New to exercise - it is killing me. Advice?

[YogaHurts]

Hi folks

I am new to exercise and its making me realise how out of shape I am. Tuesday night I did a 1hr workout class at my local gym, I did 1hr Yoga yesterday and 1hr tennis tonight. This is my 2nd week of exercising.

Anyway, since starting, my body is in agony. Yoga particularly hurts (mostly during). My weekly LBT kills me in the days afterwards but feels OK at the time.

I feel like I've been hit by a car or something. The pain feels 'muscular'. The abs are the most tender.

I had to cancel 2 workouts 3 weeks ago (which should have been my first week) as the first workout left me in so much pain. Tennis seems easier, is this because it's cardio?

Yoga has bands and LBT has weights.

I am a 29 year old. 5ft 2. 8stone 5lbs. No known health issues.

Please tell me it will get better? I really want to get more supple and move more. I'm finding it so difficult.

I'm 6 stone overweight and today I went for a 2 hour walk and went to the gym for 90 minutes. The body can do more far more than you think. Just push through. You'll be able to tell if it's just aching/DOMs/tired muscles or if it's actual injuries.

Agree with what everyone else is saying about taking it slowly rather than trying to do too much too soon. As well as meaning you can build your strength and fitness up without getting injured or exhausted, it will be a lot easier to maintain a schedule that isn’t too punishing.

Something I found really helpful mentally when I first got into a regular exercise regime was the idea of “prizes for turning up day”. On the last day of each week, if you’ve managed to pretty much stick to the plan, give yourself a reward by taking it easy. If you’re running, allow yourself walk breaks. If you’re doing yoga, pick a low to the floor, meditative, restorative practice.

Push through. It's hurting because you don't use those muscles much. As they get used to being worked, it won't hurt anymore but you have to work them regularly. Muscle is a use it or lose it thing.

When I took up horse riding, I could barely walk the day after lessons. Sitting trot without stirrups was a special flavour of torture as my abs and inner thighs were doing all the work of keeping me balanced while also signalling the horse. It doesn't hurt now though, I do it every week and my legs are now made of tougher stuff.

I agree with this, although allow yourself to b appropriate number of rest days and don't target the same muscles too soon after a session. Gentle stretching first thing in the morning for 5 minutes every day helps too with DOMS

Thansk for the advice, little update...

I'm doing x1 45min Aerobics Class
X1 45min Boxercise Class
Getting 10k steps on down days
I'm feeling stronger, so I'll build up to including badminton soon again.

I've gained weight though! Diet has been OK. DH kindly says any gained weight will just be muscle building. Maybe up the cardio, or replace one fitness class with my badminton session? Thanks for any help btw :)

Gaining weight when exercising is normal as you retain water and muscles get inflamed. It would be more useful to keep track of body fat or inches and how your clothes feel. A lb is a lb, but a lb of muscle is more dense and takes up less space than Lb of fat.

Change your language. It’s not ‘killing’ you, it’s helping you live longer and healthier, be less of a burden on the NHS, and will make you feel good about yourself. Keep going, love yourself more.

Gaining a little weight is normal as pp says, but you may want to keep an eye on it.

I know you started the thread a few weeks ago, but you definitely shouldn't be feeling pain during a yoga class. It's quite easy to damage your knees and back in yoga despite it being a fairly gentle form if exercise.

Re your original question (though I know you're over it now), I am fairly consistent sith exercise. But when I was younger I was able to do nothing for months other than maybe walking and then just launch into loads of exercise with no bother. I had to stop exercising last year and went back to it six months ago and I really had to take it easy. I am 39 and it's way harder now for me to suddenly start running everyday, even for a short jog. I'm on holiday just now and know I'll need to take it easy again when I go home and start exercising again. So it may be an age thing as it is for me. Also having babies including c section ruined me somewhat!

Yes, my weight seems to fluctuate a LOT. I have endometriosis and endo belly, where my belly looks distended and is very swollen. Wondering if this is having an impact.

I was 10lbs heavier leading up to and on period week, then it was gone a week later. Weird!

Late to the thread but a few points from experience.

1. Women's weight fluctuates due to hormones. Other causes of unexplained sudden weight gain are things like alcohol and sodium. I imagine your endo doesn't help you on the hormonal front. I don't suffer from gynae issues but in the run up to my AF I can be a good 4lb heavier for days. It will then disappear (aka "the whoosh") as suddenly as it arrived about 2 days in to AF.
2. 1lb of gain would require eating 3500 calories on top of what your body burns to maintain weight. As long as you know you haven't there is no need to panic.
3. The muscle ache is real. As you get stronger you notice it less. I've only started working out again more seriously recently, and the muscle ache has been pretty bad. All it has told me is that I have some building up of strength to do. But that isn't achieved in just a few weeks.

There are a few ways to consider tracking your progress, all dependent on how obsessive you get.

1. Weigh daily and use a tracking app such as Happy Scale. It gives you a trend weight after about 2 weeks, which can help to put the spikes in to perspective.
2. Weigh yourself only weekly/bi-weekly/monthly, but add in a measurement around either your waist or belly button. (Appreciate endo belly makes that challenging.) Because if your weight is stable but you lose an inch, that's an improvement.

For me weighing daily (or almost daily) and seeing those trends really helped me to recognise that spikes in weight are just that: spikes. Then again, I am not obsessive. It was simple data gathering and a spike never sent me down a path of starving myself. I now use a Withings scale and it updates my weight in the app. I only open the app maybe once a week so see how I am trending.

Keep balancing different forms of exercise because they all have different benefits. But most of all: make sure you enjoy doing it!

Magnesium is used to treat constipation and exercise the following morning will also stimulate the bowels. Unless OP wants to break off halfway through a workout class to use the toilet I wouldn't recommend this!

There are certain powders that help muscle recovery and it's a well known aid for sore and tight muscles. So not just constipation!! OP, read up on it. It was a game changer me in my training.

For the first couple of weeks after I started doing yoga classes, I hurt so much that I thought I must have flu or something. Yoga’s not an easy option!

I think it may take about 4 weeks until things stop hurting so much.
plan rest days (but still make sure you’re moving your body, like light walking).

It will get better you've just gone full on in and need to take it more slowly. Even when I exercised regularly I rarely did more than 30 mins or so a session (although I never did classes). Your body needs time to recover and the fitter you get the quicker you will recover.

Haha totally normal. If it's muscle ache rather than injury type pain then you are fine, but make sure you move on your offer days (gentle walking) as this helps.
Remember to fully stretch at the end of each work out, follow videos on Youtube, this can take 20+ minutes and willreduce that muscle ache pain.

It's just DOMS, it's normal.
Actually going back for the next work out while still sore will help the muscle, it will force some of the lactic acid out and loosen things up again.

Also, try a protein shake 30 mins after your work out.

@NyanBinaryJohn that's so helpful. Thanks, off to download that app as I'd really like to make sense of the spikes.

You are very welcome. Just make sure you remind yourself not to obsess over weight. If you feel better and look more toned then you are achieving your goals.

@NyanBinaryJohn yeah I feel my 'sides' are narrower, hips and waist. I'm also trying not to to be overly strict with food. Tonight I had an authentic Italian pizza (thin base) and dessert for a friend's 30th bday meal, but I'll not beat myself up over it. Just be mindful of my eating for the rest of the week.

That's a lot to suddenly do. I remember a fencing class and being in agony for days in muscles I'd not used properly before, so sympathy.

Might be worth bearing in mind that your body will respond differently to exercise at different points in your menstrual cycle. At certain points your ligaments will be much softer due to the effects of a hormone called relaxin (something to do with progesterone levels I think?) and you need to be much gentler on your body during these times.

@NumberFortyNorhamGardens it's an absolute minefield as my cycles are irregular 😢