Recovery Time

[MrEgo]

I did a slightly harder than normal routine on my calves on Sunday, and they're still somewhat sore today.. the lactic acid feeling. Is it best to wait until that soreness wears off, or is it really a judgement call?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I did a slightly harder than normal routine on my calves on Sunday, and they're still somewhat sore today.. the lactic acid feeling. Is it best to wait until that soreness wears off, or is it really a judgement call?

Firstly, I'd like to mention lactic acid doesn't and never has caused soreness. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is caused by a lot of things, but mainly from inflammation and microtears in the muscle fibers and connective tissue. Lactic acid has nothing to do with soreness or even the burn you feel while exercising.

And essentially, it's a judgment call. You seem to be doing a body part split, which inherently maintains soreness throughout the program. If you lift for a given body part every other day for a week, your body will adapt and you will not feel nearly as sore as you do with lifting for a given part once a week. That's why individuals on full-body programs lifting 3x a week tend to complain about soreness much less than those on bodybuilding splits.

 

[surfsatwerk]

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online...amp_chalk_vol_7_jim_wendler_talks_big_weights

TN: I always get a kick out of reading about Dave Tate's laundry list of injuries. The fact that he can be so beat up and still kick so much ass is inspiring. Lately, I've been dealing with a shoulder impingement and a lower back that gives out about once every four weeks. What advice do you have regarding training around injuries?
JW: Your back gives out monthly? Have you considered switching from oral contraception to an IUD?
Sorry, not trying to call you a pussy or anything (okay, I am), it's just that your injury list sounds like a typical powerlifter on a GREAT day. If you're looking for sympathy from me, you're going to be seriously disappointed.
Here's the deal: there's a difference between being hurt and being injured. You sound like you're injured. Boo hoo. I'm injured too, but I wish I had your monthly menstrual-like injury problems: I have a shoulder that's so messed up it hurts to even think about jerking off, and as of yesterday, a gimp hamstring. So I'm limping around with a dead arm to boot; I feel like I've been playing football again.
Now it's easy for you and me to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves; it seems that this is very common amongst people of the world. But since I live and breathe training, I can't imagine sitting on my ass for months and just wait for it to get better. Nope. And I'm not going to resort to some pussy workouts, either. I may be injured, but I'm not hurt.
So what's a man to do? Grow a proper set of nuts and train what is trainable. I learned this from the nomadic strength coach, Buddy Morris (now at the University of Pittsburgh) and it's stuck with me to this day. So instead of completely ignoring my upper body (or now, my lower body), I put myself through some tests to see what I possibly COULD do. This allowed me to focus on something positive, as opposed to the usual pissing and moaning.
So with my ridiculously screwed shoulder, I can do the following:
• Chin Ups/Pull Ups
• Rows (of various types)
• Alternating DB upright rows (barbells and cables seem to hurt, but this variation is completely pain free)
• Triceps Pushdowns
Now my hamstring injury is relatively new so I'm not sure what my limits are, but I'll test them out today. I know I can't deadlift or clean (and barbell rows might be out), but I can do bodyweight squats with no pain, so that might be in the cards for me.
I won't be able to run hills, but I can walk, so weighted vest work is not out of the question. I'm not sure about the Prowler, but who knows? I'll test it out. I might be able to walk up and down steps with the weighted vest for conditioning work, and I'll likely be able to do leg extensions, too. Of course, ab work is always an option. I may be injured, but I'm not hurt.
Whatever the case, you have to find and experiment with exercises that you CAN do without aggravating the existing injury, and then do them with the same intensity and balls that you approach the "big ones" with. In other words, you have to keep the motivation and the importance in the training. Being injured is not an excuse to trade in your training log for a sweater vest and a walker. There are guys training in the gym who are missing limbs or don't have the use of their legs; what the hell was your excuse again? Your shoulder bothers you?
I'm still a realist and believe in resting injuries until they're healed; there's no point to beating a worn out joint or muscle. But I'm not a fan of sitting on the sidelines and falling victim to the usual woe-is-me trap of self-pity, ice cream, and reruns of House (how bad has that show become over the years?).
So learn the difference between injured and hurt. If you have something that's injured, train what's trainable. Attack it with the same attitude and mentality as you would a squat workout.
Let me rephrase that: Attack it with the same attitude and mentality as you should attack a squat workout.

Granted this may be a bit of an intense response, depending upon your specific goals.

 

[MrEgo]

Firstly, I'd like to mention lactic acid doesn't and never has caused soreness. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is caused by a lot of things, but mainly from inflammation and microtears in the muscle fibers and connective tissue. Lactic acid has nothing to do with soreness or even the burn you feel while exercising.

And essentially, it's a judgment call. You seem to be doing a body part split, which inherently maintains soreness throughout the program. If you lift for a given body part every other day for a week, your body will adapt and you will not feel nearly as sore as you do with lifting for a given part once a week. That's why individuals on full-body programs lifting 3x a week tend to complain about soreness much less than those on bodybuilding splits.

So lifting while you're feeling the DOMS is still ok?

Typically, I will do upper body workouts every 3 days, and I'll do lower body workouts every 3 days. My calves are sore because I changed my reps per set on the calf machine that I normally use, and I did my reps very slow and controlled.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

So lifting while you're feeling the DOMS is still ok?

Typically, I will do upper body workouts every 3 days, and I'll do lower body workouts every 3 days. My calves are sore because I changed my reps per set on the calf machine that I normally use, and I did my reps very slow and controlled.

Yes, it's fine if you feel decent after a proper warm-up. If you feel pain at any point then you just need to call it a day though.

 

[MrEgo]

Yes, it's fine if you feel decent after a proper warm-up. If you feel pain at any point then you just need to call it a day though.

When you say pain, you mean a different feeling than soreness, right? I consider DOMS as sore, and something like tendonitis as pain (as an example).

 

[SociallyChallenged]

When you say pain, you mean a different feeling than soreness, right? I consider DOMS as sore, and something like tendonitis as pain (as an example).

Well, I mean, if you feel a painful level of soreness AFTER warming up, you shouldn't really increase the weight. If you're sore, that's ok. If it hurts to be sore, then that's not ok.