I'm sore, should I walk?

larali1980
larali1980 Posts: 162 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have just gotten back into exercising. I have walked 3.5 miles each day for the last few days. Today, I am really sore all over! Should I give it a rest today?

Replies

  • debrakgoogins
    debrakgoogins Posts: 2,033 Member
    Are you sore...or are you in pain? There is a difference. If you're sore, you worked muscles that are not used to being worked and it gets better. Try gentle stretches to get the muscles loosened up a little and get back out there and walk. If you are in pain, true pain, see a doctor.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Up to you. Walking is what I do when my muscles are sore, personally, lol.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    yes. walk. go.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited January 2016
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Up to you. Walking is what I do when my muscles are sore, personally, lol.

    +1

    But yes, are your muscles sore? Walk. Are you in pain, from perhaps pulling or straining something? Perhaps don't.
  • jessicarobinson00
    jessicarobinson00 Posts: 414 Member
    Walk-your body is adjusting. It seems to me the 4th or 5th day after I started exercising were ROUGH. I was tight, sore, and..looking for excuses not to continue. Keep it up: it gets better!
  • dujyandco
    dujyandco Posts: 90 Member
    edited January 2016
    I keep walking. My calves have been tight every day for two and a half months. :)
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    Walking today will help increase circulation and speed healing time - if you are concerned about overdoing it you can reduce the distance you walk, or break the total distance into two separate walks.
  • SinomenJen
    SinomenJen Posts: 262 Member
    Yes! It will help loosen your muscles back up, as long as it is sore not pain, it is a good thing,
  • jessicapk
    jessicapk Posts: 574 Member
    Walk again today and definitely stretch - hamstrings, quads, and calves - when you get done. It will be tough for a few days but the stretching will work wonders on tight muscles.
  • Kyrenora
    Kyrenora Posts: 133 Member
    If you're not sure whether it's soreness or pain, try taking a hot bath and massaging the affected areas afterward. If this does the trick, you were just sore and you'll be good to go. If the feeling stays the same or actually gets worse, then it's pain. In that case, you need to rest and call your doctor.

    It's also not a bad idea to switch up your exercise routines to work on different areas of your body. If I walk several miles one day, I'll do yoga the next to give a rest to the specific muscles I used the day before.
  • larali1980
    larali1980 Posts: 162 Member
    Cool thanks guys... I will walk today... goal weight here I come :)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    If I were really sore, I might only walk half the distance, but I'd still try to get out there and do some.
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
    I power walk every day from 3 to 8 miles at an average pace of 4.3 to 4.8 mph. If I do an extreme power walk one day, I will do recovery walks (much slower walks) for the next day or two, to let my body recover.

    I would say keep walking and just slow the pace down a little until you feel better.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Yes. Walk.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    Walk and stretch!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    larali1980 wrote: »
    I have just gotten back into exercising. I have walked 3.5 miles each day for the last few days. Today, I am really sore all over! Should I give it a rest today?

    If you went from not walking at all to walking 3.5 miles per day this week, I think you should back off and work back up to that over time.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    I try to alternate walking days with swimming days, but if you can't do that, at least make sure you take one day a week to let your muscles recover. 0 to 3.5 is a huge jump. I've been increasing by a half mile a day for about three weeks, and accidentally did 5 miles today (I missed the 2 mile marker on the trail, and ended up past the 2.5 marker). Tomorrow might have to be a rest day for me!
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    When I am sore I stretch.
  • mrsloganlife
    mrsloganlife Posts: 158 Member
    I would also invest in a foam roller--that has helped me with the soreness and stretching (my hamstrings are terrible). But if I am sore I move and walk--I've learned that if I just sit sedentary then I get sore AND stiff and that makes it worse.
  • ecdce
    ecdce Posts: 129 Member
    If you start exercising and, after your body has warmed up a bit, the pain gets better, you're good to go. If it gets worse, you might be hurt, rather than just sore, if that makes sense.

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