Pushing through while sore?

TinaS88

Okay, so yesterday I just came back and am more serious than ever about getting my body in shape.

The first 30 days of my program will be consisting of:

JM's 30DS
Pilates
100- push up challenge
200- squat challenge

I got my butt handed to me yesterday but am sticking it out! Only problem I have today is that I am soooooo sore. My thighs and booty are killing me! Arms a bit, but manageable. Today I am only supposed to be doing the 30DS and Pilates and seeing as though it's only on day 2 I don't want a rest day already. I guess long story short, when you are pretty darn sore, do you fight through the pain and get through the work out or let your body rest? Any damage likely to come if I push through it?

Thanks! ♥

TinaS88

Meh, no one replied I ended up pushing through... muscles actually feel better now. I just wanted to make sure I am not going to hurt myself working the sore muscles everyday.

castelluzzo99

Well, let's see. I'm no expert, but I did start P90X a while ago (quit early when I got pg with my now 10-month old), so I think I know what being really sore is! And that program was different every day, so I pretty much was sore in a new place every day for a couple of weeks. It did get better!

What I have learned is that if I am sore, exercising usually helps it feel better. This seems to be because exercise gets the blood flowing, and blood getting to those sore muscles helps them heal faster. Of course, you don't want to do the same intense strength training exercise two days in a row. Cardio exercises and lighter strength training (pushups, squats--provided you're not overdoing them) you can do day after day.

So generally, yes, I do exercise through the soreness, but I am careful how I exercise areas that are sore if they are sore from some intense strength training. I make sure to warm up well first more when I'm sore--the soreness lessens once the muscles are warm and limber. Don't stretch when you're cold, but after a workout it's great to stretch a few minutes.

Since you are doing different workouts every day, I would guess that you'll probably be fine. Sorry no one answered earlier!

castelluzzo99

I forgot to mention, if you have injured a muscle (not the tiny tears that mean it's growing, but a painful injury), you should let it rest. I remember once pulling a muscle in my quad doing lunges, so I didn't do lunges with that leg for a few days, and when it felt better, I did them carefully for a few more until I felt it was safe. I must have been doing them wrong, because I used to feel it much more in the back leg's quad than I do now, and now lunges are relatively easy for me. In fact, I prefer them to squats (apparently I'm one of the few that do), but now I'm totally off topic.

I did want to say, it looks like you have a plan, so enjoy it and have fun! Hope you see some great results!

UrnAsh

I'm on Day 21 of some squat challenge. My muscles were sore but there are rest days every 3 days I think. I was sore the first couple of days but I also took my time.

TinaS88

Thanks for your response! Very helpful!

BostonStrong617

Generally you shouldn't work out the same exact muscles two days in a row because you can actually stall your progress. My trainer explained it to me and I was only half listening, but it's something about how your muscle need time to repair the tears you create when you lift, creating the pain & that's when you build the muscle. Something along those liens was the reason he gave me a split routine as a runner, so I'm only doing a legs days once a week, leaving me with only that day that I can't run. The next day I find my legs ARE sore so I avoid anything TOO strenuous, normally just stick to a flat ground 5K and a 60 percent pace, so really a jog. I find this REALLY helps my legs loosen up, it's sore for the first half mile or so but feels way better after. I also do a 10 minute jog (for me it's a mile exactly) before I work out on legs day on the treadmill just to warm up and I find that helps too.

Lift_hard_eat_big

As mentioned, overtraining the same muscle can prevent progress.