Working out and muscle recovery

harryt678
harryt678 Posts: 131 Member
edited November 22 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys, I've read a ton of information on this topic which leaves me confused... When doing cardio my muscles feel tired and sore for a few days after. Is there a way to combat this or prevent it? I've been stretching before my workout and drinking lots of water which I'm sure only helps a certain amount. Any other suggestions would be welcome!

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Best way to prevent it is to make exercise a regular habit - soreness is far more pronounced when you are new to exercise or doing something novel.
    e.g. I cycle a lot but only get soreness from really extreme and/or very long duration rides but a short run would result in some soreness as I'm not a runner.

    Hope your stretches before workout aren't static stretches as that would be a mistake and counter productive. Dynamic stretches as part of a warm up are fine.

    A small dose of what hurt you can help, a gentle recovery ride the day after a hard ride, a walk the day after a hard run for example. Swimming is good movement to get blood flowing without adding stress.
  • harryt678
    harryt678 Posts: 131 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    Best way to prevent it is to make exercise a regular habit - soreness is far more pronounced when you are new to exercise or doing something novel.
    e.g. I cycle a lot but only get soreness from really extreme and/or very long duration rides but a short run would result in some soreness as I'm not a runner.

    Hope your stretches before workout aren't static stretches as that would be a mistake and counter productive. Dynamic stretches as part of a warm up are fine.

    A small dose of what hurt you can help, a gentle recovery ride the day after a hard ride, a walk the day after a hard run for example. Swimming is good movement to get blood flowing without adding stress.

    Thank you I do appreciate it and I will be cautious with my stretching and will look up how to properly stretch (in case what I'm doing is wrong).
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    You're welcome.
    One thing I forgot to mention is building up slowly if you are new or returning to a particular exercise.

    Build up your fitness base progressively rather than pushing too hard too soon - both in terms of duration and intensity.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Don't do cardio, problem solved.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    harryt678 wrote: »
    Hey guys, I've read a ton of information on this topic which leaves me confused... When doing cardio my muscles feel tired and sore for a few days after. Is there a way to combat this or prevent it? I've been stretching before my workout and drinking lots of water which I'm sure only helps a certain amount. Any other suggestions would be welcome!

    For stretching, you don't want to do static stretches before your workout...dynamic stretches are fine.

    Make sure you're starting slow...fitness is something that's built over time. If you're just starting out, I'd say every other day...and on your "off" days just go for a walk to help keep things loose...then build up to more days, but depending on intensity, you're going to want rest/recovery days as well.

    DOMs is normal when you're doing a new activity...as you keep doing it, they will diminish.

  • harryt678
    harryt678 Posts: 131 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    You're welcome.
    One thing I forgot to mention is building up slowly if you are new or returning to a particular exercise.

    Build up your fitness base progressively rather than pushing too hard too soon - both in terms of duration and intensity.

    Thank you and I have to remind myself of this to be quite honest with you! Just getting back into fitness and trying to lose too much too soon
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