Continue exercising when muscles are sore?

[loony]

I've recently gained somewhat weight and decided to do something against it. I have this book with Callanetics exercises and I decided I would do something every day or every second day. I started yesterday and now my muscles are just plain sore and I don't really feel like I want to stress them more. It's been a while since I did any kind of sports and then it was usually just once a week, so when it was time to move this precious body again the soreness had disappeared by then. As I want to do the exercises more often I'm not sure how to proceed now. I want fast results and I guess, it would be more healthy do to something regular and daily then just once in a while.

 

Should I just ignore that my muscles are so sore and still do the exercises or should I wait till my muscles have recovered?

[slubberdegullion]

No. The discomfort you're feeling is a buildup of lactic acid in your muscles. It will naturally subside within a day or two, but until then you won't do your muscles any good by stressing them any more.

 

The old Jane Fonda mantra of "feel the burn" and "no pain, no gain" is both passé and just plain wrong. Ask any doctor or kinestheologist.

 

By all means, you can stretch and go about your normal daily stuff, but you can safely lay off the hard exercising for a day or two.

[Yamaha]

Muscle soreness is caused by a tearing of muscle fibers. I would recommend laying off the next day if your muscles are really sore or doing a light workout on "recovery" days. If you continue working out hard when your muscles are sore you can actually weaken them. You need to tear down the muscles to strengthen them so don't be alarmed by muscle soreness, Just don't overdo it when your muscles are recovering.

[loony]

Thanks, slubberdegullion.

 

Could you also tell me when I know I'm doing enough or when it's too much/too little?

[loony]

Muscle soreness is caused by a tearing of muscle fibers. I would recommend laying off the next day if your muscles are really sore or doing a light workout on "recovery" days. If you continue working out hard when your muscles are sore you can actually weaken them. You need to tear down the muscles to strengthen them so don't be alarmed by muscle soreness, Just don't overdo it when your muscles are recovering.

Ok, thanks for the tip.

[lilmoma1973]

 

If you just started exercising was this a first time in a while if so you need to do a gradual thing because the fact you aren't use to it you probably will be sore and need to let your body recooperate and then after the soreness subsides you can start back up you don't want to tear any muscles .. Make sure you are warming up before exercise and cooling down after exercise ... Sometimes if you aren't warmed up you can hurt yourself and always make sure you cool down and stretch afterwards this is very important .. Some days i still get sore if i do too much or work one part of my body alot .. I exercise everyday and sometimes i over do it and will be sore.. Make sure you change up your exercise each day so that you shock your body otherwise your body gets accustomed to things and u will get to a plateau and not notice a change and this can be very frustrating !! Good luck and happy exercising !!!

[slubberdegullion]

Could you also tell me when I know I'm doing enough or when it's too much/too little?

I have a friend who has done a handful of marathons and an Ironman competition. He prepares for his events by working on what he calls "foundational strength." When he runs - 3 or 4 times a week, depending on his schedule - he uses a pulse rate monitor to keep his heartbeat in a particular range, what's called his "target heart rate." This range depends on body size and mass, so you'll be best to check that out for your own situation.

 

The other thing he does is that he runs with friends. Not only do they provide inspiration when he gets bored, chatting with friends also shows you how much lung capacity you are using. The simple rule of thumb is that if you cannot carry on a normal conversation while you are exercising, then you're working too hard.

 

If you have to *pant* stop every *pant* few seconds *pant* to take *pant* a big gulp *pant* of air *pant* then you're *pant* working *pant* too hard.

 

Running to build up foundational strength is great exercise provided you have good shoes and your spine, knees and ankles are in good shape. But you don't have to run fast at all. Creating foundational strength is not about bursts of speed or running until complete exhaustion; it's about slow, methodical working of the muscles, heart and lungs to build up capacity.

 

If running outdoors is not feasible, then you may try something like an Aqua-Fit program which exercises you in a pool. It's easier on the joints but the workout can be just as intense.

 

Soon enough, you will start to lose fat, but you may actually gain weight. That's because muscle mass is heavier than fat, so don't go just by what the scales tell you.

 

One last thing: if it hurts, STOP. Pain is your body's way of telling you something's wrong.

 

Duzzat help?

[Outcast]

Does the Callanetics info not tell you how many repetitions or when to stop?

 

I'm against running, myself. Too many folks with blown joints, foot problems, knee problems.

[loony]

Duzzat help?

No, but thanks for the long post. I'm afraid there have been some misunderstanding here. When I said "exercising" I meant to say "gymnastics" not "running". I tried running, but I felt so exhausted after 15 minutes and my energy for the whole day seemed gone so I stopped it.

 

Does the Callanetics info not tell you how many repetitions or when to stop?

Well, for example, it says for one exercise "Try to work up to 100 repetitions", I'm glad though when I manage 25. I'm not sure if I should try to push myself to do harder or if I should let it be. I can only say, my belly starts hurting when I reach 25.

[Outcast]

Don't go past the point where it starts to hurt. The 100 repetitions is a goal to aim for after you've been working out for a while, definitely not the first day.

 

Pain or 'failure' (not being able to do any more) is the sign to stop. Note how many reps you did before it hurt and then aim for one or two more the next time

 

Your ability will increase gradually - and it's a real kick to see how you can add more reps and how you feel stronger over time