Working out on sore muscles

[Rukas]

Heres a question Ive never gotten the answer to but always wondered.

If I do say, 300 sit ups in one day, and then the next day my abs are sore, should I work out on them again, or wait until the day after until they are better?

 

[Rukas]

Heres a question Ive never gotten the answer to but always wondered.

If I do say, 300 sit ups in one day, and then the next day my abs are sore, should I work out on them again, or wait until the day after until they are better?

 

[bigmack]

The general rule is,never work out the same muscle group 2 days in a row.You usually want to leave a gap in between to let the muscles recover.

But,when it comes to abs,it's a different story.Abs recover faster than any other muscles in the body.If you do abs today,they will have recovered and be ready to work them the next day.So you can basically work them out everyday with no worries.

The soreness doesn't mean that the muscles are damaged.When you work a muscle group harder than what it's used to,water retention occurs,and this adds pressure on the nerve endings.After the water retention is gone,you won't feel soreness anymore if you consistently work the same muscle group. Alot of people think its because of lactic acid buildup which is totally wrong,it has notihng to do with lactic acid.

 

[bigmack]

The general rule is,never work out the same muscle group 2 days in a row.You usually want to leave a gap in between to let the muscles recover.

But,when it comes to abs,it's a different story.Abs recover faster than any other muscles in the body.If you do abs today,they will have recovered and be ready to work them the next day.So you can basically work them out everyday with no worries.

The soreness doesn't mean that the muscles are damaged.When you work a muscle group harder than what it's used to,water retention occurs,and this adds pressure on the nerve endings.After the water retention is gone,you won't feel soreness anymore if you consistently work the same muscle group. Alot of people think its because of lactic acid buildup which is totally wrong,it has notihng to do with lactic acid.

 

[Diaz]

Wow, bigmack's like the smartest person I know lol.

 

[Diaz]

Wow, bigmack's like the smartest person I know lol.

 

[Mr Marz]

if your sore, thats good it means your working. just make sure you stretch before working out so you dont pull a muscle, especially if your just starting to work out again. like mack said your not supposed to do the same muscles every day, but you should work through any soreness if it lasts till your next workout.

edit: stretching after working out helps also

 

[Mr Marz]

if your sore, thats good it means your working. just make sure you stretch before working out so you dont pull a muscle, especially if your just starting to work out again. like mack said your not supposed to do the same muscles every day, but you should work through any soreness if it lasts till your next workout.

edit: stretching after working out helps also

 

[Rukas]

Whats some good stretches for abs?

 

[bigmack]

Crunches are real good basic ab excercises.I'd do a few sets of those.Also,you'd want to rotate sideways to work the obliques too.

Try this one.While standing up,put both your hands behind your head and raise your left knee up towards your right ear,then alternate and raise your right knee up towards your left ear.Keep doing this for about a good minute.

Here's another.Lie down on your back,hands right beside you and legs straight.While your legs are still touching each other,raise them up to make 90 degrees,then move them back down on the floor.Make sure you dont bend them and keep them straight.

Another one,sit on your ass,legs bent in front of you.Lean your back a little back and keep your hands on the floor to support you and keep you stable.Now lift your legs up up to your chest then back down.

Let me know if you need a little more variety

 

[bigmack]

Crunches are real good basic ab excercises.I'd do a few sets of those.Also,you'd want to rotate sideways to work the obliques too.

Try this one.While standing up,put both your hands behind your head and raise your left knee up towards your right ear,then alternate and raise your right knee up towards your left ear.Keep doing this for about a good minute.

Here's another.Lie down on your back,hands right beside you and legs straight.While your legs are still touching each other,raise them up to make 90 degrees,then move them back down on the floor.Make sure you dont bend them and keep them straight.

Another one,sit on your ass,legs bent in front of you.Lean your back a little back and keep your hands on the floor to support you and keep you stable.Now lift your legs up up to your chest then back down.

Let me know if you need a little more variety

 

[The.Menace]

The general rule is,never work out the same muscle group 2 days in a row.You usually want to leave a gap in between to let the muscles recover.

that's how it is. I don't agree with bigmack on this one, abs are muscles, that means they need rest - if you do 300 crunches a day, everyday - you can overtrain just like with every muscle in your body. I read studies on that topic that said this even through bigmack might not agree - so nope, if oyu ask me, don't work your abs out everyday.

 

[The.Menace]

The general rule is,never work out the same muscle group 2 days in a row.You usually want to leave a gap in between to let the muscles recover.

that's how it is. I don't agree with bigmack on this one, abs are muscles, that means they need rest - if you do 300 crunches a day, everyday - you can overtrain just like with every muscle in your body. I read studies on that topic that said this even through bigmack might not agree - so nope, if oyu ask me, don't work your abs out everyday.

 

[bigmack]

^OK,even if that were true,300 situps is hardly enough to overtrain abs.

 

[bigmack]

^OK,even if that were true,300 situps is hardly enough to overtrain abs.

 

[Pittsey]

BigMack is right. You can work your abs everyday. They don't need rest.


My Heart is a muscle too, I don't rest it. I'm not Keifer Sutherland.

 

[Pittsey]

BigMack is right. You can work your abs everyday. They don't need rest.


My Heart is a muscle too, I don't rest it. I'm not Keifer Sutherland.

 

[radkin]

This argument comes up a lot, and really there is no deffinate answer yet, some studies say that your abs are like any other muscle and they need rest just the same, but then others say that abs have a different genetic make up in the fibres because they are a posture muscle so they are working all day which means it is almost impossible to overtrain them,

I say try working them both ways and see what works for you, if you see any signs of overtraining stop and if you don't see any favourable progress also try the giving them some rest and see if that works for you,

btw the same argument comes up alot for the calve muscles aswell,

 

[radkin]

This argument comes up a lot, and really there is no deffinate answer yet, some studies say that your abs are like any other muscle and they need rest just the same, but then others say that abs have a different genetic make up in the fibres because they are a posture muscle so they are working all day which means it is almost impossible to overtrain them,

I say try working them both ways and see what works for you, if you see any signs of overtraining stop and if you don't see any favourable progress also try the giving them some rest and see if that works for you,

btw the same argument comes up alot for the calve muscles aswell,

 

[S O F I]

You're still not gonna have a sixpack Ruk.