What to do when everything hurts?

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tanyaleighcummings
tanyaleighcummings Posts: 105
in Fitness and Exercise
Yesterday I biked to and from work for the first time - new bike.

Sunday I raised the weight on my 100 arm curls each from 5#'s (which was way too light) to 10#'s.

My sit-bones feel badly bruised. My hands are red and sore from the bile handles.
My arms hurt badly to open them even though I slept with pain patches on them last night.

I know an oz of prevention and all that. But surely I am not the first to barrel through too quickly and regret it. So what now? How can I both recover quicker and aclimate to the biking.
I know next week I can take my weight down to 7.5#'s to split the difference.

I am fairly active, was walking (race speeds) a min of 5 miles a day, weights on Sundays, wrestling or boxing here and there, sprints after I eat and upstairs sprints several times a day as well. So even though my legs are being used in a different way, they just have a normal sore muscle soreness...nothing surprising.

Also yesterday, after riding to work I was craving salt - ate 22 chips! And this morning my face is all puffy. Sorry, that isn't about exercise, I just don't get why I would crave something like that that is unusual for me. Seeking comfort from the pain? Or something my body is asking to have replenished related to the new exercise?

Help.

Replies

  • seekingstrengthX2
    seekingstrengthX2 Posts: 771
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    1) Riding a new bike a long distance, your *kitten* is going to hurt. It will stop in a few days. Maybe get a gel seat? They are typically larger and softer than the seat that comes on bikes.

    2) Buy riding gloves to protect your hands.

    3) Rest your biceps for at least 48 hours, allow them to repair. Up your protein to help them if you havent already.

    4) Drink loads of water to counteract the puffiness.

    Carry on!! :flowerforyou:
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    Also - dont forget you need to be doing some good stretches before, during and after any of your workouts....
  • darlilama
    darlilama Posts: 794 Member
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    Agree with dontletmeeatt. And, you might take some ibuprofen to counteract any inflammation.
  • poledancing_ninja
    poledancing_ninja Posts: 271
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    If it hurts, rest!

    If you were craving salt it's probably because you lose some through sweat and needed to replenish it
  • swisspea
    swisspea Posts: 327 Member
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    I'm no expert, but getting a new seat may help. Seats that come with bikes are made for men's sitbones- which tend to be closer together. Since women's hips tend to be wider, we often need wider seats to protect our sitbones. This isn't me making it up, a spinning teacher of mine suggested I get one.

    Also, rest :)
  • robynmurphy
    robynmurphy Posts: 2 Member
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    You're muscles are sore because they're damaged, which is exactly what happens when we work out. The protein intake needs to be increased during the next couple of days to help repair the muscles. If you workout the same sore muscles you will do more harm to them than good, so proper sleep and rest patterns are essential. On that note, if you're not a little sore the morning after a workout, then you probably aren't lifting enough weight; therefore, I would continue with the 10lb weights.

    As far as the bike goes, I too, had that problem not too long ago. As the previous reader suggested: try a padded seat and maybe work up to the round trip to work and back.
  • aggiesrar05
    aggiesrar05 Posts: 335 Member
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    Padded butt shorts... that will save your a*@... literally.

    http://www.amazon.com/Pearl-iZUMi-Womens-Cycling-Medium/dp/B002KT3ZYW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1335268080&sr=8-4

    That and time, it will take time for your sit bones to get used to the saddle. Surprisingly enough I read an article the other day (I'll find the link later) saying a padded seat really doesn't help as much as the shorts and time. That saddles are engineered to fit a body to put the least amount of pressure on the sit bones. That being said, a saddle designed for women is 100x better than just a generic saddle (probably for the reason mentioned above.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    1) Riding a new bike a long distance, your *kitten* is going to hurt. It will stop in a few days. Maybe get a gel seat? They are typically larger and softer than the seat that comes on bikes.

    2) Buy riding gloves to protect your hands.

    3) Rest your biceps for at least 48 hours, allow them to repair. Up your protein to help them if you havent already.

    4) Drink loads of water to counteract the puffiness.

    Carry on!! :flowerforyou:

    Basically this and maybe add in some spinach and sweet potatoes to help in recovery, and keep moving. I'm just trying to figure to figure out what you're trying to accomplish with 100 arm curl sessions?
  • SirZee
    SirZee Posts: 381
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    Exercise lightly, for exercise recovery. Helps flush the lactic acid.

    Edit: Also 100 curls, that's a bit too much. Find a weight you can do three or four times for 12-15 reps each.
  • trijoe
    trijoe Posts: 729 Member
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    Okay, here goes about a dimes worth of two cents:

    1) Butts hurt. It's what happens. You can switch to a softer saddle, but the truth is the harder saddles are MUCH more comfortable one your butt acclimates. Consider some padded biking or triathlon shorts. You just have to keep getting back on your trusty steed.

    2) Hands shouldn't really hurt. This sounds a little odd. While you're looking for that pair of cycling shorts down at your local bike shop, be sure to mosey on over to the gloves section, and pick yourself out a pair. This should help. If that doesn't help, try taking your bike into your local bike shop and getting a fitting. That's where they put your bike - with you on it - up on this gizmo then measure the two of you and move things around so that your body is in as comfortable a position as is humanly possible. Fittings work WONDERS for making sure you and your bike feel great together.

    3) That salty feeling: Sounds to me like you know your issue, you just don't know what to do about it. I sweat profusely. Which means when I'm done working out I crave salt like it's going out of style. My favorite ways to get my salty fix are with NUUN tablets and beef jerky. NUUN tablets are these fun little fizzy tablets I drop in my water bottle. They're very low cal, but are loaded with goodies like potassium, sodium, things like that. They're just delicious. Again, check at your LBS for a few tubes. Beef jerky. Oh, beef jerky. Low fat, high protein, salty, spicy (the kind I buy, anyway), what's not to love about it? It's heaven in a bag. Also, be sure to drink lots of water.

    4) Not sure what to tell you about weights. I do them and end up sore quite a bit. I just do aerobic activities for the next few days while taking Aleve at night. Probably not the most scientific way to work through weightlifting soreness, but it works for me.

    Hope this helps.
  • tomruhland
    tomruhland Posts: 11
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    It's going to take you at least 2 weeks of consistent riding to get your butt used to any new bike seat. Take shorter trips to start and work your way up. Also agree with making sure the bike is fit to you. DOMS stinks, but it will subside! Rest for now and recover.
  • tanyaleighcummings
    tanyaleighcummings Posts: 105
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    Thank you all!!! I will do all of the above, this really helps! I will get the gloves and try moving my seat forward right now and get the shorts...I have them but wore different ones today. I will pick up bananas and spinach tonight (have sweet potatoes already as they are my special treat), stretch more, only do half the first leg of my a.m. distance by changing the route (it isn't uphill that way either) for now, and get a ride for the second leg of my a.m. trip for the next couple of days. I drink at least 12 cups of water a day already, sometimes double that. But will try a quarter tsp of Morton's Lite salt in my water bottle if I start craving salt...I try to keep my sodium levels under 1500mg a day or I hold water and feel like a cow. :-(
    My sweating is more of a persistant sheen than profuse.

    With the 100 each arm curls, well it was one of those 'Friday challenges' on here that I decided to keep up with. I work my legs constantly, don't drive so it is easy to just increase the challenge of my daily routines. Like since I have to climb the stairs anyway I might as well sprint to the top and then walk back down to my floor.

    Sound about right?
  • tanyaleighcummings
    tanyaleighcummings Posts: 105
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    What does DOMS stand for?
  • VanessaGS
    VanessaGS Posts: 514 Member
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    Drink vitamin waters. Maybe replenishing yourself might help. Just a suggestion.
  • tanyaleighcummings
    tanyaleighcummings Posts: 105
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    Thank you, I will add some viamins...and more protein!!!

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