Flintstone wrote:
> I have read a few threads about this (one had 117 posts) and thought I
> would ask if I should exercise when my muscles and joints are aching?
Delayed onset muscle soreness - DOMS - is the feeling you get the day
after you work muscles that are unused to it. The best tonic for that
is hair of the dog that bit you, i.e., do body-weight versions of the
exercises just to move your muscles through the motion. It'll pass in a
day or two (or three) and you can consider it incentive to keep up with
your new weightlifting regimen or you'll get DOMS again.
Aching joints are a bit different. I used to have a lot of aching in my
knees and it wasn't from any specific activity, just being too fat for
the joint. Losing weight was the answer and I just worked through the
ache. The dirty little secret to aching joints is that losing weight is
immensely curative. (I keep seeing fat people getting joint
replacements to cure their pain... but I cured mine by losing 80 pounds.)
But outright joint pain is different. If a specific motion causes your
joint to hurt then stop that motion and ice the joint.
I also had a bad car accident 4 years ago and had a bad back injury
> which causes me a lot of pain if a carry a lot of weight at my front
> ... my gut doesn't help there (what is a good exercise for people with
> lower back problems? I guess squats are ruled out ... reverse crunches
> kill me!)
Someone else needs to answer this. Steve Friedes has come back from
back surgery, IIRC.
> I am aching from my first workout, I created a workout that didn't
> stress my lower back too much which is around 1.5 hours long (maybe I
> should split it up).
A couple of comments on this. You need to not be mean to yourself. If
you set it up so you have to do some herculean effort every time you go
to lift you'll quickly find excuses not to lift. Must better would be
to integrate a chunk of time into your life and THEN up the intensity.
I think 45 minutes of lifting three or four times a week is more than
enough. In your case you're also going to need half an hour of cardio
three or four times a week - on alternate days from weightlifting. This
means you're going to be working out six to eight times a week (with a
rest day.)
Can you fit exercise into your life like this? Can you get it to the
point where you don't argue about doing it any more than you'd argue
about brushing your teeth? Luckily, exercise is a bit addictive and the
benefits create a nice feedback loop, but you still have to do it long
enough to get addicted.
It included (3x10 of each):
>
> Dumbell Bench Press
> Lat Pulldowns
> Bent Over Rows
> Dumbell Curls
> Machine Flyes
> Tricep Pull Downs
That's upper body. You can do that in one day. Add some more shoulder
work. How about dumbbell shoulder presses?
> Leg Curls
> Crunches
> Leg Extensions
> Reverse Crunches
We're not big fans of leg extensions here. I personally like high-bench
step-ups (just hold dumbbells and step onto a platform). Nice for my
glutes and I think it helps my knees.
> As far as equipment I have a stationary bike, balance board, Swiss
> ball, barbell, bent barbell, dumbells and a machine (see
> http://www.triway-sports.de/fitness_shop/Sportbilder/kettler-classic.jpg)
> for a pic.
>
> Is it possible to improve on my workout with the equipment that I have?
The only way I can ride a stationery bike is if I do interval training
on it. It's so very, very boring! But if I'm changing the intensity
every minute I can manage to get through half an hour or so on one.
Besides the boredom issue, you really need to be thinking about cardio
intensity as part of your fat burning plan. You can add intensity to
any cardio activity - just call all out for a minute then do "active
recovery" where you just slow down until you catch your breath and then
ramp it up again.
> I expect quite a long recovery time due to not working out for so long
> and having such high fat content.
You'll be working on this body until the day you die. You can't store
up exercise. It's regular required maintenance.
> My question is simple. In my situation is it okay to exercise when my
> joints are aching?
Again, what kind of aching are we talking about? You sound like you're
mixing up DOMS and joint pain. Be more clear about this.
> I am not talking about doing my routine again whilst
> they am aching because I think that would injure me but how about using
> a stationary bike? Would that be okay if my legs are still aching ...
It's fine to use your bike with DOMS. You'd probably feel better for it.
> the bike is the type that measures my pulse and adjusts itself to keep
> my heart in the target zone.
I don't like those target zones. There's some persistant idea that low
intensity is "fat-burning". No. And there's only something like a 60%
chance that the heart zone it says you have is the heart zone you really
have.
I use a heart rate monitor when laying down an aerobic base for distance
running. When I'm trying to burn fat I do short, intense workouts.
Dally
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