If I exercise while I'm still sore, will I gain or lose muscle?

Question

I'm trying to lose or tone muscle, they're kinda big, and I want to be slim. If I excercise today, while I'm sore from yesterday will I gain or lose muscle?

Yes, I am trying to lose muscle. I have these like huge thighs from gymnastics.. I know some guys like them but I don't, I want them to be slimmer...

Answer 1

you need to alternate your workouts. Cardio one day and weights the next. This will help regulate the muscle usage for a more toned appearance.

Answer 2

I'M CONFUSED !!!

1. How old are you?
2. Are you still a gymnast?
3. How long have you been doing gymnastics?
4. Are your muscles significantly out of proportion or is this just your perception from looking in the mirror?
5. HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY EXPECT SLIMMING RESULTS FROM EXERCISING THE VERY MUSCLES YOU WANT TO BE SLIMMER?

Now that I have touched on all the vague issues not disclosed in your question, the answer is to concentrate on good nutrition and general overall exercise. I recommend this:

Walk, run, or swim an hour every day except 1 then do stretching and upper body toning. Eat fruits & vegetables.

No alcohol
no bread
no burgers
No candy
No chips
no corn
no fried foods
No pasta
No pizza
No potatoes
No sodas
No sugar
Drink lots of water
Good Luck

Answer 3

It depends on what kind of soreness you are talking about. I assume you mean that after working out your muscles become sore for a day or two. This is due to the muscle fibers breaking down, after which they rebuild themselves.

If you exercise while you are sore, you will probably create a catabolic state, where the muscles are breaking down, instead of building up, this is true. You would lose muscle, but most likely you would not lose you thick thighs.

Your shape is inherited from your parents, and doing gymnastics doesn't drastically increase the ratio and proportion of certain parts of your body, gymnastics is a good way to develop all of the body's muscles in a balanced fashion.

If you want to totally change your body type, that's a lot of work to get there and maintain. The best way for you to get slim legs is become a long distance runner, and that process of change will take months and years to happen.

My dad has big thighs, narrow hips, and broad shoulders, and so do I. I used to run, when I did, it kept my legs slimmer, but as I quit running and exercised in different ways, the genetics of my body won out, and I have big muscular legs again, and if I were to go to the gym and lift weights, my legs would get huge.

So breaking down muscle in an attempt to get slim is a bad idea and will ultimately fail, and it will hurt your body's health.

Answer 4

You certainly won't gain muscle. The way you gain muscle is effectively by tearing fibers of the muscle - and then the muscle responds to this percieved threat/danger by comin' back stronger. When you're sore, your muscles are still in the repairing process. This is why you should never be strenuously exercising the same muscle groups any more frequently than each 3rd day.

But your goal is to lose muscle - and if that's the case, the soreness will not hurt your cause (at least, not directly - though if you exercise while sore and pull a muscle or injure yourself, your goal of toning and slimming down will be more difficult to attain), but it won't help it particularly either.

As far as exercise advice goes, stick to the cardio - if you have a heart rate monitor on your equipment, try and keep your heart around 50-70%. In other words, don't exercise super-intensely, because this will ultimately ADD muscle. For your specific goal you are better off upping your workout time as a tradeoff for decreasing intensity.

Lastly, exercising while sore isn't the end of the world, but don't do it all the time. People make a habit of exercising TOO much and not resting - and they will be fine for months.. but then when they're not, it's a badly pulled muscle, a stress fracture, or something that pulls them out of their routine for longer than a couple days. Make sure to rest at least once or twice a week.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 5

If the soreness is from straining then you have stretched the muscle fibers and when they go back in to place with no exercise until soreness is gone they will be tighter ( less flexible) If you work then while they are sore with a small amount of weight then it will make that particular muscle a little leaner and longer. If you have ever done extreme yoga or palates, you know what I mean.

If you are trying to tone then you need a lot of reps with little weight. Stretching in between sets will work also. For the legs running is good. If you are not a runner then long stepping will work.

I asked my doctor about reducing the size of my muscles in my legs thighs and calves. He told me the only was I could do that is not to use then for a year or so and the muscle will break down in size and then I would have to work only on toning. I would not be able to dance, clog, hike or ride a bicycle until then because they would just redevelop like they were before. I just decided that I would love my legs instead of hating them.

Answer 6

Being strong is great--- I'm a gymnast too. Personally I like my muscles, but if you really want to lose some muscle, exercising today if you are still sore from yesterday will help the soreness go away, it releases the lactic acids trapped in the muscle. But, different muscles are made up of different things. For toning your abs for example, you can do sit-ups or your ab exercise every day, but for other muscles like arms and legs, you can exercise a lot one day, then do an easier version the next day. If you are a serious gymnast, don't worry about slimming muscle, plus if the guys like it, and if you can beat up any guy you don't like, it does come in handy... ^u^ good luck!

Answer 7

The problem isn't gaining or losing muscle, the problem is injury. If you are still aching in certain areas from a workout, you should aim your subsequent exercises at other areas so that you won't agitate those groups and give them a chance to heal and recover.
You can work on the sore areas a little to keep them warmed up and then stretch them, which hastens their recovery. Thus you'd be able to engage them the day after.
If you'd like to tone down, the principle method would be modifying your diet and cutting 150 calories a day. Reducing your intake of sodium and caffeine also has a slimming effect. Moreover, the more sleep you have, the quicker you'll be relieved of post-exercise aching.

-I'm a former personal trainer and have been weightlifting for 10years.

Answer 8

Lastly, exercising while sore isn't the end of the world, but don't do it all the time. People make a habit of exercising TOO much and not resting - and they will be fine for months.. but then when they're not, it's a badly pulled muscle, a stress fracture, or something that pulls them out of their routine for longer than a couple days. Make sure to rest at least once or twice a week.

Answer 9

Unfortunately, the pain you feel after an intense workout is a build-up of lactic acid. This is formed when there is insufficient oxygen to produce the energy required by the body during exercise.

Based on this fact, it sounds like you have started some form of aerobic or endurance training, and your body is still adjusting to it, which is a step in the right direction. With regard to losing muscle mass, reduce your caloric intake and continue with an exercise routine that is predominantly aerobic or endurance based.

While it may seem counter intuitive, do some weight training to sculpt and tone muscle, to ensure the proportionate result you desire. Use lighter weights and high repetitions, which should inhibit muscle growth to a greater extent than strength training.

Also, exercising while you are still sore may help in reducing the lactic acid levels. The good news is, as your endurance increases, the lactic acid levels, and ensuing pain will be reduced.

Answer 10

I'm not a personal trainer but I have some advice.
When you use weights and get to the point where the reps are painful, you are tearing muscle and that is why it's sore. When the muscle heals, it heals tighter and bigger. The general idea is lighter weights, more reps will tone. Heavier weights less reps will build.
Do a lot of cardio and light weights. And if you are training when you're sore, you will just cause pain. If you work in a body part or parts, try alternating every 2-3 days. Give yourself at LEAST a day to recover.
Also try Pilates and or Yoga to lengthen your body and make it leaner.

Answer 11

Look at all your posts. The main theme is water, cardio and rest. As long as you are sore that indicates damage to your body.
You need to let your body rest for repair. The water helps to keep you hydrated. Being hydrated helps your joints, muscle repair and all kinds of other body functions. The cardio will help you to tone up and remain tone. Any resistance excercises that cause you effort will strain the muscles and make them work which leads to muscle building. If you are going to use weights, keep the weight low and repitions high. This will not only help to tone, but will also work to create definition.
Depending on if you are working with a gym or at home, also speak with your training staff to see what dietary suppliments will work best for you. Keeping your carbohydrate intake down will help, but you need to maintain a BALANCED diet. The suppliments will help you "fill in" what you can't consume yourself. Stretching will also help to keep you limber, which you should already know. In the end, working out when you are sore will neither help you build muscle or lose depending on what you do and what your current physical fitness level is.
What you are looking to cause is muscle atrophy. Not exactly the best thing to do. Cardio will be the safest way to cause that without health risks. You will still be excercising without continueing the strain that builds muscle.
A lot of the same things you've heard, but it's to reinforce the good things that you've heard. A healthy body is a healthy body. Look at the other women in your family. What you have may be what you have. If men find you attractive... *shrug* Maybe that's something you should look at as well. Probably the most important aspect that I haven't noticed yet is the importance of your own self image. If you don't like what you see, you'll never acheive the results you are looking for. You can't fight genetics, you can only work with your genetics. You may have big thighs in your mind, but at least they are muscle rather than maybe fat. If big thighs are what all the other women have, it is likely to be what you will have. Make sure you aren't hoping for something you can't naturally produce. That will help you acheive healthy goals that will keep you looking the most beautiful for the rest of your life because you will be enhancing what you already have.