SHOULD YOU WORKOUT IF YOU’RE SORE?

This is a  question I get a lot. Personally, I think if you can still get through a workout with proper form EFFECTIVELY then yes. You should. If you can’t even lift your leg to walk up the stairs and you want to do split squat jumps, probably not a good idea.

A lot you trying my POP Pilates or POP Cardio videos for the first time will find yourself sore the next day. Guaranteed. (I design my workouts that way! Muahaha) Personally, I LOVE this feeling. It is almost like a bittersweet reward I get for working myself hard. It also lets me know that I worked a new muscle or worked the muscle differently. This means that I challenged my body and kept things fresh. If you constantly change your workout, you will most likely be sore more often. If you keep your workouts the same for more than like 4 weeks, your body will adjust, become better and more efficient at what it’s been trained to do, and the moves will become easier. This is because the muscles become used to the moves. You don’t ever really want to get to that point if your goal is to continue changing your physique.

Now you don’t have to be immobile sore to say you had an effective workout. Nor do you even have to be sore at all to have a good workout. Our bodies all react differently and we all recover in different amounts of time. In fact, I’ve had the kinds of sore where it doesn’t kick in until day 2! I know, really weird.

WHAT CAUSES MUSCLE SORENESS? 

When you workout, you are actually creating small ruptures in your muscles. Don’t be scared, this is a normal, natural thing.

HOW DO YOU HEAL THE TEARS?

Give your muscles time to rebuild those tiny tears. Replenish and refuel yourself after a workout with carbs and protein within the 1 hr window you have after working out for the best absorption rate. You will usually be ok the next day even if you’re a little sore. Adequate sleep also helps generate the muscle fibers. It’s recommended to have 8-10 hours (I say this, but you know I’m not a good role model of that!)

HOW DO YOU PREVENT SORENESS?

Dynamic (moving around) stretching before you workout and static stretching after your workout. Make sure to foam roll to work out those knots!

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO ENJOY THE SORENESS?

Haha, I’ve gotten this question a number of times and thought it’d be funny to answer. Umm, I guess I enjoy the soreness because I know what it means. To me it means I challenged by body in a different way. Nowadays when I do Pilates, it is hard for me to be sore because I have literally done every move in the book a million times, so I have to get to inventing stuff. Also, trying new forms of exercising is great for this too. That’s why I started weight lifting.

Oh but back to the question…how long does it take? I think I’ve always liked it. If you know the reason behind the pain, and why you’re going through it, you’re more likely to appreciate it and see it in a different light. It’s not pain as pain but pain as a proof of something good that’s happened.

POPSTER QUESTION: Do you like feeling sore?