Soreness after working out?
I've just started doing half-hour workouts daily by following fitness videos aimed at women, starting soft and getting harder as they go. I am doing them with a friend who has done them before. I have only done 2 so far and my legs are ridiculously sore on the front of my thighs. As in it takes serious effort to get up, walk around and go down stairs. My chest and shoulders/arms are sore too but not as much. I'm not a terrible wimp and it isn't horribly sore, but it is affecting my walking and balance and does hurt noticeably. I am pretty unfit but I am young, and am by no means overweight at all, so it's not like I've done too much too soon. How do you know the difference between "good" and "bad" soreness after a workout? How can I ease it a little? Are there any particular stretches I should do before and/or after to help this?
Why am I sore after stretching?
When you stretch too far, your muscles get micro tears - the same they would get from unusual or intense exercise. When muscle-fibers heal, they sometimes fuse together creating even tougher, less flexible ones. When you stretch before you exercise (dance) take it it easy. After you exercised, you can go a little further. You have to find out through trial-and-error how far you can go without getting sore. Then you will make true flexibility gains.
I am very stiff. How can I be more flexible?
The best way is to stretch every day!! I’m guilty myself of not always doing this. I try to do it if I’m watching TV, then I might as well be stretching. I’ll sit on the ground or stand (depending on the stretch) and watch TV as I do this.Look at this article for different ways to stretch.15 Stretches You Should Do Every Damn DayAlso, just moving more every day will keep your muscles lose and limber. The more we sit, the more our muscles will get stiff.
What muscles should sore after deadlifting?
Okay, I've been deadlifting for nearly 35 years.If you have low back pain. STOP.There is a difference between muscular soreness and muscular skeletal pain.I did deadlifts four days ago and my glutes, hamstrings and quads were sore. Not bad, but enough to let me know I had pushed them a bit. My low back was not sore.I had sciatica when I was in my 20's from doing shit that was insane, because I thought I was invincible and bullet proof. I learned differently. It took me a year to recover. The low back is nothing to mess with. PERIOD. Err on the side of caution or you will be sorry for the rest of your life.From what you said above, I would stop, and evaluate how you are lifting, your form.If you have a low back machine at your gym do some sets on that, and see if you feel the sore muscles working. Look for a machine like below.What you want to do is see if it is muscle soreness or something else. This machine will isolate the muscles to tell you that.Do you use a belt?Do you know you are doing the dead lift in the correct form? If not ask someone to watch you. Try not to round your back but look up at the ceiling when lifting and driving with your buttocks and legs and do not pull solely with your back.I do not do bar dead lifts anymore. I use something like a quad or traps rack like shown below in order to minimize the cantilever stress on my back. The weight stays more in line with your legs.My gym does not have one so I use the seated trap lift station shown below but do it standing straddling the seat facing reversed. I use the lower handles. You can just see one on the inside left of the plate. It is the same movement as the rack above and keeps the weight in line with the leg and not out in front of the body where the low back takes a beating. Unless you are competing in olympic style lifts and getting paid to do it. I would go with what works but puts less wear and tear on the body. The low back usually does not give any indication it is going to blow out. Mine didn’t. Of all places I blew mine out playing volleyball when I jumped and twisted in mid air blocking a spike. My abs wrenched my back causing a herniated disk. I got my abs and back out of balance. I fixed the problem by starting to do dead lifts AFTER I was injured and was pain free. It took about a year to get to that point.
Is it bad if I stretch with really sore muscles?
I am a very, very flexible cheerleader but I went about week with stretching so when I stretched again I got very sore. Keep in mind I push myself very hard, (I'm nearly a Contortionist) so if I stretch my usual way today will I pull a muscle I can't afford to hurt myself but I also can't afford not to stretch? What can I do?
I want to exercise today but i'm sore?
Good for you, making a choice and commitment to become more active! Well, if you are sore, it's because you haven't exercised that much in a while. Basically, your soreness is just your muscles expanding, which is a good thing. They are getting into shape. The more you work out as hard as you did with Wii Active, the more adjusted your body will become to that physical activity, and so you will not be sore. I would keep up that routine so your body adjusts to that kind of exercise, then when you are good and ready, push yourself harder. Even though it is good to keep doing what you did that made you sore, you do need to take breaks. So take it easy today, but not **that** easy. Good luck! Edit: Don't listen to the people above me. -_- They obviously aren't as educated on the subject.
Do you stretch the only muscles you worked or all of your muscles after a workout?
I only stretch muscles that I think are too tight and negatively impacting my mobility. If I’m already flexible enough, I don’t do any additional stretching for a particular muscle.The muscles I stretch, therefore, are my hamstrings, quads, and lower back. I don’t bother with stretching anything else. I just don’t need to be more flexible in other body parts. There’s nothing I do that I need additional pectoral or biceps, etc., flexibility for.For years I put a lot of stock in stretching my muscles thoroughly after and even during workouts. I believed that it would help me increase muscle size and that it was just good for the muscles.Now I think it’s mostly a waste of time for most people. If you’re flexible enough to touch your toes, you don’t have to work on it.
I'm 21 female, have never done strength workouts, and my body is not flexible at all. Can I do pushups, crunches and the like without hurting my body?
You must do strength building exercises. It will cause no problems. You will get stronger. You must also do stretching exercises to improve your flexibility. Improving flexibility is vital to prevent injuries. To give you an overview of exercises and their benefits I am reproducing an article from my website. Please read it:Aerobic, anaerobic and yoga exercises for fitnessHolistically speaking there are 3 dimensions of physical exercises- “Aerobic”, “Anaerobic” & “yoga type or flexibility” exercises. All are important and should be included in a balanced exercise program.“Cardio” or “Aerobic” exercises, like jogging, cycling, etc provide following major benefits:Improve the muscles involved in respiration, to facilitate the flow of air in and out of the lungsStrengthen and enlarge the heart muscle, to improve its pumping efficiency and reduce the resting heart rate, known as aerobic conditioning.Improve blood circulation efficiency and reduce blood pressure.Increase the total number of red blood cells in the body & facilitate transportation of oxygen to cells.Improve mental health, to include stress reduction and lowering the incidence of depression, as well as increased cognitive capacity.“Anaerobic” or strength building exercises like pushups, squats & weight training provide following major benefits:Build & maintain lean muscle mass.Prevent health problems- like low back ache, arthritis, & so on.Increase & maintain bone strength & density.Boost metabolism.Improve posture & appearance.“Flexibility” or “Yoga” type exercises provide the following major benefits:Improve blood circulation- thus increase the blood flow and supply of nutrients to muscles and cartilage.Improve flexibility.Increase range of motion.Reduce physical & mental stress.Alleviate lower backache.Two major principles of exercising are: regularity & variety. These must be obeyed.ConclusionUnderstanding and proper utilization of the 3 dimensions of exercising, viz-aerobic, anaerobic and yoga is vital for balanced and long term fitness.For further tips on fitness please read blogs on my website: nofrillsacademy.com.