Achy Muscles

Content provided by:

Q: I'm on a health kick—trying to eat better and exercise regularly. But I overdid it with lunges and my legs are terribly sore. Should I take a day off? How should I handle the aftereffects of hard workouts in the future?

A: An inevitable part of starting an exercise program is getting in touch with body parts you never knew existed.

Your soreness may vary, since different types of training produce different effects. For example, a long cardio workout like walking, or time on the elliptical trainer—both of which use many muscle groups without trying to over-fatigue any one group—is less likely to make you sore than weight training or weight-free calisthenics workouts that aim to work specific muscles until they are fatigued.

But any type of exercise preceded by an inadequate warm-up a sudden increase in exercise intensity or a big jump in the amount of time or number of sets you do can overtax your body. And certain “eccentric” movements where you lengthen a muscle against some sort of resistance, usually gravity—such as when walking downstairs or running downhill, or during the lowering, or return phase, of a weight-lifting movement—are more likely to make you sore.

Some people think that feeling achy and stiff the next day is a good sign of a worthwhile workout. But if your muscles actually hurt, or if you can't move well the next day, you overdid it, plain and simple.

Too much pummeling can even be dangerous. A 2003 case study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that some personal trainers can overwork their clients enough to jeopardize their health. One 22-year old woman who exercised regularly—running about five miles a day and lifting weights—was pushed to do an overly strenuous weight-training session. Although she complained that her legs were shaking from fatigue and said that she wanted to stop, the trainer urged her to continue. Two days later, her soreness was severe and a pain in her torso drove her to seek emergency medical help. She was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a condition where muscle breakdown can cause kidney failure.

In another incident, a 37-year old doctor who exercised intermittently met with a new trainer who coached him through three sets of four exercises for every single body part—all on his first day. (Normally, a beginner might do one set of one exercise per body part.) The client vomited after the workout and was so sore that he did not exercise for an entire week. When he returned, the trainer put him through the same grueling routine. The next day the doctor was unable to bend his arms. The following day his urine grew dark, which he recognized this as a sign of kidney problems. He sought medical treatment.

It's unlikely that average exercisers would push themselves hard enough to incur this type of damage without a coach or instructor egging them on. But beginners or regular exercisers who start a new type of exercise can overdo it without realizing it—especially if you get caught up in the exhilaration of the workout or become distracted as to how your body feels.

Before your workout: Planning a body-friendly routine
The good news is that the fitter you get, the harder you can work out: Stronger muscles and a fitter body allow you to handle more stress. A good rule of thumb to get fitter and protect yourself during workouts is to follow general guidelines for cardio and weight training. Generally you should do one to three sets of eight to 15 repetitions of a weighted exercise with a rest day in between, and start with 10 to 15 minutes of cardio on most days of the week, working up to 30 to 90 minutes, depending upon your goals. If you're just starting out, or you're fit but starting a new activity, stick to the lower end of the guidelines-modifying if needed. That might mean walking for a mere five minutes, and doing only one set of six repetitions of an exercise using no weight or a very light weight.

Increase how much you do very gradually over weeks and months. Although it's better to stretch after a workout rather than before, you should always warm up before working out and cool down gradually afterward. If you try to go that extra mile, increase your time, intensity or speed by no more than 5 percent to 10 percent per week.

During your workout: Listen up
If you feel pain in joints or muscles or as if your muscles are giving out, stop or modify what you are doing. Don't ignore blisters, joint soreness, foot fatigue, twinges in your back or knees, or lungs that huff and puff too hard. If nothing specific hurts but you feel fatigued overall or if your limbs feel sluggish and heavy, you may need more water or you may need to fuel your muscles by eating something or drinking a sports drink.

After your workout: Your soreness Rx
So what to do if you do get sore?

Move a little. When you find yourself feeling stiff and tender the day or two after a workout, your first inclination is to lie low. But an active recovery doing light exercise such as walking may be the better solution. University of Massachusetts researchers had subjects do two strenuous sets of 25 biceps curls with a heavy weight. For the next few days, half the group then had their arm immobilized in a cast. The other half performed easy arm moves instead, doing gentle curls with a light dumbbell. The group who completely rested felt the sorest. It appears that light movement improved blood flow to the over-trained muscles and helped to avoid soreness

Catch up on your sleep. Getting eight hours or more of rejuvenating shut-eye helps muscles mend from the nighttime releases of growth hormone and other biochemicals. A chronic lack of sleep, on the other hand, can leave you more prone to injury and slower to heal.

Pamper yourself. Although you can't massage away soreness, a rubdown may make you temporarily feel better.

Stay tuned. Keep an eye on aches. They can lessen during a workout, but that doesn't mean they're healed. If you have recurring pains in the same place, modify or stop elements in your workout that may be exacerbating the problem. If your aches don't start to dissipate within 48 hours, you may have injured yourself, so go see a doctor or physical therapist.

Find More from Martica:

Find all articles by Martica.

Do you have a fitness or weight-loss question for Martica? Send e-mail to experts@microsoft.com. Please include Ask Martica in the subject line. Each of our experts responds to one question each week and the responses are posted on Mondays on MSN Health. We regret that we cannot provide a personalized response to every submission.

Martica is a Manhattan-based exercise physiologist and nutritionist and an award-winning fitness instructor. She has written for a variety of publications including Self , Health , Prevention , The New York Times and others. Martica is the author of seven books, including her latest, - Cross-Training for Dummies . (Read her full bio.)