Muscle soreness after lifting?

GothyFaery
GothyFaery Posts: 762 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I've been doing stronglifts for about 4 months now. I took almost all of December off (I got lazy :disappointed: ) and had to bump all my weights down when I started again in January. Since then I have noticed that I get sore 18-24 hours after working out and stay sore for days. I'm not waking up sore at all though which seems weird to me.

I'll workout Monday evening, wake up Tuesday with no soreness at all. Mid way through Tuesday I'll start to feel a little sore and by the evening I'm in pain. I'll still be sore on Wednesday to the point that it interferes with my lifting and the cycle repeats for Thursday and Friday. By Friday I'm so sore it's almost impossible to finish my sets. After resting Saturday and Sunday, I'm fine to go on Monday.

I stretch before and after lifting. I work a desk job but I try to get up often and walk around as much as I can. I didn't used to have this problem when I first started lifting. It's only been since I started back up in January but like I said, I bumped all my weights way down when I started again. Only thing different is my food intake. I was in maintenance before where now I'm eating at a deficit. Is that why I'm in so much more pain now?

What can I do to prevent or at least lessen this pain? It is really slowing down my lifting progress and it's just plain annoying! Sorry to sound like a pouting child but it's how I feel about it.

Replies

  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
    So caloric deficit will affect recovery for sure, but so will a host of other variables like sleep, stress, food quality, hormones, etc... One thing I'd be curious about was due to the long time off, how much did you bump the weight down. Taking that much time off, you probably completely de-trained to the point where you really needed to start over. You might have started over again too heavy and are feeling the effects of it. Your body will adjust in time regardless, its just you might have to endure a little more pain because you might have jumped ahead too quick instead of going at it like a new person with lighter weight.
  • GothyFaery
    GothyFaery Posts: 762 Member
    I went all the way back down with my weights. I had tried to just take a small step down but noticed my form was suffering so I went back to the beginning to make sure I got my form right.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    edited February 2015
    Yeah, probably the deficit. A while back, I started cutting (500 cal / day deficit) after spending a few months lifting at a very mild bulk, and my lifts went to hell in a handbasket. After a couple of weeks of getting more and more run down (and failing time after time on the weights), I bumped up to a much smaller deficit, and feel a hell of a lot better. Not racking up any real gains, but I'm at least not feeling like I'm going to injure myself when I get under the bar.

    Also, not sure what your protein intake was before, but it looks kind of low to me for any sort of muscle rebuilding -- at your weight, I would think something more in the 100-110 gram range would be a lot better.
  • GothyFaery
    GothyFaery Posts: 762 Member
    I try to get at least 95g protein. I usually hit around there during the week. My weekends normally aren't great because I eat fast food. Should I be aiming for more?
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
    I’d look at two simple things first (sleep and water intake). Are you getting enough of these. Sleep is when your body rebuilds, so getting enough good quality sleep is critical as is ensuring you have enough water.

    If those are in check, then I’d look to nutrition. Good macros on protein and carbs (you need building materials and fuel to rebuild).

    Then, I’d try to make my recovery days, active recovery with walking, light yoga, short, slow bike ride. Something to get my body moving, but not putting a training load on my muscles.

    Past that, you could look to supplement creatine and/or BCAA. These have helped me increase my work capacity.

    And finally, you might just need to drop back to once every 72 hours (take two days off between each session). That might not work if you’re not willing to do gym time on the weekends or have other constraints, but it would let you get in the work and get good recovery.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    edited February 2015
    GothyFaery wrote: »
    I try to get at least 95g protein. I usually hit around there during the week. My weekends normally aren't great because I eat fast food. Should I be aiming for more?

    95g is close enough for government work -- a bit more might be better, but by itself doesn't explain the soreness. I'm back to blaming the calorie deficit.

    Maybe consider eating at maintenance for a week to see if you pull out of this, and if it works, then slowly dial back down a one or two hundred cals at a time?
  • Ilikelamps
    Ilikelamps Posts: 482 Member
    Eat, sleep, rest, move, walk, run.
  • spulia1
    spulia1 Posts: 51 Member
    Eat carbs, like a banana or something right after you lift. IMMEDIATELY after. Carbs fuel muscle recovery more than protein. Just make sure its the right kind of carb.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    spulia1 wrote: »
    Eat carbs, like a banana or something right after you lift. IMMEDIATELY after. Carbs fuel muscle recovery more than protein. Just make sure its the right kind of carb.

    Carbs fuel recovery of muscle glycogen which is needed for performance and activity, protein consumption promotes muscle protein synthesis; I think you're confused.

    Modern Exercise Physiology believes that the soreness is related to micro-tears on the muscle tissue. If you're having trouble recovering it could very well be related to your nutrition as many have indicated. It might be your protein consumption. Opinions on protein consumption is widely varied because the research is widely varied, but you can't go wrong with consuming between 0.8gm's - 1.00gm per LB.

  • ClairePear14
    ClairePear14 Posts: 47
    spulia1 wrote: »
    Eat carbs, like a banana or something right after you lift. IMMEDIATELY after. Carbs fuel muscle recovery more than protein. Just make sure its the right kind of carb.


    Since when does carbs help more than protein with muscle repair?
  • paj315
    paj315 Posts: 335 Member
    I agree with the others that its probably nutrition related. I know when I'm in too low of a deficit my recovery is slow. Also do make sure to get you post workout recovery of fast digesting carbs and protein, I use a 2:1 ration of these (some recommend 4:1 though).
  • eangel1023
    eangel1023 Posts: 14 Member
    I used to body build and I would always feel the soreness from a workout more 2-3 days later. Nutrition was right on the money, and I spent a small fortune on premium whey and supplements. Everybody is different and is affected differently. If you want to minimize the soreness you need to do some stretching before and after workouts. Deep tissue massage helps also.
  • GothyFaery
    GothyFaery Posts: 762 Member
    paj315 wrote: »
    I agree with the others that its probably nutrition related. I know when I'm in too low of a deficit my recovery is slow. Also do make sure to get you post workout recovery of fast digesting carbs and protein, I use a 2:1 ration of these (some recommend 4:1 though).

    Typically after lifting I try to work in some (usually a glass of milk plus an egg or turkey peperoni) and I tend to crave sweets at night so I end up eating a skinny cow ice cream if I'm tight with calories or if I have calories to spare, I'll get cookies.

    Is that good? Sorry, I have no idea what I should eat post workout.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    GothyFaery wrote: »
    paj315 wrote: »
    I agree with the others that its probably nutrition related. I know when I'm in too low of a deficit my recovery is slow. Also do make sure to get you post workout recovery of fast digesting carbs and protein, I use a 2:1 ration of these (some recommend 4:1 though).

    Typically after lifting I try to work in some (usually a glass of milk plus an egg or turkey peperoni) and I tend to crave sweets at night so I end up eating a skinny cow ice cream if I'm tight with calories or if I have calories to spare, I'll get cookies.

    Is that good? Sorry, I have no idea what I should eat post workout.

    It's probably "good enough", although some folks might benefit from a bit more carbs in the mix. If it was working for you before the layoff, it's unlikely to be the problem now.

    Rebuilding is an ongoing process, so total quantity of calories also matter. When you're running a large deficit, keeping the "necessary for life" processes fueled gets #1 priority on calories, so adding or repairing muscle gets the short end of the stick.
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