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January 7, 2011 6:56 PM Subscribe
Am I not resting long enough between workouts?
I want to be one of those people who can work out 5x a week. I've been seriously committed to exercise for over a year now, but I'm still running into the same soreness, regardless, that tends to bench me for longer than I would like. I usually alternate between doing some 30 min HIIT running and various 30 min to hour workout dvds (Jillian Michaels, for example), every other day. I don't think any of these are particularly hard or uncommon for beginner workouts. I do a typical 5 min warm up and cool down. On the days I don't work out, I rest, other than walking the dog for about 30 mins. I am still constantly sore, without improvement. It isn't just one injury that keeps coming back either (thankfully) - it is all the muscles I am working. Is there something I should be doing pre/post work out that I'm not?
I want to be one of those people who can work out 5x a week. I've been seriously committed to exercise for over a year now, but I'm still running into the same soreness, regardless, that tends to bench me for longer than I would like. I usually alternate between doing some 30 min HIIT running and various 30 min to hour workout dvds (Jillian Michaels, for example), every other day. I don't think any of these are particularly hard or uncommon for beginner workouts. I do a typical 5 min warm up and cool down. On the days I don't work out, I rest, other than walking the dog for about 30 mins. I am still constantly sore, without improvement. It isn't just one injury that keeps coming back either (thankfully) - it is all the muscles I am working. Is there something I should be doing pre/post work out that I'm not?
Water\Stretching\Sleep\Protein\BCAAs - You can try upping all of those 1 by 1 in that order to see if your recovery improves.
5 days a week is a lot if you're doing full body every time though. If your going to do full body a M,W,F would work better.
4 days a week you can do a total body split.
Mon - Upper
Tues - Lower
Thurs - Upper
Fri - Lower
Why are you saying soreness but then injury? Those should be two different things. You should be able to workout through soreness (it actually helps recovery)
posted by zephyr_words at 7:17 PM on January 7, 2011
5 days a week is a lot if you're doing full body every time though. If your going to do full body a M,W,F would work better.
4 days a week you can do a total body split.
Mon - Upper
Tues - Lower
Thurs - Upper
Fri - Lower
Why are you saying soreness but then injury? Those should be two different things. You should be able to workout through soreness (it actually helps recovery)
posted by zephyr_words at 7:17 PM on January 7, 2011
Take a week off, drink a lot of water, and come back to it. You'll be fully rested, but not away long enough to lose any aerobic capacity.
When I was determined to win a Biggest Loser contest, but also determined not to drink any less beer, I worked up to swimming four days a week, running *every*day* at least a couple miles at lunch, and riding an hour or two after work. After two weeks of this, I got bogged down with work and a big of soreness, so I took a week off. When I started back up, no soreness, I felt fuckin' G_R_R_R__R__R_E_E_A_T! after each work out, and no worries.
posted by notsnot at 8:08 PM on January 7, 2011
When I was determined to win a Biggest Loser contest, but also determined not to drink any less beer, I worked up to swimming four days a week, running *every*day* at least a couple miles at lunch, and riding an hour or two after work. After two weeks of this, I got bogged down with work and a big of soreness, so I took a week off. When I started back up, no soreness, I felt fuckin' G_R_R_R__R__R_E_E_A_T! after each work out, and no worries.
posted by notsnot at 8:08 PM on January 7, 2011
HIIT isn't hard? It should be. Why are you following it up with a workout vid? HIIT should be making you so exhausted you should be unable to do a 30 minute workout after. I am not sure if the video is cardio or weight lifting or something else, but unless it is stretching you should be done after HIIT.
If the videos are resistance training, is it full body or splits? If it is full body you need a day off in between. If it is a split you need to make sure you are not working the same parts two days in a row. Zephyr gives good advice about this.
Follow Zephyr's advice. Workouts beat up your muscles. Those five things rebuild them. Then, read up a bit more about HIIT and make sure you are doing it properly.
posted by munchingzombie at 8:39 PM on January 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
If the videos are resistance training, is it full body or splits? If it is full body you need a day off in between. If it is a split you need to make sure you are not working the same parts two days in a row. Zephyr gives good advice about this.
Follow Zephyr's advice. Workouts beat up your muscles. Those five things rebuild them. Then, read up a bit more about HIIT and make sure you are doing it properly.
posted by munchingzombie at 8:39 PM on January 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I was sore for about two years basically all the time when I started working out at my current level, and that was coming from an already-high level of fitness. There's nothing wrong with being sore, and it shouldn't prevent you from working out the next day most of the time. If your legs are sore today, concentrate on your arms. If your arms are sore, work your abs. Be flexible.
I also recommend investing in a foam roller (they're pretty cheap) and rolling out before and after working out. It'll feel like agony on sore muscles but sweet sweet agony, and it helps prep you a little bit mobility-wise, which is good both for injury and soreness prevention in my experience.
posted by ch1x0r at 9:16 PM on January 7, 2011
I also recommend investing in a foam roller (they're pretty cheap) and rolling out before and after working out. It'll feel like agony on sore muscles but sweet sweet agony, and it helps prep you a little bit mobility-wise, which is good both for injury and soreness prevention in my experience.
posted by ch1x0r at 9:16 PM on January 7, 2011
I'm training to be a professional athlete. Being sore is the best feeling in the world. It means my muscles are repairing themselves and growing stronger. It means I've been doing work.
However, you do need rest and stretch well. This will reduce your soreness, in addition to benefiting your physical condition. Depending on how sore you are, you may need to take a day or even up to a week off.
From what it sounds like, you probably only need to take a maximum of two or three days off between really intense workouts. As you get in better condition, you won't need to rest as much. It's relative to how hard you work, though.
If you're just running and the like (however intense), protein and pills aren't really necessary. If you're building muscle, you can take a bit to supplement a good dietary plan.
posted by jykmf at 1:34 AM on January 8, 2011
However, you do need rest and stretch well. This will reduce your soreness, in addition to benefiting your physical condition. Depending on how sore you are, you may need to take a day or even up to a week off.
From what it sounds like, you probably only need to take a maximum of two or three days off between really intense workouts. As you get in better condition, you won't need to rest as much. It's relative to how hard you work, though.
If you're just running and the like (however intense), protein and pills aren't really necessary. If you're building muscle, you can take a bit to supplement a good dietary plan.
posted by jykmf at 1:34 AM on January 8, 2011
You might consider the possiblility that you've depleted your sodium and potassium stores. After working out, instead of just drinking water, you could have a gatorade, or if you don't like cups and cups of sugar with your workout, maybe add a bit of salt to some water or juice (a BIT!) and eat a banana. As potassium helps in muscle repair, you might notice a difference!
posted by andreapandrea at 6:53 AM on January 8, 2011
posted by andreapandrea at 6:53 AM on January 8, 2011
Best answer: I second ch1x0r all around.
The foam roller is awesome--it's made all the difference in the world with my consistently tight and sore hamstrings. It's really adaptable, too. You can use it to loosen your legs, your back, ankles/heels, the whole nine.
And as far as being adaptable, see if you can change it up so that if a whole body circuit is too rough, focus on one muscle group one day, another the next, etc. And, I don't know, experiment and see if your HIIT should be on its own day with no additional weight training, or if it should come after or before a day or rest, or not within a few days of the Jillian Michaels, etc., etc.
The other thing that has helped me is mobility stretching in my cooldown. I have a book that outlines a bunch of options, but a quick google search brings up more or less what I mean: this kind of stuff. These seemed silly and extraneous to me at first but I have noticed staying looser and less sore after I workout. I allot a good 15 minutes to my cooldown because I know my body really wants it, but everyone's different.
posted by Rudy Gerner at 6:54 AM on January 8, 2011
The foam roller is awesome--it's made all the difference in the world with my consistently tight and sore hamstrings. It's really adaptable, too. You can use it to loosen your legs, your back, ankles/heels, the whole nine.
And as far as being adaptable, see if you can change it up so that if a whole body circuit is too rough, focus on one muscle group one day, another the next, etc. And, I don't know, experiment and see if your HIIT should be on its own day with no additional weight training, or if it should come after or before a day or rest, or not within a few days of the Jillian Michaels, etc., etc.
The other thing that has helped me is mobility stretching in my cooldown. I have a book that outlines a bunch of options, but a quick google search brings up more or less what I mean: this kind of stuff. These seemed silly and extraneous to me at first but I have noticed staying looser and less sore after I workout. I allot a good 15 minutes to my cooldown because I know my body really wants it, but everyone's different.
posted by Rudy Gerner at 6:54 AM on January 8, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Some folks find a yoga DVD can help them "remember" to stretch.
posted by ldthomps at 7:03 PM on January 7, 2011