<p>Many times on this board we see diet and exercise threads, so obviously we 40-60 somethings would like to be physically fit.</p>
<p>When you start a new fitness program, how do you know what is good pain (muscles strengthening and getting fit & firm) versus bad pain (causing yourself some sort of injury that will prevent you from continuing the new exercise?</p>
<p>A couple of years ago I began doing yoga (ashtanga) and loved it, but my hips & shoulders & neck got sore and stayed sore the entire time. After one year + I quit and after about a year off, those hip & shoulder pains faded. Since I did it for more than a few weeks, I don’t think it was start up pains and the teacher is great about making sure your positions are correct.</p>
<p>I think that the problem might have been me being overly enthusiastic and pushing too hard, too fast. Now I have begun again and want to be careful not to reinjure myself. How can I know which discomfort is the cost of working the muscles and which is going to hurt me?</p>
<p>I also practiced Ashtanga for some years in my 40’s and loved it, but I would not do that type of yoga anymore. If soreness doesn’t go away in a few days, it’s a bad idea to keep doing what you’re doing. After doing yoga for 15+ years, I’ve concluded that the more strenuous types of yoga may be too much for older bodies unless you REALLY know what you’re doing, and most importantly, you can listen to your body and not over-exert (hard to do since you often don’t know til the next day that you’ve overdone it). I’ve heard that Anusara is better this way – more attention to correct alignment. Seems to me that there’s too much repetitive strain in Ashtanga because of the daily practice thing. Wish I could still do it.</p>
<p>Muscle soreness should go away after three days at most.</p>
<p>When you are starting out, you should take it slow and easy to ensure that pain goes away after a day or two or three. If it doesn’t, then there could be a problem with the exercises that you are doing.</p>
<p>Wow. I can’t even watch YouTubes of that yoga. I started to hurt all over! Good grief.</p>
<p>Maybe I was fortunate in being so out of shape that I had to take it nice and slow getting into an exercise program. Seven months into it, exercising five or usually six days a week, I have been pretty much pain free. About the only issue has been a little metatarsal foot pain from walking and just a tinge of tennis elbow as I started weight lifting.</p>
<p>One of the keys, I think, is to mix it up with variety in the workouts, never doing the same thing two days in a row. Also, it’s important to take a day off completely when you start to feel your body get run down. The other key is patience. I’m not looking to set any world records. I just plug away at it and let the fitness gains come naturally. If I feel that a workout is too much for me, I break it down and spend a week or two working at pieces until my fitness has improved enough to put it all together. I look at exercise as a permanent lifestyle change, so there’s no reason to be in any great hurry.</p>
<p>ID- I checked out the you tube of Steven Green, yes that’s the kind we do only modified for the middle aged. None of the positions with ones body weight supported by two hands only and no feet behind the head, though I can do the splitz ;)</p>
<p>Another good way to help with soreness after a workout (with weights anyway- which everyone should do, regardless of gender or age) is to do the same exercises the next day, but use very light weight and do about 15-20 reps quickly. It helps to stretch everything out and reduces the soreness. And good for you for finding some way to be active. I keep on nagging my parents to use their bowflex for more than to hang up laundry.</p>
<p>somemom… I do yoga (Hatha) and if I skip a week, I feel sore after a session. Not bad sore…but sore. I find that it helps to do a few basic poses every day but my schedule can get in the way. I would try to find a more gentle yoga and see what happens. The way I see it, I do other strenuous things like biking…and I look to yoga for gentle stretching, and strength building…as well as stress relief (lots of meditative work in my class). We have some “gumbies” in my class but I know enough not to try to compete with them…I usually can tell if I’m pushing too far and back off. No crazy poses for me.
BTW, I usually skip the Thursday class because it comes right after a power yoga class and the room is really hot and there’s sweat all over the floor …ewwww.</p>
<p>I think ashtanga can be fine if it’s modified, as you say. I do the standing series from the primary series by myself almost every day and am convinced that it will keep me mobile into old age if all goes well! Just pay attention to any ‘twinges’, because that’s how injuries happen – little tears in the muscle fiber over time, then whammo!</p>
Just pay attention to any ‘twinges’, because that’s how injuries happen – little tears in the muscle fiber over time, then whammo!</p>