Getting Fit Can Be a Pain in the _______!

I have some very sore muscles today! Yesterday I returned to teaching Group Exercise at RushCopley Healthplex-and I allowed a fellow instructor to inflict major pain on me-haha! Actually, it felt good to be back after taking almost 6 weeks off.

Well....it felt good until this morning. Ow :(  I usually get subs for my July classes since we try to schedule vacations, small road trips, plus our anniversary and a couple birthdays are squeezed in there, too.

This year was a little different because I had been on restricted activity due to that crazy pericarditis virus thingy. (All is good with that-I was told by the end of this year I should be symptom free!! And I am totally counting on that!!!) In other words, my fitness level is zero, zippo! I've been lazy, too, this summer....maybe a little too much "Friends, Food, and Drink" and definitely not enough working out :(

I developed a deeper level of compassion for the brand new or returning exerciser! "Modified according to who??!!" "You want me to do how many?" Getting healthy and fit is hard work!

I've been teaching fitness classes for 27 years, and, understandably, some people "take the summer off". And for 27 years I have watched people come back to classes in the fall feeling like they have never exercised before-and they HATE it :( It's just like starting over. Even with the best intentions of trying to fit in some outdoor activities, it's just not the same as having an instructor or personal trainer cracking the proverbial whip-haha! OK-I'll give 'em credit-many people ARE disciplined enough to do it on their own....but for most of us, it's a challenge :)

So...let's get back to me-haha!! I know this feeling of stiff muscles is temporary if I continue to exercise and push through the initial discomfort. Although, the temptation is to swear off exercise, much less any movement at all, to do that will only prolong my pain :/ So here's my own advice that I plan to follow:

~Keep moving! Stretching, yoga, walking, whatever...nothing major-just don't sit there!

~For the next couple days do a different form of exercise or activity. Anything other than what caused the initial soreness. That's called "Cross Training"-it's great!

~Try an ice pack if there is an area that is especially sore. The soreness you feel is caused by microscopic tears in the muscles as you do something your muscles are unaccustomed to doing-which is the whole idea :)

~If you really can't stand the pain, some ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), or naproxen (Aleve), even aspirin, can help, too,

~As a disclaimer, know the difference between sore muscles and actual PAIN then act accordingly :/

Whatever you do-don't decide that being in good physcial shape is simply too agonizing! Whenever you do something new or different-whether it's working out or working in the garden-you run the risk of some muscle discomfort, but don't let that stop you! Being strong and healthy has major benefits so it's definitely worth tolerating a few aches and pains!! Right? Right?

And, oh yeah! My best advice: don't take the summer off! :)