Help me. I have been training for a couple of months(Since October) for a 4.4 swim and have been battling stiffness/Soreness in my shoulders and chest. While my friends say that I am over training I beg to differ. I watch other swimmers who are training for the event train for a minimum of an hour in the pool daily while I am suffering. My recent workout was;
Saturday 2 miles 67 minutes
Sunday cardio work no pool
Monday 1 mile 33 minutes
Tuesday 1 mile 32 minutes
Wednesday -Whinned a lot
Thursday-More of the same.
I am new to this sport so I need some wisdom.
I am 33 years old so I don't think it is age(hope not).
Parents
Former Member
Several years ago I broke both of my arms at the elbow (yes at the same time). Surgery to wire my arms back together and immoblization left me unable to extend or flex both arms--my range of motion was severely limited--I only had a couple of degrees in either direction. After I healed enough for it to be safe, and had enough range of motion back in my arms to measure how much I could lift, it was evident I had lost a lot of strength. In fact, I could barely lift a couple of pounds. I not only need PT to help me continue to regaining range of motion, but also to restore my strength. Early on my physical therapist did have me icing the injury to reduce inflamation. However, after the incision from the surgery healed and inflamation was no longer a significant issue, the ice was abandoned. To reduce soreness and prevent stiffness, my physical therapist had my arms in a hot whirlpool at the end of every therapy session, which included aggressive manipulated my elbows followed by increasingly difficult workouts on all kinds of toture devices and weight machines.
I have heard many folks say icing sore stiff muscles works for them. Its just been my experience that heat works well too.
I do agree that stretching exercises like yoga, warm ups, cool downs, slowly increasing the intensity of your workouts, etc. are very important. Figure out what works for you and do it.
Several years ago I broke both of my arms at the elbow (yes at the same time). Surgery to wire my arms back together and immoblization left me unable to extend or flex both arms--my range of motion was severely limited--I only had a couple of degrees in either direction. After I healed enough for it to be safe, and had enough range of motion back in my arms to measure how much I could lift, it was evident I had lost a lot of strength. In fact, I could barely lift a couple of pounds. I not only need PT to help me continue to regaining range of motion, but also to restore my strength. Early on my physical therapist did have me icing the injury to reduce inflamation. However, after the incision from the surgery healed and inflamation was no longer a significant issue, the ice was abandoned. To reduce soreness and prevent stiffness, my physical therapist had my arms in a hot whirlpool at the end of every therapy session, which included aggressive manipulated my elbows followed by increasingly difficult workouts on all kinds of toture devices and weight machines.
I have heard many folks say icing sore stiff muscles works for them. Its just been my experience that heat works well too.
I do agree that stretching exercises like yoga, warm ups, cool downs, slowly increasing the intensity of your workouts, etc. are very important. Figure out what works for you and do it.
