Quiet day at the office

[mikekn]

It's another quiet day here - everyone else is out of the office, so I'm left to my own devices.  Mostly, I'm doing some work on a web site for Sonic Tech and pulling together my lists of things to do.

I've visited the gym three times now (well four if you count the visit on Monday where I just talked to them).  The first two workouts were about half an hour on the weight machines and then onto a tredmill or eliptic walker.  The first day had no problems, but the Wednesday really beat up my arms.  I familiar with them being sore after a lot of heavy lifting or something simular, but this was different.  On Thursday, my left arm was almost tender in spots, hurting if I tried to extend it all the way or close it.  I only did the eliptic walker thing (need to figure out their names some day...) and the tredmill that day.  Now today my right arm has joined my left one (which is a little better) in hurting.  I was originally planning to go back today and then take the weekend off, but I think I'll take tonight and Saturday off, and try to go in Sunday morning.

Comments

[braider.livejournal.com]

Make sure to stretch and do some gentle arm exercises in the meantime, and drink lots of water after stretching/exercising.

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

And if it doesn't get better in a reasonable amount of time, see a health professional.

[mikekn]

Also good advice :) Thankfully, they have settled down now.

I'll be speaking with the folks who have been walking me through these first few days and see that they adjust the exercises to avoid a repeat.

[mikekn]

Good advice, thanks!

At this point, they feel much better and I'm looking forward to getting back at it.

[kathy-the-geek.livejournal.com]

As someone who routinely pulls muscles, I recommend you dial back your efforts. You're supposed to feel like you've had a workout, not like every muscle in your body is revolting from the overuse...

Of course, for me this means one sit-up a night rather than two, but we all have our limits... :-)

Or another thought: how about going every other night?

[mydwynter.livejournal.com]

Giving yourself a night or two in between is actually a *way* healthier way to do strength training. You have to allow muscles to heal before you can beat them up again. If you are doing enough weight to hurt, then you should be resting in between. If you do more reps of lighter weight you won't bulk up as much, but you will build more lean muscle. I guess it depends on what your goal is; I don't know, having just jumped in here...
Also stretching does wonders. When I used to do weight training there were some stretches I used to do, especially after leg or arm work. If you want more stretching advice, let me know... I danced, like, 15 years, and I think most of that time I spent stretching out or cooling off...

[mikekn]

Hey there! :)

Yep - planning a day or two in between each session, but it may become something like:
day 1: legs, cardio
day 2: arm, cardio
day 3: cardio
repeat

My main goal is to lose some weight and get in better shape overall (more endurance, better circulation, few knee problems, etc). I don't want to bulk up really, so more reps of lighter weights sounds good.

I could use more stretching advice, especially for my arms. From fencing I know good stretches for my legs, but couldn't come up with anything for my arms.

[mydwynter.livejournal.com]

The proposed routine sounds great! Don't forget to work on your midsection; they are one set of muscles that can always benefit from work. They help you with your back and pretty much everything else.

Well, I'm not exactly sure how well I'll be able to describe the stretches, but I'l try:
One important, simple one is:
Stand in a doorway. Extend one arm out to your side, parallel to the floor, so your forearm is pressing against the doorway. Use the doorway as resistance to push your arm back. You can change your position relative to the doorway to change the stretch. You can roll your arm forward or backward to stretch different parts of your upper arm. I did this against the walls when I did track and field.

Another simple one:
Raise both arms up above your head. Bring your left hand around front, and grab your right elbow. Let your right hand fall down your back. Use your left arm to create resistance pulling to the left and back, and to the left. And you can let both arms, in this same position, come to the front of your body and pull your right arm across your chest with your left. (Obviously, don't forget to reverse it. :) ) (And don't pull TOO hard... ::grin::)

Anyway, you might already know those. The main thing to remember when stretching is to breathe. It's easy to forget, and the more deep breaths you take, *the easier the stretch*, the more oxygen getting to your muscles, the better off and more relaxed you will be. Also, muscles and such take at least 30 seconds to come to a fulll stretch, so try to hold them at a comfortable (but still useful) position as long as you can. Never bounce quickly into and out of a stretch. It's really not good for you.
There are some things I can show you in a few weeks, if you are interested. I'm curious about the leg stretches you did: there is one common one in particular that make cause knee problems if done incorrectly, as it often is.

I definitely can show you at Pennsic...

[mikekn]

Definitely dialing back the effort - at least for the exercises that caused problems. The leg and abs stuff I didn't even notice the next day, while the arms I can still feel (although much better).

I'll probably try and go every night I can, but rotate what I actually do there. Some nights strength training (rotating which muscle groups), some nights just cardio.