Muscle pain after exercise

paulineb_2

davholla wrote: »

I have recently started swimming 2-3 times a week.
Would a hot water bottle at night help with the pain I get in my chest and legs?
It is hard to get fit when you are very unfit because there is a thin line between healthy exercise and injuring yourself.

I actually dont agree that theres a thin line between healthy exercise and injuring yourself as long as you look after yourself. Some muscle soreness is to be expected, delayed onset muscle soreness is normal.

I have never stretched after swimming in all the years Ive been swimming, the water bears your weight, its not strenuous, never seen the need to.

Muscle soreness is a good sign after exercise.

davholla

paulineb wrote: »

Muscle soreness is a good sign after exercise.

Yes and no, but as if I go swimming on Monday I can't go again until Thursday because my arms hurt too much - I am not 100% sure I agree.
After all surely the aim is to recover from exercise ASAP so you can do more?

paulineb wrote: »

I have never stretched after swimming in all the years Ive been swimming, the water bears your weight, its not strenuous, never seen the need to.

Thanks for that - I didn't think it was neccessary either but I am in pain after swimming and want to avoid it where possible.

Moto2

davholla wrote: »

Yes and no, but as if I go swimming on Monday I can't go again until Thursday because my arms hurt too much - I am not 100% sure I agree.
After all surely the aim is to recover from exercise ASAP so you can do more?


Thanks for that - I didn't think it was neccessary either but I am in pain after swimming and want to avoid it where possible.

You do need to recover but not before every session
Usually, 2 or 3 sessions then rest, then 2 or 3 more etc.
Even though you're aching and sore, once you start exercising, it'll ease

~Chameleon~

davholla wrote: »

Yes and no, but as if I go swimming on Monday I can't go again until Thursday because my arms hurt too much - I am not 100% sure I agree.
After all surely the aim is to recover from exercise ASAP so you can do more?


Thanks for that - I didn't think it was neccessary either but I am in pain after swimming and want to avoid it where possible.

I think you need to clarify what you mean by pain. There is a world of difference between acute pain caused by injury and the type of aching pain which is normally experienced 24-48hrs post-exercise, even amongst those of us that work out most days. If I don't experience DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) then I don't feel as though I've worked hard enough. This is the sort of pain which has you crawling down the stairs on your bum and using grab rails to get on/off the toilet after a good squat session :rotfl:

davholla

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I think you need to clarify what you mean by pain. There is a world of difference between acute pain caused by injury and the type of aching pain which is normally experienced 24-48hrs post-exercise, even amongst those of us that work out most days. If I don't experience DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) then I don't feel as though I've worked hard enough. This is the sort of pain which has you crawling down the stairs on your bum and using grab rails to get on/off the toilet after a good squat session :rotfl:

I mean pain that makes it difficult to swim but not impossible.

~Chameleon~

davholla wrote: »

I mean pain that makes it difficult to swim but not impossible.

And it's definitely muscular and not in any of your joints? I get acute pain shoulders when swimming due to to a rotator cuff problem which just gets worse if ignored. But muscle pain should ease once you start exercising again and work through it. It's really difficult to describe but it sounds as though what you're experiencing could be normal. If in any doubt or the pain worsens during exercise then please seek advice from your GP or a physio.

paulineb_2

Sometimes I do classes when I'm still sore from the one I did the day before or two days before. You get used to doms after a while.

Vicky123

I get chest pain after upper body exercise, it worries me.
I have a lot of palpitations, extra heart beats, been checked with a overnight ECG and found normal but in all honesty I didn't have the palpitations at the specific time of wearing the monitor.
How do I know if the pain is just muscular, it's a tightening feeling, no shortage of breath though, doesn't happen with treadmill or even multigym but swimming or sit ups and I instantly feel quite severe pain.

Danjames

Hi there, sorry I have only just seen this thread. I would recommend you don't use a hot water bottle and actually ice your muscles that are consistently sore. The theory is that the cold shrinks your blood vessels and tendons and the blood from the sore area drains out. When you remove the ice and your vessels return to normal size the muscles are invigorated with 'new blood' carrying fresh oxygen to aid recovery and help it recover faster. it would be interesting to know what swimming you are doing for it to strain yuor muscles so badly? Strokes, number of lengths without stopping and time in the pool?

heartbreak_star

paulineb wrote: »

I have never stretched after swimming in all the years Ive been swimming, the water bears your weight, its not strenuous, never seen the need to.

If you swim hard it can be strenuous and I've always found that swimming kills my flexibility for some reason and I can't afford to lose my splits so I stretch afterwards...and have found I don't get sore when I stretch. Mind you, I don't swim that often.

HBS x