# Bad idea to swim again? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 25, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-idea-to-swim-again/190909 "2003-07-25T16:34:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@Fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fang)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-idea-to-swim-again/190909/1 "2003-07-25T16:34:33Z")
I went swimming yesterday (about half an hour or so) for the first time in almost 2 years. Now my lats (muscles at the juncture between arm and back) are sore, having not really used them to that extent in so long. Is it a bad idea to swim again today? Assuming I can stand the pain of exercising them while they are sore, is there a risk of really injuring myself? ---
**Author:** ![squid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@squid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squid)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-idea-to-swim-again/190909/2 "2003-07-25T16:39:56Z")
My vote would be “go ahead” assuming you swim in a shallow area in case you get cramps. Dr. Phil McCracken ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-idea-to-swim-again/190909/3 "2003-07-25T17:19:47Z")
Moderation. Don`t overdue it or you could spas out some muscles and make matters worse. Go light and if you feel any discomfort - stop. ---
**Author:** ![Nim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/67e7ee/32.png) [@Nim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nim)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-idea-to-swim-again/190909/4 "2003-07-25T17:30:01Z")
You should at least give your muscles a day to rest. If they are still sore, that is because you hurt them. And now is the time that they will be repairing themselves to be stronger than before. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-idea-to-swim-again/190909/5 "2003-07-25T18:11:43Z")
What exactly where you swimming? Were you doing laps or just a bit of back and forth in the pool? Also what were you doing before? Were you doing laps before or just getting into the pool and playing around? If you have just started doing real laps then it’s probably just because you have never done them before. I’ve noticed that if I have never done something before and it involves new muscles they hurt like hell, but if I come back to something, like swimming for me after eight years, I don’t hurt. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, continue to swim, though don’t go hard. If you are looking to swim for fitness you might want to join a US Masters club, they will have work outs for you and you will learn to swim better. Also don’t forget to warm-up and cool down, at least four lenghts of the pool or more. Take long strokes and don’t be trying to set any world records. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-idea-to-swim-again/190909/6 "2003-07-25T19:27:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nim \* > \*\*You should at least give your muscles a day to rest. If they are still sore, that is because you hurt them. And now is the time that they will be repairing themselves to be stronger than before. \*\* This isn’t true. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (a technical term) generally peaks on Day 2 (as I can attest to today from playing Ultimate for a couple of hours on Wednesday). I am a sporadic exerciser these days and am often sore. I find that mild to moderate exercise the next day or two shortens my overall sore time. You won’t hurt yourself as long as you don’t push yourself too hard. ---
**Author:** ![Fang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@Fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fang)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-idea-to-swim-again/190909/7 "2003-07-26T16:42:45Z")
Thanks for the advice guys. I ended up going, for longer but slower, and varied my strokes a little more. Now my muscles actually hurt much less than they did yesterday.