how do i stop my arms from hurting? ..and other muscles..

after a good workout, i feel fine for the rest of that day, but the next day i feel it in my muscles. today, im really feeling it in my arms. how can i prevent this, and how can i help make it easier for me when i do get the muscle pain?

I've got a couple of things that I've found work for me:

Be sure to watch your form and go down and up slowly and in a controlled manner - jerking the weight around does more damage than good. Drink plenty of water to keep your muscles flushed of the lactic acid. Some good stretching after you're done can help, too. If it's really bad, soaking in a hot bath can help - or I've even popped an ibuprofen if it gets really uncomfortable (I can't stand it when my neck is all hopped up).

To add.... You can put a cup of Epsom salt in that bath and soak for at least 20 minutes at as hot as you can stand it (that's what i did the day after doing 75 weighted lunges!). Make sure you are eating a good balanced diet with plenty of veggies and whole grains too, supposidly those are supposed to help with the aches associated with lifting. Good luck..............and keep it up. I don't know if you just started, but after a while you won't be nearly as sore as you are now. Not saying that it'll be completely pain free but if you stick with it, you should grow to look forward to those aches......at least I do.

I don't know if this remedy works for what you are asking, but it can't hurt. I've used it right after a strenuous workout and my physiotherapist recommended to mix 1 tsp baking soda in a glass of water and drink right after the workout. According to her, it helps with the lactic acid buildup.

The one time I used it, it was because my legs felt like Jell-O after a workout and it did the trick.

Hope it helps.

For me, drinking lots of water, having proper form, stretching afterwards and eating an adequate amount of daily protein (from both animal and plant sources) works best.

thanks guys! i did some weight training for a little while, then stopped for like a week. when i got back to the gym i was able to lift heavier weights and do the same amount of reps with no problem or muscle weakness so i did some more until i "felt the burn" and i paid for it this morning. lactic acid....ive heard of that before and how it causes pain when it builds up, but i dont know much about it. ill be sure to drink more water and try to add more of a variety of veggies to what i eat. and more stretching for sure. stretching is always good.

thanks again guys!
im going to pop some acetaminophen/ibuprofen (sp?) for now and head down to the gym when my arms are able to take it. hopefully soon enough because i feel lazy already for not going to the gym for like a week.

my Exercise Science class had some info on lactic acid and delayed onset of muscle pain. Lactic acid levels deplete fairly quickly, so pain felt days later (sometimes the pain lasts for 2-3 days) cannot be fully explained by lactic acid. The newest theory is this...

Deep fascia (soft tissue around separate/individual muscles) divide your separate/individual muscles into sections. Inside those sections is your muscle, made up of all those cells. ...When you exercise, you are tearing small muscle fibers and your body wants to build it back up and reinforce it and make the size of the fibers bigger (think bigger/stronger muscle fibers = bigger/stronger muscles). When your body is doing this "building up and reinforcing", the cells are swelling inside their section. The swelling puts pressure on the nerves as well as the arteries and causes the pain you feel usually the day after (or the next day after that) strenuous exercise and lasting up to around 3 days.

again, this is just what we learned in my grade 12 exercise science class, so if im wrong, either i need to do some more studying or the book has an error (wouldnt be the first time ive seen a high school text book with mistakes)! lol

but if im right, thats just your body making you a stronger person!

Original Post by fightergirl:

again, this is just what we learned in my grade 12 exercise science class, so if im wrong, either i need to do some more studying or the book has an error (wouldnt be the first time ive seen a high school text book with mistakes)! lol

but if im right, thats just your body making you a stronger person!

 Take a peak at any math text book with answers in the back.  I'd say about 2%-3% of the answers listed are wrong.  Figuring a book with 2000 listed answers, thats 40-60 mistakes.

yeah, math books are bad for that, lol. always the teachers pet or the kid that wants to seem smart who points out the error of the book. everyone else who notices it stays quiet so as not to bring attention to the fact that they're peaking at the back before they are supposed to (for correcting your own work when youre done, because apparently thats not part of the teachers job description anymore {a joke, in case ure a teacher and get offended lol})

In any case, yep, that would be correct - to the best of our current understanding DOMS has nothing whatsoever to do with lactic acid buildup in the muscles.

 'Course, the key word "current understanding" is important to note, but it's uncontroversial enough in exercise physiology to be included as fact in a high school text book.

"Pain is weakness leaving the body"....that and you are really working your muscles out so keep it up. To ease the intensity of the next day make sure you warm up and stretch before and after the workout.

also, it will help (if you workout daily) to work out different muscles each day. especially with weights, give your body a 48-hour recharge period to rebuild the muscle you've broken down, or else you're likely to hurt yourself and increase the muscle fatigue of which you speak. i'm surprised no one else mentioned this. there are countless articles on the web to support this, but here is the first link i found: http://healthresources.caremark.com/topic/top ic13893

hope that helps.

What your feeling is pretty natural if you're not used to regular exercise.  Just remember to warm up correctly, don't forget to stretch and drink enough water.  Once your body adjusts to the regular exercise you will not feel this soreness as much, if at all!

Don't use this as an excuse not to do more exercise, if you've had a days rest then you can get back to the gym even if you are a little sore.  Worst case scenario you can have a paracetamol but DON'T make this a regular thing.

The best way for me to get over the soreness is for me to use the muscles that are sore - do some cardio and stretching - get yourself moving and  you might find the soreness is much more bearable! Nothing could be worse for you than laying around and complaining about it!

The more you work out, the less often you will get sore. The sore muscles just aren't used to all this action yet. So it will get better soon!

I'm just a girl, and as my brother told me I know nothing about weight training, but I helped him put on some muscle mass with my few tricks.

1.) I don't work that part out so much. As you break down the muscle the growth in the muscle really comes from it's repair. Making muscles grow is all about breaking it down so it can repair it's self. Not only that, you need that protein to help with the repair. It's always good to have a little after a workout, and really before.

2.) When you break down the muscle tissue, you need to give it an rest day. I mean really. If you are breaking them down for more than 2 days at a time, then you are really hurting that tissue of the muscle deeper, and you can really suffer from that.

3.) Everyone wants to jump to the big guns... (WEIGHTS/FREE WEIGHTS) More than what they can lift.. It's good to work your way up to the big guns, or should I say the bulker men's toys.

BUT I'm just a girl, don't  get mad at me... I'm just saying.. You could be doing it too much and the muscle isn't getting a chance to repair during a 2 day rest.

To many reps- the way you lift and not enough protein, all these things can add up to your sore arms....

I get in the tub of hot water and epsonsalt, and I soak the soreness out..

Lynn

Make sure you're getting enough electrolytes.  One of the most common reasons for extended soreness is lack of potassium, so eat something with a lot in it - potatoes and bananas are both good, or you can take a multivitamin.  Stretch before and after you exercise.  And read everyone else's ideas too :D

Original Post by lionpaw:

Make sure you're getting enough electrolytes.  One of the most common reasons for extended soreness is lack of potassium, so eat something with a lot in it - potatoes and bananas are both good, or you can take a multivitamin.  Stretch before and after you exercise.  And read everyone else's ideas too :D

 I 4got about the electrolytes. I give myself an banana protein shake as well..
1 scoop of whey, milk 2% or skim, and I add just a little of flaxseed oil. Blend it all with a blender, and I enjoy my smoothie type protein drink.