Is it bad to work out muscles that are already sore?

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adjones5
adjones5 Posts: 938 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys, I was hoping y'all could help me! I like to work out everyday but a lot of the time I am still sore from my work out the day before. Is it bad for my muscles if I work out anyways?

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  • Lulumaguloo
    Lulumaguloo Posts: 80
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    BUMP!
  • lotrisneat
    lotrisneat Posts: 36 Member
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    Hope not. I do it all the time.
  • DeniseGdz
    DeniseGdz Posts: 592 Member
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    I did this last night and was wondering the same thing!
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    I was taught to alternate muscle groups so that my muscles would have a day to recover while a strength another group.
  • DebbieLaviolette
    DebbieLaviolette Posts: 89 Member
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    I find...like today...when I work out the muscles that are sore it actually loosens them up and I'm not as sore...My abs hurt so bad the morning it hurt to breath...I just do some core work and feel 100% better.
  • Angela4Health
    Angela4Health Posts: 1,319 Member
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    Working out sore muscles often help. If your muscles are too sore to perform your regular daily activities, you shouldn't work them out again but if you can perform all your regular daily activities just fine, then it's okay to work those same muscles out. If you are doing a lot of strength training though, it's best to let the muscles rest for 48 hours between work outs though.
  • JellyJaks
    JellyJaks Posts: 589 Member
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    I agree that working them out makes them feel better, but for me it's a fine line between working them out and straining them. I'm currently debating if my back muscles are just sore from use while I was dancing or if I may have shaken my groove thing too hard and actually hurt myself.
  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
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    When I'm sore, I tend to pick a lighter cardio workout or one that doesn't use the sore muscles as much. If my legs are sore, I'll walk or use the elliptical or something. If it's my arms, I'll stay away from machines with arm motion and run or something. I've found I do feel better after lightly working out the sore muscles because it stretches them out and warms them up. However, if you're sore from strength training, don't strength train the same muscles 2 days in a row. They need a day of rest to recover. Abs are more dynamic, you can actually work those every day, but I tend not to.
  • DebbieLaviolette
    DebbieLaviolette Posts: 89 Member
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    Working out sore muscles often help. If your muscles are too sore to perform your regular daily activities, you shouldn't work them out again but if you can perform all your regular daily activities just fine, then it's okay to work those same muscles out. If you are doing a lot of strength training though, it's best to let the muscles rest for 48 hours between work outs though.

    I agree 100%...
  • shreyaj
    shreyaj Posts: 196
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    If you are feeling sore in a certain area I would give that area a rest for a day or work them out less maybe fewer reps, it's good to focus on one area of your body for strength training each day, if you are in a lot of pain I would avoid straining those muscles but if it's just soreness that's okay, just try to switch it up to avoid an injury.
  • michelle4271
    michelle4271 Posts: 194 Member
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    you should not be training the same muscle groups on a daily basis, you need a couple days rest before attacking them again, they need to be able to repair themselves.

    if you enjoy working out and "need" to get to the gym everyday like I do, then you should only be targeting 1-2 muscle groups at a time. IE:

    back and bi's
    chest and tri's
    shoulders
    legs

    if you are working out at an intense level, and really pushing yourself, make sure that you increase your water to let the muscles get rid of what they want to hold onto.
  • snowflakelaia
    snowflakelaia Posts: 214
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    From my own experience, when some muscle group has been sore because it's not used to doing that type of exercise, the only way to stop the soreness is do it again the next day -without getting to the point of exhaustion or injury.
    However, once the muscles have warmed up, the soreness will go away, and if you continue training regularly -don't have to do it for a whole week on a row, then you'll keep those muscles active, and in attention.
    If you wait until the soreness goes away completely you will get sore again next time you work that muscle group.
  • tgh1914
    tgh1914 Posts: 1,036 Member
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    If you're thinking of working the same muscle group, I'd at least give em about 48 hours to recover (soreness in general can last longer than that). If you try to work the same muscle group before giving your body a chance to rebuild, it can be counter-productive. The muscles only rebuild while at rest.
  • Marcus_E
    Marcus_E Posts: 124
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    There are a couple of answers to this question - the first and safest answer is:

    1) Yes it is bad to work out with sore muscles - your body needs time to recover.
    However
    2) By NOT training when you're sore, you could actually be missing out on some additional results AND slowing down your recovery! (I wouldn't suggest to do more than two days in a row though)

    But BE careful anyway - if the pain impedes your training, then it's not just an ache and you may have done some damage. The body is quite an amazing thing - it tends to let you know when you've pushed it too far..

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