Pay
Attention to Pain and Soreness
By Chad Tackett, President of GHF
When any workout or specific exercise causes you pain,
pay attention. Knowing how to react can help you avoid a
serious injury. Strength training can cause several types
of pain including:
Muscle Soreness
When you use muscles you have not used for a while or
try a new exercise or training technique, it is normal to
feel a dull ache of soreness in the muscles that were trained.
This pain is caused by microscopic tears in the fibers of
the connective tissues in your body--the ligaments that
connect bones to other bones, and the tendons that connect
muscles to bones.
This microtrauma may sound harmful but is in fact the natural
response of your muscles when they experience work. This
is the primary reason it is so important that you get enough
rest between specific muscle workouts. Each time you work
out with weights, you cause this "damage"--these
tiny tears in your muscles; they need ample resting time
to rebuild and become even stronger, bigger, and more firm.
Pain During or Just After a Workout
During a workout, repeated contractions cause lactic and
other acids, as well as proteins and hormones, to build
up in muscle tissue. This can cause pain even without injury.
But if you experience a sharp, continuous pain, or pain
accompanied by a burning sensation, stop lifting and get
it checked.
Muscle Cramps
These happen when muscles, often in the calves or feet,
knot up in intense contractions. Cramps occur most commonly
in endurance sports like cycling and running, where the
athlete loses a lot of fluids through sweating. This is
why it's very important to stay well-hydrated during exercise.
If you do get cramps, the best way to stop them is to gently
stretch the cramped muscle. |
