Working out with sore muscles

[Charles Xavier]

I looked around the internet and I never got a good answer on this.

They seem to be contradictory.

Heres the scenario, I work out one day for 45min to an hour, I have a rest day, then I work out again.

Now I take lots of vitamin C and stretch. Now Its sore like an acid sore, not like an injury type sore.

I find working out the muscles relieve the pain, I think this is due to the intake of oxygen and nutrients to the muscle.

I am wondering if this is what I should do though, I do mostly strength training, push ups, free weights, dumbbells, and mix in a little cardio for the cool down.

How long should I spend resting a muscle group? I think 48 hours is enough time. But I don't want to lose muscle mass either.

There are articles on the internet that go the the extremes, some are against any rest periods, others say you should wait until your muscles feel no pain at all.

[Invincible Summer]

I'm no Human Kinetics expert, but if I'm sore after I workout, I usually do a 24-48hr rest period (maybe cardio on a rest day) and if I'm still sore on my workout day, I'll try to work out the same as usual. if I can't manage to finish the sets, then I'll take some more rest.

You don't want to over-train and injure yourself, so it's better safe than sorry

[Vanguard1917]

I looked around the internet and I never got a good answer on this.

They seem to be contradictory.

Heres the scenario, I work out one day for 45min to an hour, I have a rest day, then I work out again.

Now I take lots of vitamin C and stretch. Now Its sore like an acid sore, not like an injury type sore.

I find working out the muscles relieve the pain, I think this is due to the intake of oxygen and nutrients to the muscle.

I am wondering if this is what I should do though, I do mostly strength training, push ups, free weights, dumbbells, and mix in a little cardio for the cool down.

How long should I spend resting a muscle group? I think 48 hours is enough time. But I don't want to lose muscle mass either.

Assmuming it's just a muscle and not a joint strain, you might just be over-training. Take a week off. You won't lose much muscle mass if your nutrition is up to scratch, i.e. if you're getting the necessary protein, carbs and fats. Otherwise, 48 hours rest between workouts should be enough, but the quality of that rest is important. Most importantly, you need a good night's sleep each night to allow your muscles to recuperate. That means going to bed fairly sober. Make sure to warm-up properly before workouts. I wouldn't recommend stretching cold muscles (although a lot of people do); have a light 10-min jog on the treadmill. Start each exercise (e.g. bench press) with a light, warm-up set. Have a thorough stretch after your workout session. And don't exercise the same muscle group (legs, chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps) more than once a week; divide it up.

[Charles Xavier]

don't exercise the same muscle group more than once a week? Really? I shouldn't do push ups every other day?

[Vanguard1917]

I was referring more to high intensity weight training. The bottom line is that your muscles need time to recover after workouts -- they don't grow in the gym, remember, but while you rest.

[Charles Xavier]

Yeah i know that.

I am trying to do a day on day off type of regiment. But I lack equipment for legs and core training, other than self-resistance.