Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Muscle Soreness

Now that I am back into the swing of things with my training, I am discovering one nasty little side effect of it all - muscle soreness. 

Last night my ride to the chiropractor was HARD.  It is actually 17kms, and I had 50 mins to make the trip (which includes around 10-12 sets of traffic lights), which is a fast speed for me.  What I hadn't factored in to the equation was the strong head winds coming off the ocean.  OMG I thought I was going to die.  I couldn't miss my appointment as my hip has been playing up causing pain in my left leg, so I just had to suck it up.

By the time I got there (about 3 minutes late, not too bad) I was completely buggered.  The good thing was that my muscles were so warm that Mark was able to do my adjustments quite easily and I do feel a lot better for it.

But by the time I got home the muscle soreness was seeping in.  My legs were already a little sore from Monday nights walk/run and the hard ride just added to that.  I actually had trouble sleeping last night from the stiffness in my legs.  They are a little easier this morning, but still quite stiff.

I am hoping that this is just because I am starting the training and the soreness will eventually become a thing of the past.  If not, I will need to find a way to deal with it.  I have a walk/run tonight that I will be doing no matter what.  Maybe I will have a hot bath after to try and get some of the stiffness out of them.

Does anyone have any good tips for dealing with or reducing muscle soreness?  I would love to hear them.

xox

5 comments:

Em said...

I knoooow the feeling!! I was so sore after Pump on Saturday that walking up our stairs (I live in a 3 storey townhouse) was murder!!

One of the best things I know is using a foam roller for self myofascial release.

http://muscle-injuries.suite101.com/article.cfm/benefits_of_foam_rolling

Just don't buy a foam roller from Rebel Sport - RIP OFF! It's like $50 for a bit of coloured foam.. I got mine from my old gym (Viva Fitness at Kidman Park) and it was $15!! Same thing, just white plain foam and not fancy blue foam!!

Hope this helps!

Em xo

Anonymous said...

Hot bath, drink lots of water and sleep.....and don't give up. The more you train the less you'll hurt. Give it a couple of weeks and it will get easier. It sounds a bit crappy but it's the price you pay :) The hurt will just turn to fatigue soon and then you know you're working hard! Well done for sucking it up

Deb BC said...

Glucosamine, fish oil. Both apparently make a difference. :) I've started taking them cos of my dicky knee!

Kylie said...

Thanks for the tips everyone. I guess I will have to try different things and see how I go. The aches are easing off now, but I admit, I did cheat and have some nurofen. But this is definitely NOT a habit I want to get into.
The rund for tonight is still on, so I will see how I pull up after that.
xox

Alibongo said...

I always take the advice my Mum used to give me - "a warm bath will fix it"