Need sore pecs gone ASAP for golf outing

[mazeroth]

I haven't lifted in a few years and just got a gym membership. I went in Monday night and did some medium weight sets to failure of every muscle to get my muscles moving again. Two sets of flat bench, two sets of incline bench, curls, squats and shoulder presses. By this point I was very tired. Today, 2 days later, my pecs are KILLING me. I have to golf in an outing tomorrow for work and I can't even swing a club. I did some pec movements for a few minutes to hopefully reduce the lactic acid but that didn't do shit. I tried 400mg of ibuprofen and no go. This isn't good! Any advice on how I can get this soreness gone by mid-day tomorrow?

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Well, to be perfectly honest, the way you went about things wasn't the best idea. You're essentially going to have to live with it. This isn't a result of lactic acid (that barely contributes to temporary fatigue while you're exercising). It's a result of microdamage to your muscles and connective tissue. You have to wait for the body to go through its healing process.

Things to consider in the future: don't go to failure. Set a rep scheme that is difficult, but doesn't bring you to failure. Secondly - bench, bench, and press. You see a problem there? You blew out your chest. Next time, arrange to do a press, a pull (pull-downs, pull-ups, rows, etc), and a major lower body movement. You won't overdo a specific group.

Moral of the story: don't overdo it. If you do, you have to live with the consequences.

 

[Whisper]

What SC said. Although if it helps at all, at least with me, the second day post-workout is generally the worst if I'm going to be sore; day three is usually much better by comparison.

 

[Koing]

Stretching and movement will help make you feel better. Do gently move your shoulders to try and stretch your chest out. The increased blood flow will help you out.

The 400mg of ibuprofen WILL help you feel better. It takes about an hr for it to kick in. Keep taking it and you will feel a huge improvement tomorrow.

Koing

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Do 10 pushups. Always works for me.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Stretching and movement will help make you feel better. Do gently move your shoulders to try and stretch your chest out. The increased blood flow will help you out.

The 400mg of ibuprofen WILL help you feel better. It takes about an hr for it to kick in. Keep taking it and you will feel a huge improvement tomorrow.

Koing

Stretching is frequently a good idea, but research has shown that it doesn't help at all with subjective sensation of soreness. It will prevent further injury if done lightly, but if done too vigorously it can actually cause further muscle tears and damage.

 

[Koing]

Stretching is frequently a good idea, but research has shown that it doesn't help at all with subjective sensation of soreness. It will prevent further injury if done lightly, but if done too vigorously it can actually cause further muscle tears and damage.

Really? I've always felt that some dynamic stretching with light exercises/ moving around has always been good for DOMS, instead of sitting around doing nothing. It may not help you get any better faster but I've always felt better doing something than nothing.

Koing

 

[Kyle]

As far as golfing w/ the soreness...I'd encourage showing up 15+mins early and hit some balls on the range- the first couple dozen swings are prob going to hurt like a bitch, but should get better after that. That's my experience at least- stiff/pain @ start but loosen up after swinging a bit when dealing w/ muscle soreness @ the start of a round.

 

[moonbogg]

Do 10 pushups. Always works for me.

Along these lines. This might sound absolutely insane, but I would go to the gym soon before your golf outing and do a bunch of bench press with a nice full range of motion with a stretch at the bottom. The soreness always vanishes during a workout and stays gone for a good day.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Really? I've always felt that some dynamic stretching with light exercises/ moving around has always been good for DOMS, instead of sitting around doing nothing. It may not help you get any better faster but I've always felt better doing something than nothing.

Koing

Light exercise is alright and may be the one thing that helps reduce DOMS by clearing out inflammatory compounds. Could be that part of it that gets you feeling better 🙂

 

[classy]

Two things you can do. One light excercise and soaking in a warm to very warm tub with about 1-2 lbs of epsom salt for 20 minutes. It really works. Especially if you did it before going to the golf outing.