Growing My Muscles Has Made Them Sore
Two days ago, to try to get my thigh muscles (quadriceps) to start growing, I did lots of squats, without a weight. It’s probably the first time I have done squats in years. Walking up and down stairs has been the only workout my thigh muscles have had.
( This is not me in the pic, by the way )
I spent about an hour working out. Did lots of bicep curls, chin-ups (well part chin-ups, I still can’t do a full one) and about thirty squats while holding on to the side of my chin-up bar to keep balance.
For the first time ever, I did some bench presses with two 8kg (17.6lb) dumbbells. I did three sets, of six, five then four. Will drop the weights down to 5kg next time so I can get up to 8 to 12 reps.
The next morning, my thigh, arm and chest muscles were a bit stiff. I never thought much of it but by dinner time, I was feeling very sore and sorry for myself.
Today, I’m moving around with great difficulty. I have to hold on to something when I go down stairs and almost had to crawl out of my car.
Last night, I spent several hours searching the internet, looking for the reasons why my muscles were stiff and for methods to ease the pain. (To make matters worse, I fell asleep sitting in front of the computer and woke this morning at 4am with a stiff neck). I came across some good information.
1. The weights I used were too heavy for me. I should only use enough weight to allow me to do between 8 and 12 reps. Then, as I get stronger, increase the weights while keeping the same number of reps.
2. The latest thinking is that the sorness of muscles is caused by the tissues of the muscles being torn or damaged. Which is a good thing, to build muscle. Not by a lactic acid build-up. I also should have stretched and warmed up before the workout. A good growing muscle lesson learnt!
3. There’s not a lot that can be done to lessen the pain of stiff muscles. Suggestions were to soak in a hot bath with epsom salts or something, massage (temporary muscle pain relief), ice packs on the muscle or by doing a gentler form of the same workout that caused the stiff muscles. Time is probably the greatest healer.
I intend on doing my workouts correctly from now on….. I don’t like having stiff muscles.
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