Question: “I haven’t worked out for a long time so I was really sore the next day. How can I avoid this next time?”
Answer: Most likely it was inactivity that left you feeling sore after your work out. If you’re someone who tends to not like to exercise then you aren’t going to like my answer: you need to exercise regularly! Consistency is the key to getting toned, fit and maintaining those changes.
However, our bodies are wonderful at being able to adapt to changes, whether in our activity, caloric intake or environment. In the same manner that we adapt to changes in environmental temperature or weight loss plateaus after being on a certain way of eating for a period of time, our bodies also adapt to exercise moves and this can plateau our fitness level and ability.
It is important not to get stuck in the same workout patterns. Changing up the exercise routine (weight, reps, sequencing, positioning or the entire exercise routine) can hit different muscles in different ways. No matter how “fit” a person thinks or feels they are, a person can always elicit some unused muscle fibers and feel the burn.
Any time I change my routine, I usually end up with sore muscles. (But keep in mind, there is a difference between the discomfort of sore muscles from working out and the pain of an injury related to working out. Discomfort is OK!)
To keep the body guessing and if cardio is what someone prefers, I recommend they switch around on the machines. Don’t stick with just the treadmill or just the elliptical, mix it up. Add in a bike day or a stepper day or the AMT (All Motion Trainer) if your club has one.
If you haven’t worked out with resistance training in a while then start low and go slow. Try low weights, lower repetitions, slower tempo for the moves, and then progress with higher weights and more reps as you become stronger and more fit.
I recommend 2 sets of 10 repetitions for each exercise. Make sure you are hitting each of the major muscle groups starting with legs, then chest, back (upper, middle and lower) and then abs. You can also add in some arm work at the end if you have time (bicep curls, tricep kickbacks).
If you ask a personal trainer to help you develop a program suited to your needs, you can be assured you’re maintaining proper form and preventing injuries.
After you have a program put together do that same program at least twice a week (but no more than 3 times per week) for about 3 weeks, changing nothing. This is your conditioning phase during which your body is learning the basic moves, getting used to it and “adapting” to exercise.
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On your 4th week shake off that adaptation response and start increasing repetitions with a goal of reaching 15-20 repetitions for each exercise. When you can easily do 15-20 reps of each exercise, start increasing the resistance (weights) you are using. This makes the moves harder (increase gradually with small weight changes, of course).
So if you were doing body weight squats for your legs and can easily do 20 reps, you could now take 2 dumbbells of a comfortable, yet challenging weight and hold them on your shoulders or at your sides to increase the difficulty of the squat. This type of program will get you started with building strength and endurance so you can progress to more difficult routines which will eventually aid in fat burning.
Safety first. Always, always, always do at least a 3-5 minute warm up to get the blood flowing to all your muscle groups. Going straight into strength training without an adequate warm up is like taking taffy out of the freezer and expecting it to stretch.
Another point I’d like to bring up is sequencing of exercise. It is NOT recommended to do 30 minutes of cardio first, and then go to your strength training. You need to do the strength training first after your warm up. Then if you have the energy & time and want to do cardio – have at it! Strength training really saps your muscles of the glycogen stores needed for energy and if you use it all up on cardio first you won’t have the strength you need to perform well, maintain proper form and could possibly set yourself up for injury.
Get moving and don’t get comfortable in any one routine. Challenge yourself to try different things – you might just find that you like it!
Next month we’ll discuss more about the effects of exercise on fat burning and how it can help you to achieve a “flat tummy and amazing abs”.
Debbie, RN, Certified Personal Trainer
Lost 83 Pounds!
