Is it normal to get weaker before you get stronger?

[Littlewhiteballs]

I've been exercising almost every day since just before new year and I've never felt so weak! I don't have half the strength or stamina I had when I first started. I've been doing a combination of yoga and pole fitness classes. The first week I felt a bit sore but now both arms feel like I've been given a 'dead arm' and I can barely lift them. Today in pole class I felt something pop in my upper abdomen as I was lifting myself and now it hurts to cough or sneeze. I feel so old

How fit were you before you embarked on this fitness journey?

Do you have any rest days?

Do you have a virus OP?

You need rest days for your body to recover.
That’s when all the good stuff happens

Not terribly unfit and a healthy weight. I'd like to be stronger and less stiff in the mornings though.

It could be the lack of rest days. I do ashtanga primary series which is supposed to be 6 days practice and 1 rest. I have the pole class on the rest day.

Have a rest. Mix it up (arm days, leg days). Eat some protein. Sleep.

A wise person on e pointed out that workouts break the body down, and it's in the recovery period afterwards that the body rebuilds itself stronger, faster, better. So periodic rest and recovery is crucial.

@Littlewhiteballs

Not terribly unfit and a healthy weight. I'd like to be stronger and less stiff in the mornings though.

It could be the lack of rest days. I do ashtanga primary series which is supposed to be 6 days practice and 1 rest. I have the pole class on the rest day.

How you feel now is the very reason we need rest days. I'd take several in a row, until you feel fully rested/not achy or stiff, then start again, working out every other day.

Get your abdomen checked out, that pop sounds like a hernia

@Grasping

You need rest days for your body to recover. That’s when all the good stuff happens

This - rest is crucial.

Strenuous exercise creates micro-tears ('exertions') in muscle tissue, which then heals and rebuilds. Rest is absolutely fundamental to a fitness regime.

@Annunaki Thank you for the kind words 😊

It was only my second class! We were doing a spin and instead of 'pulling the pole downwards' as we were told I just let myself hang like a sack of potatoes and that's when it happened. Can a hernia be so high up? It's just to the right of the solar plexus. It doesn't hurt during the day anymore except when getting up from laying down or sneezing.

A cracked rib sounds sore! I really was surprised how brutal pole is, I came out of the first lesson with bruised hips and thighs. Absolutely love it though and I'll be really sad if I can't go back next week.

Rest days are so, so important. If you can’t bear to do nothing then a light walk, housework or some DIY.