Ouch! Should it hurt so much?

Random

Doing some resistance training lately having never really done it before. Things like vertical traction machine, leg curl, leg press, chest press.

I didn't go for 2 weeks. I went in on Saturday and did a session.

I'm still feeling the pain now nearly 3 days later. My arms physically hurt. Sorta feels like I need to stretch but stretching doesn't do anything.

Is this normal? Does it just mean it's working and my body is adapting? Or? Any thoughts?

Thanks

Pugsley

3 days is pretty bad, but it just sounds like really bad DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), happens when you take a break for a while and then go at it full pelt, next session should be much less painful. I find with DOMS if you do a light set on the muscles that still hurt a day or 2 later it clears it right up.

dioltas

Probably just because you're starting out aswell. After a few weeks you probably won't feel sore after a weights session.

g'em

DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness) can hit pretty badly after an absence in the gym, but it's simply a result of your muscle tissue being torn down in training. You can do some active recovery (very light listing and stretching) to encourage blood flow to the affected areas which should help speed up recovery time. And yes, as you keep training your body will adapt and you'll feel pain less and less, but be mindful to stay aware of when the pain is simply muscle soreness and when there could be something more serious going on.

Generally speaking DOMS take around 24-48 hours to kick in, and depending on the severity they can last for up to 4 days or so. You should find that it eases pretty fast though, if it just gets worse you might want to look into it a bit more.

N00b2fitness

Personally speaking, I find that DOMS are one of the most rewarding things about going to the gym, provided they don't keep you out of action for too long. There is nothing like having a totally destroyed upper body a couple of days after doing some weights. You press your finger into every part of your upper body (where you didn't know you had muscle at all) to find out that it's sore and destroyed which tells me I did a good job.

The mistake I used to make would be to let DOMS keep me out of the gym. Now I will just do some cardio when I'm destroyed with them. Even jogging can be agony when you have upper body DOMS but if you tough it out for about 5 minutes you get over it. Nothing like the feeling of going back after a break, working your ass off and getting the pain 2 days later.

Is that a bit perverse?

Fatloss08

yes

bob04

gotta love the DOMS

No pain, no gain....

Oryx

I like doms. It means Ive been working hard.:p As mentioned, light stretching or easy cardio helps me ease it.

Khannie

I'm also a doms fan. Lets me know that I've pushed myself.

J.S. Pill

I could barely lift my arms above my shoulders today

Now I know how John McCain feels

CoachBoone

This worries me. I don't really get Doms. Well not in my upper body workouts anyway. I might get them sometimes in my legs.

Does this mean I'm not working hard enough?

bob04

CoachBoone wrote: »

This worries me. I don't really get Doms. Well not in my upper body workouts anyway. I might get them sometimes in my legs.

Does this mean I'm not working hard enough?

mmm, not necessarily

However, I, like many would use it as an indication of how hard i worked out.

you know if you are working hard enough by your results, have a look in the mirror, that should give you an indication of how hard you are working