Excercise Dilemna................Advice appreciate

[Leonidas]

See i have this problem. Everytime i excercise no matter if it's calisthenics or weights. My muscles stay sore for about 2 or 3 days or longer, which keeps me from following a schedule and then i dont try again for another 2 weeks or more. I can move as freely and fast as anyone but i still could lose about about 5 or 30 pounds. I dont know my BMI or ideal weight. All i really want is some muskle:D and flexibilty. (God help my relatives when i'm start training seriously. I'm gonna go MA crazy...............Hey bro, let me try a move i just learned in class, it wont hurt much I promise:D). Being the lazy, procrastinator;) that i am, right now i'm trying to figure whats best. Weight, calisthenics, aerobic. Just got a shiny new Bowflex but i dont wanna let it collect dust. Help needed folks

[Apprentice]

There is a chance that you are overtrainning, some of the signs of over trainning are...

SORENESS, fatigue, NO WILL TO EXERCISE ect...


Try working out at a lighter intensity, work at your own pace, no need to try to get ahead of anyone, overtrainning is always less beneficial than proper trainning...

Also, if your not eating right, your muskles :D may not be getting enough carbs/protien to supply them while doing intensive workouts, but either way you should probably decrease the load...if you are new to working out, start out by doing real low intensity so your body gets used to doing work, then gradually build it up, listen to your body, it knows what its talking about...and always remember that you have proper form!!! more important than lifting weights itself(seriously, pushups with proper form are better than bench press without proper form)...

If you work to hard, you wont feel like working out, try this, and you should be able to get on the ball...

Also, proper warm-up is extremly important, if your going into the gym, or hitting up the bo-flex after waking up, or sitting down(any type of non-workout related activity) then your doing yourself more harm there...a good warm up is to get your muscles warmed up(duh) and get em used to doing a little work, warmups should last bout 10min or so, doing some jogging(puts whole body in motion), light light weight(purposely said light twice), or shadowboxing is good to warmup with, if you study an art, practice your forms, not only will you get beter at your forms, but you'll be getting warmed up too(if you do it at a reasonable speed, but start light)...

Cooldown-After a intense workout(which should've decreased gradually)...do some static stretches, like touchin ya toes, stretchin the chest, triceps(all the muscles you worked)...and you'll feel better than if you didn't


Now if that doesn't atleast "Help", then your hopeless:D ...but seriously, it should help...tell me if it does in a few weeks or so...(you'll probably notice help the first day)...

[SevenStar]

What is your current routine? What is your diet like? Also, try eating a couple of banannas. They contain decent amounts of potassium, which is lost during exercise. Lactic acid also builds up, and consequently you become sore.

Do you take a multivitamin? Calcium and magnesium, taken on a steady basis, will help balance the minerals needed for proper muscle contraction. Potassium and sodium also help with this.

[Merryprankster]

There's also the 'just not used to it factor,'

Try pushing through the soreness for a couple of workouts. If you cramp up after doing this, then it's too much. If the soreness eases up, then you probably just need to get used to it.

[Leonidas]

Thats probably the case, the just not used to it issue. 45 minutes on the weight machine. 20 pushups and 30 situps is not overtraining. That's my problem, i can't get enough excercise in to get used to it, my muscles stay tight and sore for 2 days to a week. My diet is fairly good. I'm not a fat slob now, just have a few pounds to loose. like 5 or 30. Thanx for the advice. I'll do push ups and the like first with some running then i'll hit the weights later on. The last time i did weights i got really sore, but on the advice of a pretty fit friend, i tried pushing the weights again 1 day after. After taking the stupid advice i was sore for 2 weeks and pulled a muscle in my forearm(thankfully not serious). Now i learned my lesson, and i listen to my body and not other uninformed people.

[African Tiger]

Water, Water, Water. A little before, a little during, and a whole lot after.

I'm talking at least a gallon a day - conservatively. You should be thinking at least that much after a work out. Try that, and see if you aren't so sore.

BTW - this former Marine just loves your signature. A great big Semper Fi.

[SevenStar]

You don't wanna take in too much water, it screws with your digestion, by diluting stomach acids. I'm not sure what the exact amount required per day to do this is, but if you're saying at least a gallon of water a day, I'd be careful.

[Fish of Fury]

don't you think the water/stomach acid thing is mainly a problem if you drink heaps of H2O just before food?
water is absorbed pretty quickly from the stomach and i don't think it has a lasting impact on stomach acid

[Leonidas]

I've heard about 6-8 glasses a day from numerous health books. They also say that about stomach acid, and that you shouldn't drink during a meal, but 30 minutes before or after (WTF, like anybodies gonna do that). Of course i dont drink even that much and i'm(my kidney's actually) probably gonna pay for it later but hey............ anyhoo, do any of you know any good foods especially for muscle healing/growth and will help you recover faster. I need to switch up my diet anyways. I tried going without meat for a week. I made it 5 and a half days, but i almost went outta my mind or maybe it was all in my mind? (I'm goin' all zen on ya :D). I gotta do it gradually. For now i'm gonna just eat chicken and fish and see in a couple years. Geez i need willpower.

Thanx African Tiger, it's a cool motto

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

i also contribute the "SORENESS, fatigue" to not being used to it and "NO WILL TO EXERCISE" to the sloth that sometimes follows working out when you aint used to it.

hell, i just took a week and a half break (sloth) and got back into my routine this monday. i was sore through every workout until today . . i mean like can barely move and would rather die than go to class but go anyway sore . . and this is just easing back into the same routine that i was used to less than two weeks ago.

i think people take the over-training thing too far. not to say you cant do it or shouldn't be careful, but christ you can't stop working out every time your sore. probably shouldnt lift when you're still real sore but you there is still plenty you can do.

if you are that worried about hurting yourself lifting (legit concern from the sound of it) just do pushups and stuff every day for a week or two, take a day or two off and then start lifting.

or do tons of cardio and do it no matter how sore you are.

[SevenStar]

I can see that, but i dunno... you can get too much of anything (except whoopee, of course :) )

here's something I found about drinking too much water:

Drinking too much water (more than eight, eight-ounce glasses in less than twelve hours), can cause Hyponatremia (not enough sodium in the blood), especially in someone already malnourished or dehydrated. Hyponatremia can cause fluid in the lungs, the brain to swell, nauseousness, vomiting, confusion and even death.

[IronFist]

Dude listen. Alright. If you're getting sore, it's because you're overdoing it. I don't care if you think "no, I'm not." You are. I just took like a 3 month break from lifting weights because this semester was tough as hell, and when I finally went back to the gym the other day, I lifted a light ass weight on bench press, like, rediculously light, for only 2 sets of 5 reps, and I was sore as f*ck the next day. And I had made a special note to lift extra light that day as I have been out for 3 months. I still got sore. As a side note, I was ****ed as hell, but still :)

Now listen, working out is something you have to EASE in to. If 45 minutes on your weight machine is making you sore, then start with 5 minutes. Start with light weights and work your way up, same as you would with anything.

Obviously if you're getting sore (and you're not trying to) you're overdoing something.

So here's my advice:

1. Cut the intensity in half and start from there. Then you can build up higher than you would otherwise.

2. Work up to drinking like a gallon of water per day, and slap anyone who says it interferes with digestion (no offence, SevenStar :p ). btw, that water-intoxication thing doesn't happen until 4 + gallons.

3. Cut the intensity in half (not a scientific measurement)

4. Take a men's multivitamin (no iron)

5. Stretch before and after you work out

6. Cut the intensity and work your way up over the next 2 or 3 weeks.

You can ignore my advice, but then you'll keep getting sore :)

Iron

[Leonidas]

I'm telling you i'm not overdoing it. I just jogged in place for about 2 minutes, did 10 pushups and 30 situps. The soreness has almost pretty much gone away except for the lower part of my abs. I would be f*cked if i couldn't do a 45 minute full-body workout with really light weights. I wouldn't be able to hit through a wet napkin when i finally get to a kwoon. I just gotta get off my lazy a$$, stop worrying like a wuss and just do it. From what i gather from another thread, diet is most important. I gotta work on that too. the good doctor recommended eating properly for the entire month and then one day out of the month you binge, with all the grease and sugar you can shovel down your throat. I'm blabbling now but thanx to everyone who contributed. I'll use the advice wisely

[Robinf]

Diet is highly important, as well as enough sleep and adaptation to the workout (if you're fairly new to working out, then you might get sore--some people don't, though, so it depends on the person).

You said you were stiff as well as sore. Are you stretching enough? You might not be. Try stretching during your workout, inbetween sets (stretch the muscle you're working--not hard, lightly stretch it, don't just sit there resting), and do a full stretching routine at the end.

Also, warming up with a few minutes of cardio is fine, but don't do a full cardio workout before lifting. Weight training should be done before cardio. It lends for a more efficient total workout.

Robin