Quitting sport to lift

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darreneatschicken
darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
edited June 2018 in Fitness and Exercise
When I fix my muscle dysfunctions, I'm going to get back into Starting Strength.

But with hockey season coming up in September, I don't know how I'm going to balance the two.

Has anyone here made the hard decision to quit their sport in order to focus on building muscle?

I can't imagine quitting hockey, but I know that I'm never going to make it to the NHL, so I rather build muscle, which will benefit me more in my everyday life.

The day after a hockey game, my legs are usually very sore, and I feel both mentally and physically fatigued. I cannot imagine dragging myself to the gym to squat 3x5 when I'm in this condition, meaning that I'll probably end up skipping workouts.

I know some people will say eat more, stretch more, rest more. But seriously, I already have a hard time hitting my daily caloric goal, and I'm always sore the next day, regardless of how much I stretch, so I dunno, it may be time to put away the skates for good...
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Replies

  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    At what level are you playing hockey? High school? College? Travel?

    I have a hard time believe there isn't a happy medium... a middle ground... some balance you can find that includes both hockey and lifting.
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
    edited June 2018
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    I'm only playing beer league, so it's not that serious. I'm just worried I won't be able to stay consistent in the gym, if I'm playing hockey like once a week.

    For example, if I lift Monday, Wednesday, Friday, but I have a game on Thursday, then there's no way I'll be able to lift on Friday.

    Also, if I lift on Wednesday, but I have a game on Thursday, then my legs will still be sore from squatting, so how will I be able to play to the best of my ability?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    My legs aren't sore from squatting as long as I stay on my weight-lifting plan. If you are squatting at least twice a week, I suspect your legs won't be sore after the first couple sessions either.
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    My legs aren't sore from squatting as long as I stay on my weight-lifting plan. If you are squatting at least twice a week, I suspect your legs won't be sore after the first couple sessions either.

    Starting Strength requires you to squat 3x a week though.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Dern420 wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    My legs aren't sore from squatting as long as I stay on my weight-lifting plan. If you are squatting at least twice a week, I suspect your legs won't be sore after the first couple sessions either.

    Starting Strength requires you to squat 3x a week though.

    Exactly. One time a week = DOMS every week. Twice a week or more = probably no DOMS once you're used to it.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    You should be fine. It may take you some time to adjust, but any soreness you experience should go away. Worst case scenario, don't skip and entire day, just dial back the squatting.
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
    edited June 2018
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    Ok, so you guys are saying that the soreness will go away once I get used to squatting 3x a week?

    I'm just worried because I'm a beginner, so I tend to get sore really easily. And if you're constantly increasing the weight, then won't your body never be able to adjust?

    I'm always sore the day after a hockey game, despite having played for almost 10 years.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    edited June 2018
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    Dern420 wrote: »
    Ok, so you guys are saying that the soreness will go away once I get used to squatting 3x a week?

    I'm just worried because I'm a beginner, so I tend to get sore really easily. And if you're constantly increasing the weight, then won't your body never be able to adjust?

    I squat 3 times a week. The weight is variable and progressive. Unless I take a week off or something, I never get DOMS. YMMV
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,977 Member
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    Don't understand why you have to give up hockey to lift.

    Starting Strength only takes an hr a day 3x a week to do. You should be able to vary the workout to git your schedule. If you can't manage that then just do what's most important to you.
  • BZAH10
    BZAH10 Posts: 5,710 Member
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    You said hockey season doesn't start until September, so do you still practice every week during the off season? Either way, if you start a lifting program now you'll adjust to it, as others have stated, and should be fine once hockey season starts. I say, definitely do both.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    Dern420 wrote: »
    Ok, so you guys are saying that the soreness will go away once I get used to squatting 3x a week?

    I'm just worried because I'm a beginner, so I tend to get sore really easily. And if you're constantly increasing the weight, then won't your body never be able to adjust?

    I'm always sore the day after a hockey game, despite having played for almost 10 years.

    Yea, you should be fine. You're out-thinking yourself. Take a step back, take a deep breath, and squat.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Side note: Exercise actually helps my DOMS. So if you're sore (not injured, just sore), the exercise will probably help.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    I am a runner trying to incorporate lifting into my schedule. I lift two days per week and what works for me is to lift on my hard running days (speed work and tempo). It does make those two days a bear, but that way it does not interfere with my rest and recovery. My easy days are still easy and I am able to recover.
  • shor0814
    shor0814 Posts: 559 Member
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    Why are you giving up before you start? Before you determine a conclusion you should try doing both and see how it works. If you feel that you are too sore to continue both, drop the lifting, finish the hockey season. After hockey you can start lifting and not sign up for hockey next year.
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
    edited June 2018
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    shor0814 wrote: »
    Why are you giving up before you start? Before you determine a conclusion you should try doing both and see how it works. If you feel that you are too sore to continue both, drop the lifting, finish the hockey season. After hockey you can start lifting and not sign up for hockey next year.

    Well, there's been times in the past where the day after I played hockey, I was too fatigued to go to the gym.

    There's also been times in the past where I squatted 5x5 and was too sore the next day to play hockey.

    People here are saying that the soreness from squatting will go away with time (even if I keep increasing the weight).

    But what I'm worried about is hockey: I'm always sore the next day, despite having played for almost 10 years.
  • Erik8484
    Erik8484 Posts: 458 Member
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    Having DOMS doesn't mean that you can't squat. Its not an injury that you need to train around. It just means that it will ache.

    I wouldn't quit a social team sport to lift weights solo, but that's just me. If you can't motivate yourself to do both then you should choose whichever one you enjoy the most.
  • Rose18l
    Rose18l Posts: 147 Member
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    Maybe get on an another program than starting strength. If the squatting is a problem pick a program that squats less. Also plan your leg days a few days away from game days if recovery is a problem. You don't need to quit sports to be able to weight lift. I used to sail competitively (very core and leg intensive) while weight lifting. Weight lifting helped me to get better in sailing because I had more strength to keep the boat in control. It is all about finding the happy medium.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    gym monday, wednesday saturday, hockey thursday gives you plenty of rest days.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    At some point, you'll either have to give it a legit go for a month and see how you do, or you'll have to keep making excuses about why you can't or what you're worried about. There are lots of people here that have multiple priorities/goals/sports and do just fine. But you have to try.
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
    edited September 2018
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    So I played hockey 2 nights ago, and I'm still sore as hell!

    Definitely affecting my ability to do Starting Strength: I don't think I can squat the day after I play.

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