muscle soreness

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zaz936
zaz936 Posts: 68 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone,

I used to be able to work out every day. I would vary the group of muscles exercised and it would now. Now, maybe because I'm older, it seems that it takes me about a week of pain after each workout. It's to the point where I've cut down on my activities because well, how would I go swimming when it's hard to even move my harms.

Before my weight training or cardio, I warm up for 5 minutes, do whatever I'm doing, stretch for 5 to 10 min. afterwards and then usually stretch again for 10 min. at night as that when it starts being sore.

Any tricks to relieve the pain? Should I just try and work out through it anyway? It's really bothering me.

Thank you!!

Replies

  • DontStopB_Leakin
    DontStopB_Leakin Posts: 3,863 Member
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    Did you just start an exercise routine, or have you been working out for a while and are just now suffering from soreness?



    If you just started exercising again, the soreness is normal. It's your muscles trying to repair themselves as quickly as possible from the stress you put on them. It's a good thing. Honestly, the best thing you can do is make sure you're getting plenty of protein to help speed up the repair, and just work through the pain.


    When I get DOMS, if I sit around and wait for the soreness to go away, it normally takes twice as long for it to disappear as opposed to if I just work through the pain.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    stick with the program until your body adjusts then you will not get sore, or at least not as sore, after a workout.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    What kind of pain are you having? Just sore muscles? If so, light cardio will actually loosen them up and help ease the soreness. If it's something else, maybe you have an injury you keep aggravating.
  • bbateman123
    bbateman123 Posts: 67 Member
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    Drink plenty of water and have a protein shake/bar! They both help tons in rebuilding the muscles after an intense workout. They also reduce some soreness you may experience.
  • BenChase
    BenChase Posts: 169
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    Did you just start an exercise routine, or have you been working out for a while and are just now suffering from soreness?



    If you just started exercising again, the soreness is normal. It's your muscles trying to repair themselves as quickly as possible from the stress you put on them. It's a good thing. Honestly, the best thing you can do is make sure you're getting plenty of protein to help speed up the repair, and just work through the pain.


    When I get DOMS, if I sit around and wait for the soreness to go away, it normally takes twice as long for it to disappear as opposed to if I just work through the pain.

    this. also cinnamon naturally helps with inflamation,try adding it to foods, it's delicious! (that part is just my opinion) :smile:
  • KahuNZ
    KahuNZ Posts: 401 Member
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    If you have been doing the exercises regularly and just having problems now - I would go to a doctor as it seems strange this has started happening.
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
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    Doing some light cardio like walking for 20 minutes after weight training helps me a lot. Also I recommend that you visit you doctor and talk about how you are feeling to rule out any other health issues. Good luck to you :-)
  • beatpig
    beatpig Posts: 97 Member
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    Hiya

    Pain should not be ignored. And pain after exercise normally can mean that you have injured yourself. Best thing is to wait for the pain to go completely and resume low level activity and see how it goes.

    There is a difference, however between pain and discomfort. When you exercise lactic acid is the "waste" of the energy being used up. The best way to stop/slow this is to cool down properly. Stretching your muscles can improve flexibility, but it does not necessarily get rid of the lactic acid.

    You are absolutely right to warm up (ideally for at least 15mins), but a cool down is equally important. By having a cool down period (again, about 15mins) and by using one of the lowest gears on a bike (to the point of looking a little silly by spinning quite fast!) or a slower run/jog allows your muscles to disperse the lactic acid.

    Furthermore, are you exercising every day? How long have you been exercising since?

    I've started back on my bike since early August. At the moment, I am not cycling every day, perhaps 4-5 times, but after a big ride/session, the day afterwards I go for a light "recovery" ride. Take it easy, just like I was going to the shops for a pint of milk!

    Hope that this helps...
  • rotill
    rotill Posts: 244 Member
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    I don't know if this will be useful for you, but here goes: my experiences around getting on with regular workouts:

    I have to use a combination. If I work out too much while I am still in pain, I get repetitive stress syndrome, which grounds me for a lot longer than a week. In order to avoid that, this is what I have learned about my own body:

    When I work out really hard, using new muscle groups, I need two days of rest before I can repeat it. In between I can do light cardio that does not put the same kind of strain on the body (light walking, biking or swimming rather than high-intensity similar exercizes or strength).

    I may still be sore on the third day, but if I work through it at that point, I don't get any lasting damage.

    I struggled a lot with this when I started Pilates with a new set of trainers, and for the first half a year or so, I couldn't really get to use all the options, as I needed a lot of rest. By now I do get sore when I have upped the intensity or they introduce new exercizes, but the soreness is normally gone on the third day - or I only feel it if we hit that exact muscle group again.

    This means that if I do intermediary classes, I stick to two a week, if I do beginner classes I can do 3-4. If I do one intermediary, I can do 2 beginner classes with no ill effect that week.

    In between I ride my bike almost every day, everywhere (work, shopping, friends).
  • Cardamomdeb
    Cardamomdeb Posts: 5 Member
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    I am so with you on this one. I've been cardio exercising quite hard for about six weeks, but decided to add a 15 minute kettlebell workout to my regime yesterday. Despite going for an hour run this morning, every time I sit down, the pain of getting up again is getting worse. I know I'll struggle worse tomorrow. If I stop weights for any more than 3 weeks, then start again, the pain is back to the beginning again. it's definitely getting worse as I get older (I'm 49). I think the secret is not to stop, but that's not always possible. In the meantime, perhaps some paracetamol might help us?
  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
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    theres a big difference between pain and soreness. So you definitely need to clarify which it is.


    If you're staying sore you need to look into recovery methods. Proper food, contrast showers, foam rolling, strecthing. etc.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    Part of your warm up is starting into your exercise slowly, peaking, and then slowing down again.

    It's more important to exercise than to exercise hard. People are right you just have to do it. But you don't have to do a killer workout. You just have to work out. It has been my experience that working out - getting back to walking or getting in the pool - is the hard part. Once I start my muscles feel fine. AFTERWARDS I'm sore.

    I'm sure you soak your tired muscles in the shower/bath.

    When I was doing whitewater kayaking - which is a huge workout - all the guys took aspirin/isopropin before they started paddling because it made them hurt less afterwards.
  • zaz936
    zaz936 Posts: 68 Member
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    Hi everyone,

    Thank you for your tips. This 'soreness' is not the injury kind.... I tend to have had lots of injuries and I know the difference in the type of pain.

    So this is definitely the getting back to working out after a summer of doing mostly cardio soreness.

    I'll work through it and hope it gets better fast!

    Thank you for your advice!

    ISabelle
  • EatClean_WashUrNuts
    EatClean_WashUrNuts Posts: 1,590 Member
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    Heat & massage. Maintain your workout. Your body will adjust.
  • PeterThompson
    PeterThompson Posts: 62
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    Its normal that you feel muscle soreness after a workout it is just a sign that your muscles are developing dont worry it will gone after few days
    http://bestadjustabledumbbellsreviews.com/
  • Drea89
    Drea89 Posts: 56 Member
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    I found that having a protein shake or smoothie helped my soreness. Protein is muscle food. One day after adding a shake i was no longer sore. Try it

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