Workout pain and recovery

[snippy]

I posted this on my personal DW and azurelunatic suggested I post here.

I have started weightlifting.

Years of medical issues, surgeries, surgical recovery have left my upper body less strong than I want to be. I have a goal: I want to be able to lift a suitcase into the overhead bin when I fly. I put a number on that goal: 50 lbs.

I started on June 31. I am doing deadlifts. That's all. I started with a barbell with no weights on it, but the bar weighs 37 pounds (it's the lightest bar in the gym). THAT IS A LOT. I did 2 sets of 8 repetitions with good form, 3 times a week for the last two weeks. AND I HAVE BEEN IN NEAR-CONSTANT PAIN THE WHOLE TIME. My upper back and chest are aching, stabbing messes. The pain makes me cranky and short-tempered, and interferes with my sleep.

So I read a bunch online and decided to step down the weight. Last workout (Sunday) I used two 8-pound dumbells. That's 16 pounds. That's 21 pounds less than I was lifting the last 10 days. I did 2 sets of 8 reps with good form. I am still in pain, but it isn't keeping me awake. It makes me cranky, but much less so. I'm supposed to work out tonight, but it's been 48 hours and I am still sore.

I'm considering only working out twice a week instead of three times, with more time between workouts to heal. I will probably give up weightlifting if I'm in this much pain all the time. IT IS NOT WORTH IT.

Any suggestions?

Comments

[rydra_wong]

When I read your words about more recovery time, that rang a bell, that felt right to me. I need to allow myself to heal between workouts instead of just following the instructions on websites and youtube videos.

Yes, listen to your body and wait until you feel fully recovered (or almost fully recovered -- a bit tired and stiff is okay sometimes) before you lift again. And you'll almost certainly find that you recover faster and faster, and can build up to lifting multiple times a week; it'll just take time to get to that point.

Also, useful knowledge to have: lifting once a week can be enough to get strength improvements.

I think the stabbing may be failure to stretch-when I turn my head, the muscles are too tight, and so it stabs.

Yeah, tight neck and shoulder muscles can cause all sorts of crap, and it's really easy for that to build up, especially if you spend lots of time on a computer.

I'm a rock-climber -- which tends to pull shoulders into a hunched position -- and spend most of my life on the computer and tend to "carry tension" in my neck/shoulders, and as a result I have to fight a constant war to open/stretch my shoulders enough to avoid problems.

Ooh, question -- do you have a foam roller, or tennis balls, or other self-massage tools? If you haven't tried them yet, there are a lot of DIY tools that can make a huge difference, and I will babble about them at the drop of a hat.

[snippy]

I can definitely drop down to once a week? That is great news! One of the things I like about my gym but is also complicated is that you have to sign up/make appointments in advance, so knowing I can wait a full week means I can make an appointment and be sure I'll have healed enough to work out.

I have tennis balls and use them, especially at work. But I also have the biggest DIY tool available: my younger son, who still lives with me, is a licensed massage therapist. So I get a lot of massage. I also like to ice for 10 minutes (both relieves pain and increases blood flow).

There is so much noise about pain, it's hard to remember to trust my own judgment about my pain level.

[rydra_wong]

I can definitely drop down to once a week?

You can drop down to once a fortnight if that's what your body needs to recover and adjust initially! But as soon as you can make it to once a week, you should be able to start getting strength improvements just from that, especially as a beginner. Research studies have been done showing this!

Then as you build up, you'll probably find a "sweet spot" where you get the best balance of intensity and recovery; that might turn out to be two or three times a week, but the important thing is to experiment and see what works for you.

ETA: There's strength training stuff that I only do once a week and I get results from that.

But I also have the biggest DIY tool available: my younger son, who still lives with me, is a licensed massage therapist.

TOTAL WIN.

He might also be able to identify if there are any particular "trigger points" in your neck/shoulders/chest that are contributing to the pain.