Through this year, I’ve gone through this very annoying cycle of wanting to get in shape, doing it regularly (going to the gym, running, walking), but over-doing it to the point where I’m quite sore for many days.
Here’s what I’m trying to do with my routine. This is mostly planned around my work schedule.
Fridays and Sundays I go to the gym, and do core-building excersizes. I also do 15-20 minutes of cardio afteward.
Wednesdays I go for a walk/run; I try to cover about a mile. The road I live on is on the top of a hill, so I go down to the bottom, then come back up. Its .7 miles each way. The first time I attempted this it only took me 15 minutes to complete.
I also stretch regularly. The problem, though is that all this makes my body feel like its being pulled through a rock crusher. I’ve thought that perhaps I’m just doing too much, but I worry that any less isn’t going to really help keep me fit and trim. I’m not trying to look like a bodybuilder here; just fit enough to stay healthy and active. When I first got my gym membership, it came with 5 sessions with a personal trainer. I looked forward to this, hoping it would give me a routine. I liked that I didn’t have to spend a lot of time at the gym- it would be physically hard but not incredibly time consuming.
However those five sessions really did a number to me. And unfortunately, this discomfort really sabotaged my efforts. Feeling really sore kills my desire to go back on the days I promised I would. So I would have these ‘peaks’ and ‘valleys’ where I would work out regularly, get too sore, skip days, and jump back. I’m tired of doing that- I’d rather just get past the ‘too sore to do anything today’ part so doing this regularly starts becoming fun.
Sounds like your mind is in the right spot. Same thing happened to me a few months ago. I had worked out voraciously for many years in my twenties then fell waay out of shape. I went back to the gym on a cycle I wanted to stick with. I became unbelievably sore and it seemed to get worse and worse with every workout. I spoke with a trainer and told her my situation. And she said that my muscles wanted to be back where there originally were, but that I had to go extremely gradual to get them there…We’re talking 15lbs for curls - I felt like a girl in there - no offense just a figure of speech - well in the end it worked, and I regained my former self…although it hurt like hell getting back to where I was. It took a solid 2 months of soreness to get back to feel OKAY working out.
In my experience, soreness after a layoff only lasts about a week. After that, and I have to really bust my ass to get sore (even then, it’s sort of a subtle thing, and I take it as a sign of having had a really good workout). I’m generally able to get back to where I was, pre-layoff (i.e. strength and size) in about a month.
That soreness the first week shouldn’t be debilitating, although it’s natural for it to be pretty noticeable (especially in the legs). If it is so bad you can’t move, you’ve overworked yourself. Give yourself a week or so to recuperate, then try walking the hill - running will come later. If the soreness is merely obvious, but you can get around okay, try taking some advil (which will reduce inflammation). Go easy next time, and see if your body takes the stress a little better.
In addition to this, 2 other points:
- the most important part of getting in shape is nutrition. Make sure you are giving your body the fuel it needs to recuperate and repair. Most importantly, this includes a lot of water (more than you think you need - your urine should be clear).
- If you are going to combine cardio and weights, I’d suggest doing cardio first. After weights, you need to get some food in you (remember that exercise is just the catalyst to get bigger, stronger, et al. It’s during rest that you actually improve).
I think that’s a common pitfall for people trying to get back in shape; they get too ambitious, think it’s harder than it has to be, and lose their motivation.
Some key points are to start slow, even if you, as **Phlosphr ** said, “feel like a girl”. You’re sore because you’re literally tearing your muscles so that new muscle can grow in the space. You should be at least a little bit sore after a good workout, and the first week or two will probably be worse than usual, but if you start light enough, once you get into a routine, you should be fine.
I think I’ll just have to do that then.
One thing that has helped is going with my girlfriend. Now I know some people are on the fence about the idea (half my friends think going to the gym is good, because by making it a social event its easier to be motivated to go. The other half think its a bad idea, because they feel friends will be distracted by each other/not work as hard). However it does make me feel good that instead of us being a couple of couch potatoes on a Friday night, we are working out and going home and making an at least somewhat balanced meal.
On the days that I/we don’t feel like going to the gym, we still try and go for a walk. I know this isn’t the same thing, but its better than being sedentary. We also spend more and more of our time going outside. Going outside and having a picnic with sandwiches and water really feels like a step forward from the more conventional routine of going out to Denny’s and getting a burger, fries and soda, then being so pooped from the meal we just spend the next few hours watching videos at home.