Cardio power + muscle soreness
Hello from the 'burbs!
How are you on this fine day? I'm actually spending the day out in the suburbs with family. It's always nice to get out of the city when I can, enjoy the fresh air, work from the back deck and soak up the warm sunshine with no city sirens or noise. 
Refreshing! And the beauty of my work is I am mobile and can work anywhere at anytime, providing there is an internet connection.
I say we start with a little Insanity check in…
Insanity day 3
I'm going to be honest with you: I AM SO SO SO SORE! I think that every single one of my core/back muscles hurts and my gluts ache to the touch. Imagine what sitting down and getting up feel like. Yes indeed friends, Insanity royally kicked my behind and I LOVE IT! I was so pumped to start yesterday and my energy carried me through the whole evening. Then I promptly crashed at 9:30. The poor fiance had to wake me several times before I would move from the couch to bed.
This morning I got up and completed Cardio Power + Resistance. After that bad boy, I honestly don't know if I'm going to be able to feel anything in my legs tomorrow. Yesterday's Plyometric workout was more like basketball drills (suicides, jump squats, planks) but today was all about the power. There were globe squats, hurdle jumps, v push ups (ouch!) and my most favorite..power jumps. You start in a slight squat position and jump with as much explosive energy as you can and bring your knees up towards your hands, while landing softly. Fun, hard, challenging and beautiful.
Today I had to take more breaks than I did yesterday. I paid extra close attention to my form and my core. Your core is the foundation for all of your movement. With a strong core you will be able to do more, gain strength and power.
Some pointers for using your core:
1. Stand tall, with your pelvis slightly tilted forward. Relax your shoulders.
2. Flex your core muscles tightly, then release. Notice what your core feels like when it is tightly contracted.
3. Tighten again, release about halfway so that the muscles are still contracted but not fully. This is how to engage your core during exercise.
Muscle Soreness
We've all been there. You wake up the morning after a stellar new workout and suddenly your legs aren't moving as well and you can't raise your arm over your head. Soreness has set in!
Let's talk about what causes soreness, how to relieve it and whether or not to exercise.
Muscle soreness is actually caused by small micro tears in your muscles. In the past we believed that soreness was caused by lactic acid. While lactic acid does build up in your muscles during exercise, it is not the cause of soreness that comes on after exercise. During exercise, that lovely burn you experience in your legs? Now that is lactic acid!
The micro tears in your muscle are the way muscles rebuild themselves. You actually have to "break" your muscles down in order for them to build back up even better.
Many experts call muscles soreness delayed onset muscle soreness (or DOMS). This will usually set in about 8-12 hours after exercise and can last up to 48 hours. Ouch!
So, how do you deal with soreness?
There is no one remedy for soreness. Often a combination of stretching when the muscles are warm, hydrating the body, deep massage if you can handle it, REST, or an anti-inflammatory can help alleviate the symptoms. It depends on your body and what feels right. For my body, I need to seriously hydrate and stretch stretch stretch BEFORE the soreness sets in to see improvement.
Should you exercise with soreness?
That depends on the severity of the soreness. I recommend warming up your muscles lightly and trying to move at a higher intensity. If you experience burning immediately or early on, that is a sure sign that you need more rest. If you feel that your muscles have strength and energy to do the activity, keep going! Just respect your body and stop if something feels uncomfortable or if the soreness or tightness increases.
With a program like Insanity, you can expect your body to be sore nearly every day. The key is to listen and make your own decision. If your body does not have the strength to complete a workout well then don't do it! Give your body the chance to recover and then jump back in later that day OR the next day. Just because the schedule says to do X, make sure your body feels good doing X. If you ignore symptoms, you are well on your way to injury and more pain.
Two great sites explaining more about delayed onset muscle soreness:
Time for me to go enjoy some more sun and reading!
Have a fantastic day
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I love reading your Insanity posts. Funny that your favorite move is the power jump. That is the one I struggle with the most but it is fun to see my progress. I'm hoping that as I get better at them I will enjoy the jumps more.