Aching after first exercise in ages

[kitkatco]

I have been sooo lazy for ages (years) and have piled on weight, so went to a bootcamp type class on Monday. It was brilliant.

I do pilates on a Wednesday, but today I can hardly walk, going up and down the stairs is torture, I feel like every muscle is aching.

I really really want to go to the bootcamp on Thursday, so should I skip pilates to try and give my muscles time to recover for Thursday or is a good stretch just what I need?

OR

should I go for a gentle jog/walk tomorrow instead.

What would be best?

Well done!!
If your muscles are aching, then a good stretch is probably what you need, so go to pilates. Pilates will address the muscle pain more directly than a gentle job and won't tire you for Thursday. Muscles appreciate a day off after vigorous exercise (helps them to recover and grow) but any more can lead them to stiffen up. Might be worth thinking about doing an additional warm up and post-class stretch pre and post boot camp, just for the first few sessions while your muscles get used to the activities.
My osteopath told me that a ratio of 3:1 aerobic/anaerobic exercise is good for overall fitness and wellbeing, so if you are doing 2-3 bootcamp classes a week then a strength and stretch session like pilates once per week is a great idea. But let's face it, anything is brilliant, so congrats for getting out there.

Thanks indiegrrl
I have been doing a few stretches sitting on the sofa watching Great British Bake off. I will go to Pilates tomorrow.
i do feel inspired despite the agonising muscles. My target is to lose a stone in the next 12 weeks, but more importantly, to feel FIT !

Hey - hope it went well today.

thank you. Yesterday was fab. today I went for a little swim. I feel like my feet are on the right path. although not managing the diet as well.

what do you do to stay in shape. you sound super knowledgeable .

Lol, no I'm not! Just had a back injury a few yrs ago and the advice was to use it or lose it...used to be a gym person 3x weekly, then got into yoga, and now my routine is run 3-4 times weekly and do a couple of yoga classes a week. My problem is doing too much...I can get a bit obsessive, wanting that endorphin high, and not necessarily listen to my body when it is tired. DP v. good at spotting the signs. I found I ate loads more when I first started exercise, but happily after a little while I started to get messages from body that it just wanted healthy stuff (except for cake at 4 and a little pudding after dinner ). Tho I'm hard on myself in the present, I look back to when I started and am really impressed I did it, because it is hard to start. So I'd say don't beat yourself up and let the diet take care of itself, a little bit anyway.

Have you tried either an ice cold bath or hot bath? I was advised that after a bootcamp type session along with gentle exercise the day after to stretch it out.

Pilates is great for that so I did mine the day after, as an extra warm down.

The endorphin high is great and really helps to motive but I'm another who needs to keep an eye on not overexercising and the food does fall into place. I find stir fries/oriental cooking really great for satisfying my energy needs.