re: lifting...How long will it hurt?

heidi5k
heidi5k Posts: 181 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I did my first workout w/ weights yesterday, and I am slated to do another tomorrow.
Mind you, I wanted to start small, and I did - but I am quite sore!
Not so much that I can't go about my day to day business, but I am honestly kind of scared about tomorrow! Ouch! (And I know it's all burn, not injury).

So my questions are:
- do you just lift on top of the leftover burn?
- is it always this way, or do you build up a tolerance? I'm wondering since ideally I'll keep increasing lbs - Will I always be sore as long as I lift?

Thanks!

Replies

  • AlisonTheNerd
    AlisonTheNerd Posts: 41 Member
    You know your body, so lift on top of the burn within reason. Try not to push yourself too much, but it is important to keep warming up your muscles even when they hurt like that, if you don't they won't get the proper blood flow they need to become stronger.

    You will build up a tolerance, over a few weeks I'm sure you'll notice a difference. A good way to put it is that there is a "sore threshold" the threshold increases as you build muscle, but as you build muscle you add weights so you start meeting that threshold again, so it will come and go. Though the first few times you workout muscles that are not used to it are always the worst.

    And a tip, make sure you build in rest days, or relative rest days. When I get really dedicated I come up with a base rep, say 20 or 25, and every other day fall back to that.
    Example:
    Day 1: 20 Reps
    Day 2: 25 Reps
    Day 3: 20 Reps
    Day 4: 30 Reps
    ect.

    Good Luck!
  • ruffian25
    ruffian25 Posts: 13
    Everyone is different when it comes to doms. Me personally I can feel doms for up to 72 hrs after working out. It will eventually lessen once you get used to your routine but once you switch up your routine you will feel it more again. Remember though soreness is not an indicator of a good workout, you can have a good workout and not get sore. You can workout when sore, just don't workout the same muscles, they need time to rest and repair so if you did legs and your sore but still wanna workout, do chest for example. Stretching after your workout will help flush the lactic acid from your muscles and help reduce soreness, also l-glutamine will help repair the muscles, but check with your dr before starting any supplements.
  • LJCannon
    LJCannon Posts: 3,636 Member
    You won't be using the same Workout tomorrow will you? For example, if you did Upper Body today, you could do Lower Body Exercises tomorrow. Each Muscle Group needs time to Rest & Recover between Workouts.
    Warm Up before and Stretching afterwards will help some with the Soreness. Never scrimp on Stretching!!
    :flowerforyou: Good Luck & Enjoy Lifting!!
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I do one rest day in between lift days (Stronglifts) and I'm rarely sore anymore. But the first week I was and I just worked through the leftover DOMS. I think the soreness lasted a couple of weeks.
  • markymarrkk
    markymarrkk Posts: 495 Member
    20-25 is too many reps in my opinion. Unless you're trying to make it a cardio circuit. I highly recommend you look up some strength training programs like "New rules of lifting for women" or "Stronglifts" just google it.

    I'd split my workouts so I don't work muscles sore from a previous workout. Give it time to recover and build. Also, I'd stick an active recovery/rest day in between so like I'd lift Monday (Chest/Arms), Cardio on Tuesday, lift Wednesday (Back/Shoulders), Swimming on Thursday, Lift Friday(LEGS!), and a hike or bike ride on Saturday, and a full legit Rest on Sunday plus a calorie spike. On the lift days, lift heavy like 5 sets of 5-10 reps plus 2 warm up sets. That's sort of what I do right now.
  • heidi5k
    heidi5k Posts: 181 Member
    Thanks alot y'all. :)

    Good to know this is normal, and will pass (until I up my weights again...) :)
    Of course, I had to Google "Doms" - just shows how little I know about this kind of pain!
    I guess I'll be getting familiar.
  • lrbassmom
    lrbassmom Posts: 123
    If you're too sore, as in have to hang onto something to sit or get up, take a day off. If you're able to get around with soreness that's more like "hey, new muscle here! Yes, you worked out yesterday." Go ahead and work out if you're doing higher reps to get used to the lifting thing. If you're lifting heavy, low reps take a day off. Rest days are very important to building muscle.

    And like the others... you will get used to it. and at some point you'll kind of enjoy it. It's a signal to your brain that says, 'getting stronger here!'.
  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
    I remember my first days, and man I was sore all over like a mother... It lasted for almost a couple of weeks. Now I continuously push my limit so I'm almost always sore somewhere, but not nearly as bad. I feel the soreness only when I consciously focus on the affected muscles, and it usually lasts just 3-4 days. Since I only work one muscle group one day a week, I have enough time to rest.
  • O2Bslimagain
    O2Bslimagain Posts: 120 Member
    I think it is normal to be somewhat sore especially if it is your first time. I do upper body Tuesdays and Fridays and when I am done I am done! I can still do light housework, but it is very difficult to wash my hair. I feel like the actor on "here comes the boom", when he says, "I can't lift my arms". My Lower body days are Monday and Thursday and I can do stuff, but it was hard to squat down on the toilet. My glutes were very sore. You will get stronger over time and there will always be soreness, but not like in the beginning. Just don't give up. Your body will thank you later on in life for sticking with it.

    I started out on lighter weights just to make sure my form was right and then I increased the weights as needed. Enjoy!

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