working out whilst still sore?

should you workout whilst sore, or should you give your muscles a break to repair themselves?

I don't know the RIGHT answer to this but MY answer is that it is okay to work out while you are sore...I do...it actually helps me get rid of some of my soreness by working out all that lactic acid..

But if you are super sore, maybe still work out but just focus on different muscle groups so you have the change to rest those muscles that are sore.....

Hmm..that is a good question! I hope someone can give you more than what I just did :)

Good luck!

i was just curious if it would affect building my muscle

any takers out there?

It depends on how sore it is.

Sometimes if I'm mildly sore, exercising that muscle group actually relieves the soreness. But if it's sore enough that I have to question whether it's safe or not, I skip the day and hit that group on the next regularly scheduled day. 

if ti is still sore, the muscle hasn't recovered yet. so if you work it again it will hamper the recovery and could cause way to much stress on the muscle.

not just stress, but the muscle has to have time to heal. when you lift you're tearing the muscle which is what causes the soreness. the repair/rest time is when you are actually building muscle. if you don't let it rest then your muscles will not strengthen. the 'down time' is just as important as your lifting.

oh okay, thank you guys so much! just making sure! :)

I think it depends on the level of "soreness".  I too am like fauker1- if its a mild soreness I'll workout - maybe not as intense but I find it does help the soreness go away- now if its too sore to move then I'm gonna listen to my body and not move it.  If you don't feel safe in working it let it rest.  ONly you really know your limits and its good to "work" but don't over work it and risk injury.

I suppose you need to decide if the muscles are sore (i.e. injured) or just stiff from overuse (which does hurt!).  Overused muscles are stiff and painful due to buildup of excess lactic acid.  Gently exercising stiff muscles helps them clear out the buildup so you recover faster.  Anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen or naproxen will also help stiff muscles recover faster. However, continuing to exercise with injuries (torn muscles/sprains, etc.) will only damage the tissues more.

I disagree with bodyscience and jillitina - slight soreness simply tells you the muscle has been put under considerable stress. However, this does not mean you cannot train it. I do three full body workouts a week, and I often will go in for a workout with slight soreness. As others said, working a sore muscle often relieves the soreness (rather counterintuitive).

If it is truly painful, rest a few days.

I just checked out bodyscience's profile - he definitely is the authoritative source in this case. I'm no personal trainer.

However, I must say I've never had trouble training sore muscles - just my two cents.