LLL2

After lifting about 100 pounds of so my arms are sore as hell.They been sore for like 3 days now.What can I do to make the soreness go away? That's probably first time I lifted weights in about 6 months.

Arroe

just keep lifting and your muscles won't hurt after a few times.

It's just like playing guitar. Everyone's fingers hurt a ton when they start playing, but once you play for a few days your fingers toughen up and you don't hurt anymore and you can play for hours.

LiLi-CMA

I suggest taking a hot bath to help your muscles relax after your workout. Also be sure to stretch out really, really well before and after lifting.

Soreness is normal but hey, don't push yourself too hard, man. If you start feeling dizzy, lightheaded or nauseas, that's your body's way of saying "Whoa, we can't handle this much yet."

Good luck.

tarvuz

HOt Baths will increase blood circulation which might cause more soreness....maybe..who knows?

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stevie667

Muscle soreness after working out for the first time in a while is normal, albeit annoying.
Have a nice warm bubbly bath and relax, the sorness will dissapear eventually, which means it's time to hit those weights again.

Generally, if the muscle hurts LOTS (you'll know induvidually how much that is) don't lift, as it's likely you've given yourself someone micro-tears in the muscle which need to heal. A little bit of soreness however comes with the territory.

spived2

Soreness is good. It tells your brain that you did some good physical excercise, and provokes your body to want to do some more.
After two or three weeks of lifting, the soreness should be gone by the time you wake up in the mornings. Make sure you drink plenty of water and get good sleep and you shouldn't feel nearly as sore as when you first started out.

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Rodney

This is normal, especially if you haven't lifted in a while and try to go right back to the weights you were pushing before you slacked off. Work up slowly to your old weights, and don't work a particular muscle group until it's stopped hurting from the last time.

LLL2

Ok soreness is gone today,going lift again.

My next question is I heard you suppose to do 3 sets of 10 lifts.Is that true or should I be doing more ?

animal909

i thought muscle soreness was cause by tearing and by the releasing of lactic acid... so wouldn't increaed bloodflow move the lactic acid out of the system? just curious if anyone can answer...

LLL2, there really isnt a written law on how many sets and how many reps you should do... it depends what you are looking for.

stevie667

4/5 sets per body part:

1 warmup set of 15 or so reps

3/4 sets of 10 [+/- 2] (bigger muscles, such as pecs, quads and lats can do with that extra set, smaller muscles such as biceps or posterior delt can go with just the normal amount)

Edit: reps below 8 tend to build strength more than muscle size, 8-12 tend to promote the most muscle growth, and 12 + temd to be more for endurance. Muscle gains can be seen with all rep ranges, just the amount varies. Of course, go with your body, see what works and stick with it.

Seaver

Soreness is caused by two things. First is already listed, it's little tears in your muscles, this is good because it causes your muscles to build more. Second is Lactic acid buildup. This is caused when the muscles arent getting quite enough energy from aerobic means. So they use chemical energy, and the byproduct is lactic acid.

The tears you cant do anything about. Lactic acid buildup though can be worked out of your system. My workout is about 1-1.5 hours of lifting, with anywhere between 20-35min running immediately afterwards. Understand though you want to run at a slower rate (low cardio or fatburn setting on treadmills) so that your muscles dont end up causing more buildup. Run slow enough so that your body can cleans itself without producing more (but fast enough to keep your heartrate up).

Cowman

how many sets/reps you do really depends on your goals/programs..
there's no set amount of what is or isn't right..

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dman2

There is no magic # for reps/sets. Most people stick with the common 3-4 sets at about 6-15 reps. This is the most common workout I have seen and it works. Anything less than 6 is probably not enough. Anything over 15 reps is probably too much.

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Seaver

Sets of 3x5 and 3x10 are good to alternate between. The problem with sticking to one more than a few weeks at a time is your muscles get used to it, and build to it... so you plateau (where you dont gain anymore). By alternating the reps every few weeks you help fight that. Naturally more weight for the less reps.

NCB

4 set would be optimal.

The 1st set should be 10-13 at a low weight
Then increase the weight on sets 2 and three, with three being higher than two. Usually about 5-8 reps per.
The last set should be your max weight. If you can do 2-3 reps on that, you're doing great.
It's also very important to rest for 1 minute in between reps.

Good luck!

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frogza

The number of reps and sets is determined by your goals. Are you training for athletic competition, building bulk, increasing strength or toning? Regardless of your goals you need to incorporate stretching into any routine. This will lower your risk of injury.

thingstodo

If you are still sore after three days you probably over did it. Also, you really need to stretch, especially after lisfting.

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