Ever heard of the adage “No pain, no gain”? In some cases, having pain or soreness while working out is not necessarily a good thing to have. You could be doing more harm than good. So, should you be working out when sore? Find out the answer to this common question by reading on.
Should I rest when sore or continue to work out?
If you have sore muscles from working out, especially if you’re new to exercising, you’re probably contemplating if you should continue with your workout regimen or take a few days off. This solely depends on a couple of things.
- Are you an athlete or active person?
- Are you brand new to working out or starting a new routine that is working new muscles?
If you’re an athlete or are constantly active, chances are your soreness is something of the norm. But if you are new to working out or working muscles that haven’t been used vigorously in a while, take caution. In either case, overworking your muscles, in general, can lead to injuries so be wary.
Instead of working out while sore, use recovery days to do stretching, walking, light Yoga, or other non-strenuous activities in order to provide benefits to your sore muscles. The decision to continue should always depend on the seriousness of the soreness you may be experiencing at that particular moment.
Understanding the good pain from the bad
When it comes to the pain you get from working out it is usually related to soreness or injury. Sometimes it is very hard to differentiate between the two. And sometimes the two are related.
If the pain you have is increasing it doesn’t necessarily correlate to you having an injury. But increasing pain or soreness does mean you should not exercise until things get better. If you continue to experience increased soreness or pain, then you could have an injury and you should then seek medical help. Muscle soreness will always dissipate over time, but an injury won’t if you continue to agitate it.
Rest is never a bad thing
In the end, taking a break from working out is never a bad idea. Working out when sore is alright under the right circumstances, but it’s always better to let your body recover from a hard workout instead of pushing through the pain another day. Taking a day off won’t affect your progress, and you and your body will be thankful for it in the long run.