmarie
    c8linmarie Posts: 358 Member
    Options
    I lift 3x a week (M-W-F). When I first started, I was so sore, I could barely move, let alone walk.

    One day of rest between lifts (sometimes 2) is plenty. Once you get to the gym and get warmed up, you will feel much better. Work through it, as your body will adapt over time.

    Never wait for the pain to go away before you lift again (barring any injuries, of course). This leads to bad habits you may not be able to break.
  • Beezil
    Beezil Posts: 1,677 Member
    Options
    I know I already said this, but I want to reiterate and stress strongly that it's so important to make sure you don't push yourself too hard if you are hurting - and - make sure you are just sore, NOT injured. Sometimes, it's not always easy to tell the difference. I've injured myself a few times doing just that, pushing myself much too hard when I was already hurting. Ripping muscle in your back is no fun, then recovering for 6 weeks and being able to do zero upper body work sucks even more!

    Maybe I'm just fragile, but I wanted to warn people here. It's very easy to injure ourselves if we're not careful, especially to use proper form. I ended up with a shoulder out of place, 4 ribs, and as already stated, a torn muscle in my back just from working out too hard (and probably using bad form when I'd first started out.)

    So yeah, I guess I just want to say, listen to your body. If it wants / needs to rest, let it. :)
  • Frank_Just_Frank
    Frank_Just_Frank Posts: 454 Member
    Options
    It depends on how sore and how new you are. You need to put your recovery time as a big factor when you schedule gym time.
  • witchy_wife
    witchy_wife Posts: 792 Member
    Options
    Thanks for the replies everyone.

    I'm not new to exercise but am new to lifting heavier weights. I've been doing things like 30 day shred and other cardio based DVD.

    Given the advice here I think I will head to the gym tomorrow and just see how it goes. I'll have a really good warm up and take it steady. If I'm just a bit sore I will just see how I do, but if I start feeling any real pain or twinges I will stop. I'm heading to a spa for a girly weekend tomorrow and do not want to be in agony for the weekend LOL!

    Thanks again everyone xx
  • vanessawaw
    vanessawaw Posts: 18 Member
    Options
    i still doing my exercise, usually after the day i did weigth lift, the next day i did cardio :D
  • xiamjackie
    xiamjackie Posts: 611 Member
    Options
    You have to be the deciding factor if what you're feeling is so extreme that it wouldn't be beneficial to workout again or if you think it is just soreness and you can push through it.

    There's a difference between "I'm so sore I can't even lift the pen to sign my check at the bank or lift my leg to get in the car" and "man I'm pretty sore from that workout, I'll do some stretches and I should be good". If you're going to be in pain, then I'd say take another rest day. You need to be the judge for you.

    I'm sore just about every other day, but I only take 1-2 rest days a week. If I rested every time I was sore, there'd be some weeks where I'd only work out once :laugh:

Categories