Ache!?

Hello steph.

Just read your post. Thought i'd add my input which i hope is of some help to you

If you are aching that bad you should miss the exercise and wait till you have recovered, it's a sign from your body telling you it's repairing itself. However, a light form of cariovascular exercise such as walking would be fine as this wouldn't put any major stress on your body.

Most people don't understand how important resting/recovery is, they just fight through it which is going to cause more problems in the future and possibly injuries. I say this because when you exercise the buildup of fatigue affects your fitness performance no matter what form of exercise you are doing, wether it be cardio or resistance. Since fatigue is as a result of the production of lactic acid in the muscles, it is important to allow enough recovery time for the muscles to get rid of this.

There are various ways that you can speed up the recovery process mind you, these being making sure you warm up and cool down properly (which you said you are doing, great), getting enough sleep (a good 8 hours a night), including foods high in EFA's (essential fatty acids) such as salmon or even buy a good quality fish oil supplement as this will help support not only muscle soreness/stiffness but also heart, brain and joint health, and also a post workout meal which is to be consumed immediately after your exercise session (the next most important meal of the day after breakfast) which should consist of a low gi carbohydrate source and protein but no fat. This is essential as your body's glycogen stores have been depleted after the exercise you have just perfomed. The reason no fat should be consumed in this post workout meal is because fat will slow the absorbtion of the carbs and protein, you don't want this as you want to feed your body as quick as possible.

Hope this has helped you.