Are You Sore After Lifting Weights?

BusyMOM — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:43:35 +0000

Are you sore after lifting weights? I’ll go to the gym, have a great workout lifting weights, feel on top of the world and then the next day, I can barely move. I thought I’d do some research to see why that happens exactly. Here’s what I found out:

Working new muscles and using too much weight while still having weak obliques are all prime reasons for back pain or soreness. The spine is a column of bones surrounded by tiny muscles holding it in place. And your core is a like a giant sheath of muscles that stabilize the spine from the front. So, if your core is weak, strength-training could stress the smaller muscles around your spine.

We know that the benefits of resistance weight training are seen quickly. When you follow a disciplined weight training program you will start to feel and look better and of course, you are healthier. But, the real key to benefit from weight training is REST. Muscles become sore after lifting weights because it makes tiny tears in the muscle fibers.

The muscles then need to heal and as they are healing, they are actually growing and becoming bigger and stronger. You really should not lift weights when muscles are sore. At least allow them to fully recover first. Another good tip is to get at least 8 hours of sleep per night. This has proved to be vital to the recovery process and to building more muscle.

When you hear, “no pain, no gain” keep in mind that this is terribly wrong. Lifting too, often actually works against muscle gain since muscles never have time to recover and grow. If you start to experience pain while lifting weights, then stop immediately. It’s good to listen to your body. Pain is warning that you are in danger of injuring yourself if you continue.

So, how do you feel better? It’s simply a matter of patience. With a few days of “actively” resting, the soreness and muscle aches should disappear. But, in the meantime, don’t do anything that would stress or strain your back. You can stretch gently and ice the aches. As your body continues to get stronger, keep in mind that to prevent future muscle soreness you can do some cross-training by swimming and walking.

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Are You Sore After Lifting Weights?

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