If I have given myself 2 days rest since I last worked out and I am still sore, is...

[andrew112]

If I have already given myself 2 days rest since I last worked out and I am still sore, is it safe to workout again today?

[scorpio1980]

That usually means you have not given yourself enough nutrition for your muscles to heal. You may need more protein than you are eating. What is your diet like?

[andrew112]

Here is a list of foods that I have eaten in the past 2 weeks (a sample of my diet):

avocadoes, carrots, green leaf lettuce, bananas, quinoa, ground flaxseeds, oranges, lemons, oat bran, zucchini squash, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, orange bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, romaine lettuce (red and green), portabella mushrooms, pears, apples.

Everything I eat is raw, with the exception of quinoa, which I cook. The only beverage I ever drink is purified well (underground) water. I do not think my diet is lacking anything, besides vitamin D. I do take walks on sunny days to get sunlight for vitamin D though.

I get plenty of complete protein (quinoa is a complete protein by itself), good fats (avocadoes, ground flaxseeds, and oat bran), and complex carbohydrates (quinoa).

I may still be sore just because I probably overtrained. I do want to workout again soon though, even if I am still sore. I am eager to improve my repetitions and form for one arm pushups.

[Daffy Duck]

Overtraining could be it. I'd give yourself one more day of rest and then go at it again.

[Mogget]

My trainer loves it when I am still a bit sore at my next workout "Active recovery!" he cries with joy... If you are new to working out you will hurt like the blazes for a bit till you get more used to it, after that your recovery time will way improve. My trainer recommends training again between 24-48 hours.

[joelr]

The general advice in bodybuilding is if you train a body part really hard waiting ~7 days is often the best for full recovery.
That isn't just for bodybuilders though. So if you train chest and tricep on Mon, back/bicep on Tues, legs on Thurs, shoulders on Fri (that's just one example) then you can repeat the process starting on Sun or Mon. Body parts do take up to a week to fully heal.
Assuming you are working out reasonably hard. You can experiment with this concept by trying out one schedule for a month and see if your strength goes up or down and how you generally feel.

Abs and cardio can be done 6 days a week if you like.

For 5 years or so I thought body parts had to be worked 2x weekly, when I found out waiting 7 days could produce more growth I tried it out and the results were amazing. Plus I didn't have to lift as much.

Keep in mind muscles do not grow in the gym. They grow when you are resting and eating/sleeping is as important as working out.
If you are sore the muscles have micro-tears (this always happens from weight lifting) and are in the process of growing back a little stronger.
If you work out before the process is done they will not have the chance to finish and add the extra mass to themselves. It slows up the progress.
It eventually leads to overtraining.
Notice how many people go to the gym 6 days a week, retrain bodyparts 2 or 3x weekly but look the same year in and out. Ironically they may be training too much!?

[MightySunTzu]

Originally Posted by joelr

The general advice in bodybuilding is if you train a body part really hard waiting ~7 days is often the best for full recovery.
......

For 5 years or so I thought body parts had to be worked 2x weekly, when I found out waiting 7 days could produce more growth I tried it out and the results were amazing. Plus I didn't have to lift as much.

Keep in mind muscles do not grow in the gym. They grow when you are resting and eating/sleeping is as important as working out.
If you are sore the muscles have micro-tears (this always happens from weight lifting) and are in the process of growing back a little stronger.
If you work out before the process is done they will not have the chance to finish and add the extra mass to themselves. It slows up the progress.
It eventually leads to overtraining.
Notice how many people go to the gym 6 days a week, retrain bodyparts 2 or 3x weekly but look the same year in and out. Ironically they may be training too much!?

very interesting post joelr. i love life's little ironies!

[ginkgo]

Originally Posted by joelr

The general advice in bodybuilding is if you train a body part really hard waiting ~7 days is often the best for full recovery.
That isn't just for bodybuilders though. So if you train chest and tricep on Mon, back/bicep on Tues, legs on Thurs, shoulders on Fri (that's just one example) then you can repeat the process starting on Sun or Mon. Body parts do take up to a week to fully heal.
Assuming you are working out reasonably hard. You can experiment with this concept by trying out one schedule for a month and see if your strength goes up or down and how you generally feel.

Abs and cardio can be done 6 days a week if you like.

For 5 years or so I thought body parts had to be worked 2x weekly, when I found out waiting 7 days could produce more growth I tried it out and the results were amazing. Plus I didn't have to lift as much.

Keep in mind muscles do not grow in the gym. They grow when you are resting and eating/sleeping is as important as working out.
If you are sore the muscles have micro-tears (this always happens from weight lifting) and are in the process of growing back a little stronger.
If you work out before the process is done they will not have the chance to finish and add the extra mass to themselves. It slows up the progress.
It eventually leads to overtraining.
Notice how many people go to the gym 6 days a week, retrain bodyparts 2 or 3x weekly but look the same year in and out. Ironically they may be training too much!?

I had not heard this before but it sounds good to me especially with your results. Nobody is going to do a study and have 1,000 people resting one day, then 1,000 resting 2 days etc.

In gymnastics team training we trained 5 days a week. Women's event are different. Other than floor exercise and high bar, the others work muscles and I had no increase in strength the whole season. Maybe a little bit. But that was decades ago. They probably do it different today.

I do remember them (mags on bodybuilding) saying that certain exercises work certain muscles but I thought some of it was wrong. Then when they came out with the imaging, it showed that they were wrong and I was right.

[rocksupreme]

Originally Posted by scorpio1980

That usually means you have not given yourself enough nutrition for your muscles to heal. You may need more protein than you are eating. What is your diet like?

Also, keep in mind that there are other forms of recovery besides rest. Active recovery methods like stretching or light sports / walking can be beneficial in mobilizing lactic acid and lubricating muscles so the DOMS goes away faster.

So you could need more rest, and you could also need more (low intensity) movement.

[rocksupreme]

Originally Posted by Daffy Duck

Overtraining could be it. I'd give yourself one more day of rest and then go at it again.

Overtraining could be it, but honestly, very few people will ever come close to genuine overtraining. Real overtraining is a cumulative effect of prolonged and consistent exertion at high levels of intensity. You cannot overtrain from a single workout.

[andrew112]

Originally Posted by rocksupreme

Overtraining could be it, but honestly, very few people will ever come close to genuine overtraining. Real overtraining is a cumulative effect of prolonged and consistent exertion at high levels of intensity. You cannot overtrain from a single workout.

I have overtrained from a single workout before. I was doing hindu squats and was extremely sore for atleast a week after that.

[aggie]

i am no expert...but i love to try different forms of exercise...i have recently discovered "gilad" on fit tv...the man really knows a lot about the physiology of muscle layers and how to work them to the max and make it burn...but also how to stretch them back out.

i have been quivering during some of his work outs and expect to be crippled in the morning and never more than a mild soreness that lets you "feel" the muscles you have worked.

[Jaiysun4]

Hey man.

Make sure you are warming up properly with 5-10 mins cardio then good stretching before, and 5-10 mins stretching after.

Also, maybe try 1/2 sets of warm up weights first, like 12-15 rep level. a good thing to do is to do antagonistic pairs, like biceps then triceps, or chest then back etc alternating reps. When you work the opposite muscle group, it makes the muscles in question recover much faster.

Also, have you ever tried taking L-Glutamine? Its a supplement but completely safe, and really does boost recovery times.

Finally, if you are sore have a quick ice-cold shower when you get home. This really helps to get the lactic acid out, professional boxers/sports people do it all the time.

[rocksupreme]

Originally Posted by andrew112

I have overtrained from a single workout before. I was doing hindu squats and was extremely sore for atleast a week after that.

Soreness is not an indicator of overtraining. Things like general fatigue, reduced immunity, joint pain (in otherwise healthy joints), and disruption of the usual sleep cycle are the most common symptoms of genuine overtraining syndrome. I'd be willing to bet that you have never experienced overtraining, no matter how many hindu squats you did.

What you have experienced is soreness. That's natural and healthy (to an extent). Rest, massage, hot baths, and proper nutrition will help you.

[Daffy Duck]

Here's quite a few articles about overtraining: Bodybuilding.com - Overtraining Articles!

[andrew112]

Well, today I did OAP's again and this time I did a lot better. The other day when I tried it for the first time I did only 1 with each arm, but this time I did 3 in a row with each arm. I then rested and tried it again with my left arm and did 6 in a row! 500% increase from last time?!

Oh yeah, I am only training OAP's btw. I would also like to be able to do one arm pullups, but I can't do one for some reason.... yet.

[danthony]

Originally Posted by andrew112

If I have already given myself 2 days rest since I last worked out and I am still sore, is it safe to workout again today?

To add swimming or a warm bath (at least 20 mins) to your routine. This will help your muscles to soothe and relax naturally. It will also help with the breakdown and growth of muscle, allowing you to rebound quicker and not be as sore. I agree you need a fair amount of protein in your diet in order to rebuild muscle tissue and help with recuperation as well. Also, give your muscles plenty of rest.

[DerekMB]

I try to work out as much as possible. If I'm sore one day, I do what I can to become un-sore. Sometimes all I can do is stretches, but usually I can get by with light excercise. I would say that some kind of movement is the goal, but that you have to balance that with injury (I.e. not doing too much/overexerting). And though the next sentence my sound slightly oxymoronic or contradictory, in my experience some exercise has proven more effective/beneficial in reducing soreness (et. al) that no excercise/just plain resting (although sometimes you need this too)


GL!

[Luis]

Originally Posted by andrew112

If I have already given myself 2 days rest since I last worked out and I am still sore, is it safe to workout again today?

You should be fine, just adjust your exercise and intensity to how you are feeling.