Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Day-after workout pain

Yakk · 04-23-2004, 12:36 PM

So, I went to the gym for the first time in my life the other day.

I've been swimming every day for 1.5 to 2 months now, and I figured some balance might be a good idea.

Someone was showing me the ropes, so I assume I was doing everything technically right. (or at least, not horribly)

I biked for 10 minutes to warm up, then spent about an hour working on a set of machines (3 or 4 leg, 3 or 4 torso, 3 or 4 arm).

The "torso" workouts tired my arms out, but not my torso: either I wasn't using them right, or the other possibility is my arms are so much weaker than my torso that they failed first.

Afterwards, I did 20 minutes of biking (10 to 15 of it from 70% to 80% of max heart rate), then swam for a km (30 to 35 minutes). I was somewhat stiff while doing the swimming, but after a bit of stretching and some warmup laps, I was going 80% of my full speed.

I did one thing wrong: I didn't stretch nearly enough before doing the workout. Possibly I didn't stretch enough after the workout either: I did some, but I'm not all that good at stretching my arms.

The next day (today), everything was fine, except my left arm. I've got about 30 to 45 degrees of pain-free movement in my elbow. The pain is in my upper arm, the muscles don't like being extended that much.

Meanwhile, my right arm is basically pain-free.

A few questions:
Am I right in thinking I should have stretched more before hand?

What kind of stretching should I be doing to avoid this again?

Should I be pushing against the pain today, or should I let my arm rest in peace? I've been somewhat gently forcing my arm into the edge of the painful area.

Thanks!

04-23-2004, 12:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
Yakk Wehret Den Anfängen! Location: Ontario, Canada	Day-after workout pain So, I went to the gym for the first time in my life the other day. I've been swimming every day for 1.5 to 2 months now, and I figured some balance might be a good idea. Someone was showing me the ropes, so I assume I was doing everything technically right. (or at least, not horribly) I biked for 10 minutes to warm up, then spent about an hour working on a set of machines (3 or 4 leg, 3 or 4 torso, 3 or 4 arm). The "torso" workouts tired my arms out, but not my torso: either I wasn't using them right, or the other possibility is my arms are so much weaker than my torso that they failed first. Afterwards, I did 20 minutes of biking (10 to 15 of it from 70% to 80% of max heart rate), then swam for a km (30 to 35 minutes). I was somewhat stiff while doing the swimming, but after a bit of stretching and some warmup laps, I was going 80% of my full speed. I did one thing wrong: I didn't stretch nearly enough before doing the workout. Possibly I didn't stretch enough after the workout either: I did some, but I'm not all that good at stretching my arms. The next day (today), everything was fine, except my left arm. I've got about 30 to 45 degrees of pain-free movement in my elbow. The pain is in my upper arm, the muscles don't like being extended that much. Meanwhile, my right arm is basically pain-free. A few questions: Am I right in thinking I should have stretched more before hand? What kind of stretching should I be doing to avoid this again? Should I be pushing against the pain today, or should I let my arm rest in peace? I've been somewhat gently forcing my arm into the edge of the painful area. Thanks! __________________ Last edited by JHVH : 10-29-4004 BC at 09:00 PM. Reason: Time for a rest.