Feeling Sore

I've been going to the gym 5-6 days a week (never on Sundays) and I'm getting sore.  I strictly use the therapy pool and work on my legs on M,W, & F and on my arms and upper body on Tu, Th, & Sat.  I've thought about going every other day for a while, but the trainers have told me to work through my pain and come every day.  The therapists say the same thing.  I'm able to walk reasonably well with a cane when I go there in the morning but I can barely move by the evening.  Today I decided to do some stretches rather than just exercising the whole time.  Doing them may be time well spent.  They may be the key to getting past the pain.  I just thought I'd share about this.

By breaking up the workouts between upper and lower body on opposite days, this should give you the rest you need to ensure that you're not overtraining or putting unnecessary strain on your body.  And I agree, you should work through it...however, you need to realize that when working out, pain and soreness are two entirely different issues.  If you're in "pain" I would urge you to use caution and perhaps take an additional day in between to see if that improves anything.  If you're merely "sore", work through it as they suggest...get your muscles warm and stretched and this helps with your building of strength and lean muscle. When working out: Pain = a warning from your body that something is wrong. Sore = a message from your body that it's being challenged in a beneficial, productive way. Unless you're continually dialing up the intensity of your workouts, you should not be sore for prolonged periods of time.  It should subside after a few days a week at most.  Once you gain consistency in your workout sessions and it's no longer a challenge, then you can turn up the intensity...at which time, yeah you guessed it, you're sore again.  It's a cycle that sometimes is a little more enjoyable than others.  Hope you feel better real soon! Cards Fan "NO EXCUSES!  THERE IS NO TOMORROW!  THE TIME IS NOW!"

Ah...but doesn't it feel good to be sore? You know, in a wierd, sadistic kind of WLS-body-freedom kinda way? Maybe it's just me. Sometimes if I don't feel sore by Friday (I work M-Th then do fun exercise on F,S) I feel cheated...like I let myself down. Hmm....I think I'm experiencing some form of addiction transfer toward healthy activity...oh well. Better than Meth, I always say.

No, I don't feel better.  The only reason I joined the gym was to do aquatic exercises.  This was because my shrink wouldn't let me take pain meds that are otherwise ok for WLS patients.  I have arthritis in my knees but a side effect of the meds is to cause depression.  I can't handle that since I'm bi-polar.  So, I'm going for the aquatic exercises to relieve knee pain.  Becoming so sore that I can barely walk seems counterproductive.  If the problem persists, then I will try going every other day for a while.

Jake, I've got a similar approach...I always strive for a little bit of soreness, it's my way of knowing for sure that I've pushed myself just enough to achieve my goals in the gym. If I do not have that soreness, I adjust and push slightly harder. I typically will feel it through the following day after a workout and by the second day, I'm ready to get back to it again. I recently experienced post-workout soreness like I've never had before....WOWZERS!  This was thanks to our friend Dave in Japan talking about sprints.  I added them to my regimen and the result was a painful one...I could hardly walk.  But I'm glad I did this - what an intense way to end a workout and the RUSH from it is incredible!  It's going to stay in my routine for awhile.  But, this kind of soreness.....nope, nope, nope...I don't want to go through that again. Cards Fan "STEP OFF THE SIDELINES AND GET IN THE GAME!"

In my 20's I was a natural body builder with the 'tude 'no pain - no gain.'    Eventually it got to be, holy geezie, how heavy is enough, I spent more time getting cortizone shots than I did in the gym.  Another 'natural' pulled to the side and said, 'why are you killing yourself?'  He personally helped me make the transition from going heavier and heavier to 'right technique - lighter weights - slow deliberate movements - to exhaustion (I could hardly ever do past 3 sets)  The weight training was more enjoyable for me and up until I became 'too busy' to workout I enjoyed it.  When the doc releases me - I'm going to do it the exact same way, 5 days a week, weekends off except for aerobics of some sort.  I'm anxious to see if my 20ish year old muscles are still there!  Yee haw.  The only pain I ever had in working my muscles was good exhaustive pain.  The wrist curls were murder (forearm muscles).  Always stretch.  My 2 cents ain't worth much speaking from the side lines but I can't wait to get back into the game!