Muscle soreness

[jenszeze]

Hi everyone, I just joined BB.com today. My goal is to work towards having a six pack. So far I've been following the Body for Life program or the various programs in Oxygen magazine. I eat clean, 99% of time, but do allow myself a cheat day once a week. I also hit the gym usually 5 days a week. I can't seem to shed those last few pounds though. Any advice??

I hit the gym pretty hard the last couple of days and am feeling really sore all over. Is it ok to continue weight training despite extreme muscle soreness??

[CharliC]

Welcome!!

Muscle soreness is a good sign- it indicates that you've done sufficient tissue damage to encourage more muscle growth. You should be giving each muscle group adequate rest time though (at least 48-72 hours) before working it again. Are you doing a split or a full body workout? And what does it look like?

As for why you can't shed the last few pounds, what do your calories look like? It's possible you could be eating too many or even too few.

[Mindi912]

Welcome!!

Muscle soreness is a good sign- it indicates that you've done sufficient tissue damage to encourage more muscle growth. You should be giving each muscle group adequate rest time though (at least 48-72 hours) before working it again. Are you doing a split or a full body workout? And what does it look like?

As for why you can't shed the last few pounds, what do your calories look like? It's possible you could be eating too many or even too few.

Actually sorry to tell you this but soreness has nothing to do with muscle growth.

[Mindi912]

This was taken from a thread about the LACK of DOMS...


Ultimately, tangible progress is the final goal, not necessarily soreness. While it's not necessary to be sore to grow, it is a good indicator of how certain exercises hit certain body parts / muscle groups and that you are using the right training load. It also can be a useful tool for more experienced trainers who know their bodys well.

The more conditioned and experienced you become, you may not always feel DOMs or feel it to high degrees of severity. And the occurance is in part related to your frequency, volume, rep range, exercise selection, and form as well as your muscle conditioning.

Smaller muscle groups tend not to get sore as larger ones and muscle fiber makeup will confound matters. It could be time for you to step back and take a look at your training - increase weight or volume for instance or use different exercises that overload different parts of the ROM.

[Mindi912]

Hi everyone, I just joined BB.com today. My goal is to work towards having a six pack. So far I've been following the Body for Life program or the various programs in Oxygen magazine. I eat clean, 99% of time, but do allow myself a cheat day once a week. I also hit the gym usually 5 days a week. I can't seem to shed those last few pounds though. Any advice??

I hit the gym pretty hard the last couple of days and am feeling really sore all over. Is it ok to continue weight training despite extreme muscle soreness??

As for your last few pounds they are always the hardest to get rid of and won't disappear over night. This game is about being consistent and being in it for long run.

there are no quick and easy way outs, otherwise everyone would be doing it. Just keep at it and it will happen. :)

Depending on the severity of the soreness I would say yeah go for it train through it. If I waited until I wasn't sore anymore till the next time I trained I would hardly train. If you are so much pain that you can't move then I would suggest you take a day off it won't hurt. Don't forget though you do need your rest days - this ensures you grow. :)

[CharliC]

Oops, thanks for the education :D

[Mindi912]

Oops, thanks for the education :D

It's cool - I still like the soreness regardless :D

It does tell me I've worked hard that day. :)

[jenszeze]

Hi, Thanks for the warm welcome.

I lost my motivation for a while, so hadn't been to the gym in about 2 weeks. Just started back on a program this past friday. My current prograim entails an upper body/lower body split.

Upper body: Bench Press, Close Grip Push up, Assisted Pull up, Seated Row, Alternate Shoulder Press, Ball Crunch. (3 sets of 15 reps)

Lower body: Walking lunge, Side lunge, Step up, Stiff legged Deadlift, single leg press, Hanging knee raise. (3 sets of 15 reps)

On weight training days I also try to do between 20-30 min of cardio. I eat approximately 6 small meals a day, each one averages around 300 calories, but that is just a guestimation as I haven't calorie counted, focused more on portion control.