Soreness and the next workout

[knightofmalta]

What do you suggest? I just had a great work out monday, today I am still sore from the monday workout. Should I wait till the soreness is gone to work out again or should I work-out through the soreness? I am trying to build muscle mass, I know if i were to workout today it would not be at a top level because of the soreness. Just curious what you guys think and do?

[FFWannabe]

Hey KofM! You might want to wait the extra day to work out anyway. Working the muscles too often can actually cause them to begin to break down. A muscle’s peak strength goes like this… day 1 workout; day 2 minimum strength in recovery; day 3 strength increasing with recovery; day 4 peak strength; day 5 strength begins to dissipate again. Basically if you work out every fourth day, (or twice a week so you can make a schedule… so third day and fourth day) you will be doing yourself a favor and will build muscle quickly. Also, working to technical failure could possibly be the best way to mass and strength gain! A typical person gains approximately 5-8 lbs of muscle in a year with hard work (some gain more, but as much as we would love to add the water and “other” in there… hahaha), working to technical failure allowed me to gain 6 lbs of muscle in four months!! It was awesome! I worked with my coach very closely at this time and we monitored my fat percentage and muscle composition, I lost about 9 lbs of fat in the meantime as well. This was just before my first CPAT and when I got there a few heads turned at the size of my biceps… they grew about 2 inches in these 4 months… it was pretty cool! Hahahaha!!! Just remembering the look on my proctor’s face was the best!!!! :)
I digress…. Haha… Technical failure – you pre-set the reps and find a weight that will allow you to finish the set, but only feel that you can pump out one or two more. The last reps need to be hard, but you should not lose your form at all, no using the back or other muscles to compensate. If it’s too easy… more weight; if it’s too hard…. Less weight!!! You won’t be building a sculpting body builder’s body because you shouldn’t do too many different exercises per body part, but you will build mass and strength!! Excellent!
Sorry, much more info than you asked for…. So to answer your questions…. Wait until tomorrow to work the muscles again… try a nice light cardio workout today! :)

Sue :)

[knightofmalta]

Thanks wannabe, thats what I thought. Extra info was very helpful too. I did do lit cardio today and will work-out again tomorrow. Thanks again for the quick reply, very helpful

[FFWannabe]

My pleasure! :)

[Fitguy51]

One more suggestion would be to stretch at the end of every wookout. This will help prevent some of the muscle soreness.

[xenophon]

My workout routine is definately not for everybody but here is a quick and dirty breakdown that allows plenty of time for recovery.
Day 1: upper body
Day 2: Cardio
Day 3: Lower body
Day 4: Cardio
Day 5: Upper Body
etc etc etc

I keep repeating w/o taking a day off. In the last year Ive dropped a little over 50lbs and 10 inches off waist and chest. I was in good shape before but even better shape now.

[FFWannabe]

My workout routine is definately not for everybody but here is a quick and dirty breakdown that allows plenty of time for recovery.
Day 1: upper body
Day 2: Cardio
Day 3: Lower body
Day 4: Cardio
Day 5: Upper Body
etc etc etc

I keep repeating w/o taking a day off. In the last year Ive dropped a little over 50lbs and 10 inches off waist and chest. I was in good shape before but even better shape now.

You never take a day off??? Are your workouts all heavy, or do you take recovery weeks. I'm always amazed by that, simply because the body's tissue and ability to recover and rebuild does break down over time if you do not let it rest. I make sure to take an easy week at least every 6 weeks, even though it really should be every 4 (85% on the weights and light and less cardio). I do see that you don't do cardio and weights on the same day though, so that might give the muscles a little time to recover, but after a while that's going to be tough on the body!

Sorry, just curious... I work my ass off with each workout, so if I don't take some time off I will die! hahaha!

Sue :)

[hrecruit]

mon- back biceps
tues- chest triceps
weds- legs
thurs- light bicep and tricep workout
fri - off
sat - shoulders
sun - off

got this workout from a personal trainer in my city about 3 years ago gained 50 pounds with this workout and I'am still sore.
everyday of the week. switch excercises up every 3 to 4 weeks.

[FFWannabe]

mon- back biceps
tues- chest triceps
weds- legs
thurs- light bicep and tricep workout
fri - off
sat - shoulders
sun - off

got this workout from a personal trainer in my city about 3 years ago gained 50 pounds with this workout and I'am still sore.
everyday of the week. switch excercises up every 3 to 4 weeks.

That's a great workout hrecruit.. .you're giving the muscles enough time to recover between workouts! Gained 50 lbs, eh? I would die.. hahaha... I worked hard to lose that a few years ago! hahaa! One of those male female differences, I guess! lol!!

Sue :)

[hrecruit]

it is a great workout I was 160 pounds when I started and now I'am 210 and staying right there it's a good weight and I am still really flexible I don't do much cardio but I eat well and play a lot of ice hockey and anything else for that matter.

[FFWannabe]

it is a great workout I was 160 pounds when I started and now I'am 210 and staying right there it's a good weight and I am still really flexible I don't do much cardio but I eat well and play a lot of ice hockey and anything else for that matter.

hahaha... what a coincidence... I was 210 and now I'm 160!! lol!!!

Sue :)

[hrecruit]

hahaha... what a coincidence... I was 210 and now I'm 160!! lol!!!

Sue :)

lol great job sue

[xenophon]

Here is my full workout, mind you its not for the weak of heart.

Day 1: Upper body: Warm up 120 inclined situps, Bench Press (210lbs 4 sets of 10 reps), Wide Lat Pull Down (250lbs 4 sets 10 reps), High Row (250lbs 4 sets 10 reps) Seated Dip (280lbs 4 sets 10 reps) Preacher Curl (90lbs 4 sets 10 reps) Nose Busters (75lbs 4 sets 10 reps) Chest Press (150 lbs 4 sets 10 reps) Lat Flys (180lbs 4 sets 10 reps)

Day 2: Cardio: Warmup 120 inclined situps, 2 miles tredmill at 6.5 mph 2.0% grade

Day 3: Lower Body: Warm Up 120 inclined situps, Single Leg Leg Press (180lbs 4 sets 10 reps each leg) Leg Extensions (150lbs 4 sets 10 reps) Calf Extensions (320lbs 4 sets 10 reps) V-squats (250lbs 4 sets 10 reps) Leg Curls (110 lbs 4 sets 10 reps)

Day 4: Cardio: Warmup 120 inclined situps, 2 miles tredmill at 6.5 mph 2.0% grade

Repeat

[mfdff10]

you will notice everyones workout is different... depending on your own body and the way it reacts to different stress levels. personnal i would never work bi's and back or tris chest because the bicept is the smaller muscle group that aids the back and the tri's aid the chest. in doing this u don't have as much energy to spend on that specific muscle group. some like it this way and works great for them though.
my routine is simple
mon - chest
tues - back and rear delts
wed - legs
thur - shoulders and traps
fri - bi's and tri's
sat and sun off
cardio everyday
abs mon, wed, and fri.

n e questions please feel free to ask.

[ilaff]

What do you suggest? I just had a great work out monday, today I am still sore from the monday workout. Should I wait till the soreness is gone to work out again or should I work-out through the soreness? I am trying to build muscle mass, I know if i were to workout today it would not be at a top level because of the soreness. Just curious what you guys think and do?
Here is my suggestion knightofmalta ...Don't be a workoutaholic. Many beginners train feverishly under the assumption that more is better, especially when results first appear. However, you're much better off easing into the process.At first, your muscles aren't ready to do a lot more than they were doing before-they're ready to do a little more.You increase your chances of success by moderating your activity a little bit. The morning after a workout, you want to feel like you trained, but you don't want to have to crawl to the bathroom. You need fuel in your tank to train hard, and if you don't fill 'er up at breakfast, you'll be running on fumes later. Unless it is the primary focus of your training, do cardio after, not before, you lift weights. Or do it during another part of the day, or better still, on a separate day.As a general rule, strength training has less of an impact on cardio than cardio has on strength training. Stretch before you train, and warm up before you stretch.And don't jump right out of your training mode. Follow with a brief cool-down in which you basically just keep moving for five minutes or so, with another five to 10 minutes of stretching. Recovery is just as important as training. When you lift weights, you're actually tearing down muscle fibers. It's only after you've completed your workout that your muscle tissues begin the rebuilding process. To allow that process to unfold properly, give your body adequate downtime in between workouts. As a beginner, don't lift more than three or four times a week, never work the same muscle group on consecutive days, and never train a muscle group that's still sore from a prior workout.
Good luck!