On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 extra.memory.RemoveThis@gmail.com wrote:
> I am new to weight training. As expected, after my first work out I was
> sore the next day. My shoulders and upper arm ached. I know this is not
> an injury kind of pain. But it has been 2 days.
When i started lifting, i had exactly this. It doesn't feel like an
injury, and it's also not the kind of warm soreness that you get after
working out really hard - right after the workout, you're fine, but the
next day, ouch, a sort of sharp pain, that's worse when you move. Is that
right? I noticed that i got this not only when i started, but whenever i
added a new exercise, or rather, a new muscle group, to my workout, and
that i stopped getting it a week or two after that. I assume it's related
to your body adapting to working hard, although i have no idea how - maybe
a signal from the cells that maintain your connective tissue saying "Whoa!
Don't do that again until we get ready for this!".
> How long do I wait before I hit the gym again. Should I wait till the
> pain goes away completely or can I go back when I feel I can lift
> weights again. Right now its pretty bad, it hurts even if I bend my
> elbow.
ISTR reading that the pain isn't related to your body's recovery (there's
a study - someone here must have the reference), so i stuck to two days'
recuperation after lifting, despite the pain. I'm still alive, uninjured
(no health issues, Curt!), and lifting happily and without pain. Still,
right at the start, when the pain is worst, i don't think you need to push
yourself too hard - wait it out, and go again when you feel comfortable
about it. That said, i actually found the lifting actually helped get rid
of the pain, although of course it was only temporary.
In fact, in the last week, i've been getting some sort of mild muscular
ache, sort of a tight feeling, in my upper back after lifting, and it
really makes we want to go and do bent-over rows to get rid of it, but i
know that would do me no good at all - lift, eat, lift doesn't work half
as well as lift, eat, rest.
IANAdoctor, though, so if you go back to the gym and you tear your arms
off, don't come running to me.
tom
--
Suspicion Breeds Confidence
>> Stay informed about: muscle pain