Tightness in Arms After Working Out?

scarletpride16
scarletpride16 Posts: 191
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello MFP community,

I've been doing Body Beast for almost a week now and so far I am really loving the program. Love the convenience of being able to do it in my dorm (since I am usually very busy during the week) and it's cool to try a program focusing on weight lifting. However, I've noticed the last 2 days my arms have felt really tight (generally in the bicep area) and as a result, it hurts to extend my arms (straighten them whether in front of me or at my sides). I was just wondering if this is a normal reaction since this is something new to me (the workout) or does this mean I overdid it? Also, any suggestions on what I can do to make them feel better? Thank you!

Replies

  • jtr357
    jtr357 Posts: 45 Member
    I'm bot sure what "body beast" is but it sounds to me like you over worked your biceps.Let them rest for a day or two.Ice may help,but rest is the best cure.
  • stackhsc
    stackhsc Posts: 439 Member
    id say you over did it at a guess

    when i over do it i rest what ever is sore, stretch is very moderately a few times a day and have had luck with lightly reusing the muscle that is sore. so if my legs are sore from a hard run i might jog slowly the following day a few hundred meter. If my arms were sore from something i might do a few pushups or a few pull ups. very moderate, just enough to use the muscles a bit. Im not sure on if this is generally considered ok or not but like i say i have found it offers some relief to me.
  • mochapygmy
    mochapygmy Posts: 2,123 Member
    If it is muscle soreness it will be helped a bit by just getting the blood flowing. A short run or brisk walk may provide some relief and some deep stretches once the muscles are warmed up.

    Foam rolling/ self massage may also be helpful.
  • scarletpride16
    scarletpride16 Posts: 191
    I'm bot sure what "body beast" is but it sounds to me like you over worked your biceps.Let them rest for a day or two.Ice may help,but rest is the best cure.

    @jtr,Body Beast is a workout program (DVD) that can be done at home using free weights and an EZ curl bar (though I do not have the bar but they offer modifications with just free weights).

    @stack, yeah I that's my guess. I felt fine the first few days a little sore in some areas of my body but not too bad but then the stiffness in my arms came like two days ago and I realized I couldn't extend my arms. Today is my rest day so hopefully I feel better? I really want to resume working out so I am hoping this feeling subsides.
  • christinazaia
    christinazaia Posts: 135 Member
    maybe that workout is a bit intense....start slowly....work your way up....then go full blast :-)
  • christinazaia
    christinazaia Posts: 135 Member
    I sometimes question this myself...cause I always thought no pain no gain....for some things its true....but sometimes u have to take precautions to avoid injury
  • scarletpride16
    scarletpride16 Posts: 191
    I sometimes question this myself...cause I always thought no pain no gain....for some things its true....but sometimes u have to take precautions to avoid injury

    Yeah I get that, I always felt it was weird if I did a workout and did not feel anything after. I guess I will have to go lighter with weights when this subsides so I can try and avoid this.
  • kirkor
    kirkor Posts: 2,530 Member
    It's fine bro, don't lower the weights, the soreness will subside with time.
  • scarletpride16
    scarletpride16 Posts: 191
    It's fine bro, don't lower the weights, the soreness will subside with time.

    I hope so, never really experienced this before, probably since I never was solely focusing on weight lifting you know?
  • buffinatorsov
    buffinatorsov Posts: 3 Member
    I sometimes question this myself...cause I always thought no pain no gain....for some things its true....but sometimes u have to take precautions to avoid injury

    The problem with "no pain, no gain" is that the pain is lactic acid dissolving your capillaries and otherwise decreasing the efficiency of cellular respiration.

    I'm not familiar with your workout, but when I was training for martial arts a few years back one of the key features of any workout was light aerobic stretching. So if you are doing circuit training, between every rotation or two do light stretch for 20 seconds. This is not a stretch to stretch the muscles, it's just to promote blood flow so the lactic acid doesn't cluster in your muscles/capillaries and can be shipped down to your liver to be reprocessed. Also, any time you feel "the burn:" Stretch! that burn is actively preventing your from progressing.

    An example would be doing 200 semi-consecutive push ups. if you were to go all out you would burn out around 50, rest, 25, rest 10, fail. even though you are resting, your muscle's efficiency is going down because you are resting after your muscles have gone anaerobic and started building up lactic acid, so you hit your critical point sooner each set.

    But if you loosen up your arms and back every 10-25 then you can go indefinitely with little or no lactic acid buildup, and still be able to keep going afterwords because you never go anaerobic in the first place.

    I don't think that my theory applies as well to aerobic exercise like running, which benefits more from proper form (which is naturally aerobic) than rest periods/stretching.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    If it hurts, it's not normal. If it's just a bit sore, like a good massage or hot soak would make it feel better, then just stretch out better afterwards. So if it's actually painful and preventing you from doing things, then you've probably injured yourself.

    My glutes often feel really "tight" after workouts, but they don't hurt. They just feel.. firm. Same happens for upper arms and thighs, not as often though. With my butt, while walking it ends up feeling like my butt is a soccer ball that you're trying to squeeze LOL.

    So stretch better, dynamic stretching beforehand, take it slower and make sure you're using rest days appropriately.
  • wjelly
    wjelly Posts: 64 Member
    I love that tight feeling especially in the biceps and triceps, don't worry about it just rest when needed.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    there's pain and there's PAIN.

    depending on the workout and the weight then there will be some degree of pain, especially if it's a new workout because you are tearing the muscle fibers after all but they will rebuild stronger, which is what you want. as you continue to do the workout (and hopefully increase the tension) you'll experience less pain in the muscle and therefore less soreness.

    movements where you're both both lengthening AND contracting the muscle at the same time will also lead to more pain (ie bicep curls, squats) when you first start doing them.

    generally speaking if i have pain/soreness/tightness in the muscle then i just suck it and the next day do a little cardio, foam roll, massage, wear some compression stuff and drink a lot of coconut water.

    joint and connective tissue pain is where you want to be careful and where you want to ease back
  • scarletpride16
    scarletpride16 Posts: 191
    there's pain and there's PAIN.

    depending on the workout and the weight then there will be some degree of pain, especially if it's a new workout because you are tearing the muscle fibers after all but they will rebuild stronger, which is what you want. as you continue to do the workout (and hopefully increase the tension) you'll experience less pain in the muscle and therefore less soreness.

    movements where you're both both lengthening AND contracting the muscle at the same time will also lead to more pain (ie bicep curls, squats) when you first start doing them.

    generally speaking if i have pain/soreness/tightness in the muscle then i just suck it and the next day do a little cardio, foam roll, massage, wear some compression stuff and drink a lot of coconut water.

    joint and connective tissue pain is where you want to be careful and where you want to ease back

    Well I feel this tightening in my biceps so it sort of feels difficult to straighten my arms if that clarifies anything? This is a new workout yes where I am using free weights for lifting (I don't know if you have heard of Body Beast). I mean I have done some walking today not sure if that would count as cardio? I don't have a foam roll or compression stuff?

    How would you know if it is joint or connective pain? And would it be advised to ease back tomorrow since I am scheduled to do another chest and tricep workout?
  • njitaliana
    njitaliana Posts: 809 Member
    Hi, Look up "Doorway stretches" and look at the various pictures of how to stretch your arms and shoulders. I do those when my arms get tight. My physical therapist is the one who told me that they are good to do.
  • scarletpride16
    scarletpride16 Posts: 191
    Hi, Look up "Doorway stretches" and look at the various pictures of how to stretch your arms and shoulders. I do those when my arms get tight. My physical therapist is the one who told me that they are good to do.

    I did look this up and I think I will try it, thanks!

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