Hi guys,

I go to the gym three times a week at the moment and I plan on going later on today, but the problem is - I still ache from the last gym session and I can't fully extend my arms.

I stretch well before and after each workout and I can't understand why this keeps happening!

Any ideas?

Matt

It will keep happening until your body gets used to it. Just make sure to keep on streaching like you are doing. Also make sure you are streatching properly for the excercise you are doing.

For me, it went away after 3 months or so, I'm rarely sore now. My buddy's aching went away after 2 months, so I think it's diffrent for everyone.

Awesome, thanks dude!

Did you hit your triceps or biceps really hard for the first time?

If I go for a long time without a blowout bicep or tricep day, and then go after 'em, I will not be able to uncurl or bend my arm the next day.

Unfortunately, tired/sore muscles is part of training. My advice is to do what I do. Find a buddy that you work with that is at the same "meathead level" as you, and when you're sore, walk up to the person, and tell them how sore you are, where you are sore, why you are sore, what weight/reps made you sore, and then listen while they tell you why THEY are sore. Commiserating helps a ton, and it makes you look really friggin sweet.

Yeah, I think I went a bit too over the top with the biceps and triceps as they are the strongest part of me at the moment.

It didn't seem like it was too much at the time, but the next morning my arms told me otherwise!

At the moment I work out alone, but I'll try to get one of my friends to come along with me.

Thanks for the info man

Matt

Heh, that last little blurb I threw in was more of a joke than anything. Basically, I was just saying in a roundabout way that if you workout hard, then you gotta expect to be a little sore.

Oh! hahah.

Yeah, I went to the gym today and met up with my personal trainer and he basically told me the same as you guys did, excercise will get easier but in a nut shell - no pain, no gain!

He said if you're not out of breath and sweating then you might as well not bother going to the gym!

Matt.

On a serious note, if it was your trainer that pushed you so hard that you couldn't unbend your arms the day after your first session... you might want to look for a different trainer. You should be able to see some nice gains without ever having to push yourself so hard that you lock up. Some (most, imho) of the trainers out there can be real idiots. Especially as a beginner, you should expect to be sore, but it should be a "good sore", not a sore that stops you from going about your life as usual.

The aching was happening before I got my PT, I only had my first session with him yesterday.

He said the reason I got so sore was because I had a poor form and was doing far too many reps for my level of fitness.

Anywho... he also said I should lay off of the weights a little and concentrate more on cardio to begin with until I reach my target weight, then I can maintain that weight and then concentrate more on weight training.

Just curious, Why didn't he correct this durring the session?

Was he just using a session to see "where your at", so to speak?

I went to the gym a few times before I started with my PT.

Thats when I didn't know what I was doing and got sore

Matt.

i love newbs getting sore. lets them know they actually did something in the gym.

.I miss that pain so much...just warm up your muscles again and it won't hurt much. raking leaves is a good way to get "unsore" or flex/ unflex without weights. It's gonna hurt a bit but remember 'no pain, no gain'.