How do I combat EXTREME soreness and stiffness?

StormyGal8
StormyGal8 Posts: 184 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone have any advice for helping to "recover" from super harsh exercise...meaning to help heal the stiffness the next day?

On thursday I went to my very first Mixed Martial Arts class. I am pretty heavy still, I was slow, but I gave it my all (mostly leg and core strengthening). For the next 2 days I literally could NOT sit down...my quads were SO sore and stiff that if I started to get into the "squat" position to sit down, I was unable to keep going, I either had to stop, or fall into the sitting position....since I am a girl, and therefore sit down to pee, this presented me with a problem. Even today I am still stiff and sore, but today is much better.

I drank tons of water, and was spending 24 hours a day on tylenol and advil (for my throat, not my legs), but I couldn't seem to get it better.
Are there supplements I can take? Anything I can do before or after, that will help to keep me from being so so sore next time? I am supposed to have a class tonight (Monday night) as well, but that will depend on how much my throat has recovered.


Would appreciate any advice or input!
«1

Replies

  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    Make sure you stretch out well afterwards, and try to do some stretching a few times a day. Ibuprofen is sometimes my best friend.
  • droogievesch
    droogievesch Posts: 202
    I had the same problem! Thankfully I work in health care and had safety bars at work for me to brace myself on as I fell back on the toilet! What helped me was:

    Massaging the muscles to work out the lactic acid
    Lots of water
    Using them :( The more I walked the looser they got, and the less pain I was in.
    "Inchworm" exercise: stand up with feet hip width apart. Bend over and put hands on ground. Walk hands out until you are in a pushup position. Walk feet up to hands. It really stretches your quads and hamstrings.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Try some foam roller and mobility work. I've been using Joe DeFranco's Agile 8 as a warmup for the past several months and it's worked wonders for me.
  • satxtrap
    satxtrap Posts: 120 Member
    The best thing I could suggest is a foam roller. Go to youtube and search for some vids on what they are and how they work. There are inexpensive ($15 USD) ones and there are more expensive ones like the rumble roller that really do amazing work on breaking up the knots. The latter may not be the best choice for a beginner since it has been known to make one shed a tear or two until you are used to it. But oh... the relief it provides. :) Check them out.

    If you are not already doing so, perhaps a post-workout protein drink would benefit you too.

    Edit: tas42 beat me to the post. I feel like a parrot now. :p
  • thebrianmo
    thebrianmo Posts: 108
    Honestly the thing that works best for me is to be in the pool. I am in the pool 5 or 6 days a week as it is, but I've found it relieves my stiffness and soreness better than anything else I've tried. Not saying it will for everyone as our bodies are all different.
  • StormyGal8
    StormyGal8 Posts: 184 Member
    The instructor is really good about warms ups. He does a set at the beginning, one part way through the glass, then a cool down at the end. I think a lot of the problem for me is that I am out of shape, and working SO SO hard to keep up as much as I can. Don't get me wrong, I rest when I need to, but I push myself harder than I would if I was alone.

    I will have to remember massage and hot baths. I was scared if I got in a bath, I may not be able to get out LOL I was drinking quite a bit of water too, but since I am sick with some nasty cold/ throat virus, my body seems to be holding onto water like there's no tomorrow. I am drinking and drinking (probably will be close to 3litres by the time I get into bed), but not running to the bathroom much at all. I am sure being sick (I was just coming down with this garbage on thursday) doesn't help matters much either!
  • StormyGal8
    StormyGal8 Posts: 184 Member
    The best thing I could suggest is a foam roller. Go to youtube and search for some vids on what they are and how they work. There are inexpensive ($15 USD) ones and there are more expensive ones like the rumble roller that really do amazing work on breaking up the knots. The latter may not be the best choice for a beginner since it has been known to make one shed a tear or two until you are used to it. But oh... the relief it provides. :) Check them out.

    If you are not already doing so, perhaps a post-workout protein drink would benefit you too.

    Edit: tas42 beat me to the post. I feel like a parrot now. :p

    I will for sure try a post workout protein drink (or snack?). I forgot that protein is so important after a hard work out, but will be more diligent in the future!
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    Some stiffness is inevitable, certainly. But the cool down built into a work out won't be enough stretching - you need to add some in at home.

    Look up some stretched on youtube, or go to a body balance class to get some ideas.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    You won't be nearly as sore after the next time. I bet it's only 25% of the soreness you feel this time. And the time after that you'll barely feel it. What you feel now is really a first time only thing.

    This is going to sound counter intuitive, but the sooner you work your legs out the better they will feel. Do some body weight squats and stretches to get some blood into them. If you try to just rest your legs the pain will last a week. Work them out and they will feel better immediately.
  • bacamacho
    bacamacho Posts: 306 Member
    Should be gone in about 4-5 days. Warming up the muscles helps, but if it's really annoying, you can take some ibuprofen. As your body adjusts to the workouts, you deal with this pain less and less.
  • LottieLou13
    LottieLou13 Posts: 574 Member
    I hurt mine bad a couple of weeks ago, what helped me was lots of walking, water water water, stretching, laying in a hot bath for a long while and lots of protein
  • ephemerata
    ephemerata Posts: 82 Member
    eat some carbs.

    seriously.

    i've been through this before and the only thing that helps me is slowly stretching and increasing my carb intake to restore the glycogen in my muscles.
  • StormyGal8
    StormyGal8 Posts: 184 Member
    Thanks for all the input everyone! I really appreciate it.

    Does anyone have anything to say about glutamine supplements? A friend recommended them to help with healing...but I don't know much about it.
  • StormyGal8
    StormyGal8 Posts: 184 Member
    You won't be nearly as sore after the next time. I bet it's only 25% of the soreness you feel this time. And the time after that you'll barely feel it. What you feel now is really a first time only thing.

    This is going to sound counter intuitive, but the sooner you work your legs out the better they will feel. Do some body weight squats and stretches to get some blood into them. If you try to just rest your legs the pain will last a week. Work them out and they will feel better immediately.

    After as many freaking squats as I did on Thursday, I am not so sure about this! LOL I have been unable to do squats for a long time, due to an arthritic knee. But last year I lost a little weight, and then I got a job that has me walking a LOT. Now I almost never hear any complaints from my arthritic knee. Thursday was the first time in YEARS and YEARS that I was able to do any squats. They weren't deep, but they were plentiful! lol

    Also, that being said, I have been walking a lot since Thursday, due to work. I have also made a (painful) attempt, whenever possible to stretch the sore muscles out. I did not however, do more squats, cause I was pretty sure that if I got into that position, i would just fall down! LMAO
  • Wonderob
    Wonderob Posts: 1,372 Member
    Ice bath - it's what the pros do

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_bath
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    Epsom salt bath.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • LizbithB
    LizbithB Posts: 15
    DavPul is right about working the legs out a bit to help with the stiffness and pain. I had a personal trainer who was a female cometition bodybuilder and she worked me to death. She did lunges with me until I would cuss at her. She was great but my legs killed to the point of having a hard time walking up and down stairs. I was yapping about the pain one day and she asked me to do a short little light leg work. My first thought was "she is high" but it worked...my stiffness and pain eased up after I got the blood pumping in the legs again and I could get back up and down the stairs again without rapelling gear. Lol
  • Cindym82
    Cindym82 Posts: 1,245 Member
    Epsom salt bath.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    this
  • kathryn_m
    kathryn_m Posts: 31
    If you mix about 3/4 cup of pure black cherry juice (I usually buy the LakeWood brand. I'm sure it's available at whatever grocery store you have. I get mine at Publix) with 2 tbsp. of vinegar apple cider (the brand is called "With the Mother" and you can get it at Whole Foods) and drink it once or twice a day for several days, it will really help with soreness and stiffness!
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    This happened to me after my first martial arts class. After the second class, it was much less, and now I only feel a little sore after classes, and definitely not "can't sit down to pee" sore like the first time.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,330 Member
    Try some foam roller and mobility work. I've been using Joe DeFranco's Agile 8 as a warmup for the past several months and it's worked wonders for me.

    I agree. Foam rolling is excellent as is mobility work. Getting the muscles moving at a lower intensity level has helped me a lot in the past when I had a lot of muscle pain. BTW, the foam rolling will hurt, especially where the muscle is knotted up, but it will feel so much better after.
  • Amryfal
    Amryfal Posts: 225
    ages ago when i first started fencing, i felt like that after my class for...umm...a lot longer than i should have xP

    i've been out of it for a while and i know when i go back in it's going to hurt.

    epsom salt soaks do help. a little. honestly, i never found anything else other than toughing through it until my muscles got used to what i was asking them to do.

    sorry i can't be more helpful. but on the bright side, you know you got a workout and that it won't kill you? even though it feels like it might.
  • skybird455
    skybird455 Posts: 172 Member
    stretch, stretch, stretch, water, protein and keep using the muscles through the soreness. It gets easier I promise
  • dry61ed
    dry61ed Posts: 34 Member
    More than one person mentioned "foam rollers", I will need to check them out also. Sound interesting. :)
  • coderby
    coderby Posts: 9 Member
    I think the thing to remember is if you're out of shape and suddenly going into heavy exercise - which MMA is I know from personal experience as I've been training it myself for a year and half - is that you're going to ache it's pretty inevitable, it will decrease with time but the initial sessions will probably make you suffer for a few days afterwards. Stretching does help but a half decent instructor will run you through the stretches as part of the class and describe the feeling you get when you're doing it right. A little bit of light exercise everyday will help it clear, just walking. If you stretch at home that should help but remember never to stretch your muscles when they're cold.
  • coderby
    coderby Posts: 9 Member
    .
  • Nteeter
    Nteeter Posts: 190 Member
    I started insanity a few weeks ago and I was really sore but powered through and I'm pain free now. I drink protein shakes and tons of water. It's just your muscles building to the new workout, stick to it.
  • IAmMadeOfMeat
    IAmMadeOfMeat Posts: 8 Member
    On thursday I went to my very first Mixed Martial Arts class.

    Should I interpret this to mean that you've only just begun working out?

    If that's the case, then I have to say right away: don't be discouraged by the soreness! This is completely normal for everyone who's just getting started--or returning after a break.

    Over the years, I've fallen in and out of my workout routines many times, and sometimes the breaks have been as little as 2 months. But even after just 2 months of inactivity, the return trip would result in no fewer than 6 days of "OH GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE OW OW OW" and trying to court my poor abused muscles with flowers and sweet nothings for a full week so that they'll trust me again and give me another chance.

    After that initial week of excessive soreness, your muscles will adjust to your new workout, and your soreness should only affect you for 1-2 days, tops, and the feeling of "ARGH" won't be nearly as intense during that time.

    But that's very general advice that assumes everything else is in working order! The other three important things to consider are:

    1. Getting enough water (6-8 cups at least, adjust for more if you're sweating out a bunch)
    2. Getting enough protein to rebuild your muscles optimally (you should be getting as much as you have lean mass, and more on days you're working out)
    3. Getting enough sleep!!! If you're aiming for weight loss first, then your body will be in an anabolic state (ie. the only state in which you can repair/gain muscles) only during your resting periods, so you need the recommended amount of sleep per night to fully recover.

    Hope that helps! Keep at it, and you'll find yourself getting stronger every week.
  • StormyGal8
    StormyGal8 Posts: 184 Member
    Everyone thank you SO much!!

    Yes I did just start working out. I always had an interest in martial arts, and I thought it would be a good means to a healthy and fit body, and would be something that I was pretty sure I would love. Most of the class is muscle building and aerobic, no fighting yet, but that's TOTALLY ok, I understand that the class is mostly jui jitsu based, which is a lot of upper body strength (which I DO NOT have), so I am perfectly happy to train! LOL

    Epsom salts...I will try them. Massage, I will try this.
    I fully expected to be sore. I had some soreness/stiffness in the rest of my body (core and arms mostly), but nothing excessive, just enough to know I had been working them. My quads felt like they had been ripped off the bone. I walk a fair bit for work, probably at least 2-3 miles a day.

    I believe that limited sleep, and illness may have contributed to my super slow recovery time (I am still a bit stiff in the quads, but completely tolerable). I suspect that, I will have several days like this, as he tends to work in phases. The class is 3 days a week, however I can only attend twice a week. Mondays are cardio night, Tuesdays are upperbody night, and Thursdays are legs and core night. I went on a thursday. I was hoping to go tonight, but I don't think it's a good idea, as I am still fighting this nasty virus.

    My scale has gone UP 5lbs since getting sick/the first MMA class (they happened at the same time). I am not sweating it...yet! LOL
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    First time I worked out, I was in pretty extreme pain for almost a full week. I could barely even lift my arms above my head. I did my second exercise day a week after my first. The second time around I was sore for maybe 2 days. After that it's been pretty minimal. You will get acclimated to it quickly.

Categories