How to manage work and muscle soreness and fatigue?

[dawn16]

@kennethkivumbi It's great for doms.

 

[chriatopher]

@ohyoupokedme When I'm lifting weights, 9hrs of sleep is the minimum. If you didn't change your routine you might not be recovering properly

 

[kennethkivumbi]

@chriatopher Thank you for writing this . It doesn’t get spoken enough

 

[kenjisan70]

@kennethkivumbi Not everyone has that body clock, though. I sleep about 7 hours and though I would love for it to be more, that's just what my body does. I'm not proud, I wish I could stay asleep longer. But it works for me.

 

[morgancooper]

@ohyoupokedme It will go away in time. When I was a newbie I made the mistake of waiting for Dom's to fully go away and that would be like 4-5 days, lmaoo. No wonder I wasn't making any progress. I have a 1 day break and then I get back in it the day after. As you warm up and start working those muscles you'll soon realise that the ache-y pain is gone. Rinse and repeat .

 

[irishcanadian402]

@ohyoupokedme Is the workout you’re doing something like a group class? If the moves keep changing around that will make you more sore than something like a consistent lifting routine with progressive overload.

 

[ohyoupokedme]

@irishcanadian402 That makes sense! Yup, it changes every class.

 

[riverrat84]

@ohyoupokedme Stretching / rolling out/ massage gun that night or after class (before you start getting sore).

Classes don't hurt after a while. I used to do doubles and then did triple classes because it stopped making me sore (lol and I thought sore was good since that's what the trainer said).

Manage how much you exercise and when you eat. If you're tired, try eating afterwards. If you're still too tired to concentrate, try moving one session to after work or skip it. It's lots of trial and error until you figure out what works for you. A couple of weeks later, you'll get used to it and you'll probably be able to tinker / up it again.

 

[ohyoupokedme]

@riverrat84 Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[everlastinggift]

@ohyoupokedme If your job is a physical one, then 3 days may be too many at the intensity you are currently at. AMRAP and circuits are very taxing on the body and if your job is also physical, that is also very taxing, and your body does not have enough time to fully recover between your workouts.

My personal suggestion would be, for now, to cut out one day at the gym, and only go 2. Especially as you just started, and assuming you're hitting every muscle group at least once, this should help with that rest and recovery, which are vital for progress. Once you start to feel fine with that, you can look into adding that third day again.

 

[scott4him]

@ohyoupokedme Everyone is mentioning stretching, which is vital. I stretch after the workout and every night before bed.

Also important in nutrition. Make sure you’re drinking something with electrolytes and having some protein and carbs within an hour of working out.

Last, make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Rest is important.

Time will also help. Your body will adjust.

 

[trinitywarrior]

@ohyoupokedme In addition to the other great suggestions here, take a look into active recovery. I find that if I follow up a leg workout or circuit with about 20 minutes of walking, stretching, yoga, something like that, it really helps with DOMS the next day.

I also have really good luck with foam rolling and a percussion massager! I also like magnesium lotion or epsom salts in the bath, and sometimes I'll add CBD ointment into the mix as well.

 

[mandi999]

@trinitywarrior Yes this! The day of my workouts, I try to foam roll and do stretching/yoga. Definitely I notice if I've skipped foam rolling if I lifted heavy. Then the next day I try to get a walk in or more stretching.

 

[knt]

@ohyoupokedme I totally get how hard it can be to manage work and muscle soreness and fatigue. One thing that's really helped me is prioritizing rest and recovery. I know it can be tempting to push through the pain and just keep going, but that can actually backfire and make things worse. So, give yourself permission to rest, take things slow, and listen to your body. Best of luck!

 

[theateam]

@ohyoupokedme As others have said it’s hard to advise without knowing exactly what you’re doing - sounds like boot camp / cross fit etc?

I can tell you that as you go along you will “learn” your body and how to deal with DOMS.

I’m in my 40s and I have to tweak things every so often but what works for me now is Monday: lower body, Tuesday: Pure Barre, Wednesday: rest. Thursday: upper body, Friday: Pure Barre. I sometimes add more in my week, but I only lift twice, and absolutely no high impact cardio.

You can sometimes head muscle soreness off at the pass with yoga, Pilates, etc (hence my PB days) Eppie baths, foam rolling.

For me, the trick is to do this before I’m sore. 24 hours (or less if possible) after my lift works well for me. You might try this the evening of your class and/or the day after, YouTube some yoga/stretching

 

[sun_shine1617]

@ohyoupokedme There is no treatment for muscle soreness (time is the only treatment). But you can get in front of it so that it doesn’t leave you with a lot of swearing when getting out of bed. The best thing you can do is to stop training like a maniac all day errday:

1. Stop training to failure all the time — failure training needs to be used with a purpose if used at all. Instead, train anywhere between 0-5 reps in reserve.
2. Stop doing 10 different exercises for the same muscle group each workout. It's just too much volume. Instead, depending on the workout split you follow, do 1-4 different exercises for the same muscle group per workout.
3. Stop changing your workout routine too often because the novelty factor plays a significant role in kicking your ass.
4. Don’t cram too many eccentric exercises into the same workout (exercises that emphasize the muscle-lengthening portion of the exercise such as Romanian deadlift, good morning, lunge, etc.). Instead, have a nice balance between the eccentric and concentric exercises — a lunge, barbell hip thrust, Romanian deadlift, cable kickback, etc.

P.S. Nutrition, no matter how crappy it may be, cannot make up for poor programming.

 

[grateful4466]

@ohyoupokedme This is normal when you start. It will not be nearly as bad with time!

 

[ohyoupokedme]

@grateful4466 Thanks!!

 

[westt]

@ohyoupokedme I felt that way too when I got into working out more 'hardcore' mode. It took about two months for that feeling to go away and now it refreshes and energizes me. At first though I was DRAGGING and thought I couldn't possibly keep this up. It went away

 

[ohyoupokedme]

@westt I feel this might be the case! It just takes time. I feel very energized but also very sore afterwards lol. I'm hoping that my body gets adjusted soon