Sore Glutes/Back Upper Thighs

[robkaos]

Lately; I've mainly been working hard on my legs/abs area. I'll layout a timeline of events; on Saturday I did my legs/abs workout which consists of 3 sets of 10-12 of dumbbell lunges, dumbbell squats, squats with bands, exercise ball crunches, exercise ball crunches with plate, then for the three days Sunday-Tuesday, I ran 2 miles; then Wednesday night I returned to the same routine for legs/abs.

Now I will say, while I've been fairly active most of my life, I have just returned to increased exercise activity (lost 30lbs with good diet and decent exercise in two months), and am fairly new to doing leg muscle workouts -- as I have to strengthen my knees. I'm also probably not the best of stretchers beforehand either.

But what I've noticed is a burning sensation when sitting down (I work in an office, probably sit at least 6 hours a day also) on my glutes and upper thighs, it's not really bothersome, just noticable and it doesn't really prevent me from furthering exercise. But should I probably give my legs a rest for a days? I planned on doing some upper body anyways, but I usually do a warm up run beforehand. Should I cancel that out, and just stick with the workout?

PS: I'm not ruling out 'chaffing' lol. I do tend to wear fleece sweatpants when I run and workout. Probably not a smart idea.

Any opinions/advice would be helpful. Thanks

 

[malkore]

Was saturday your first workout like this in a while (more than a month)? if so, you're just a little too overzealous, and its probably best to cut back a little.

You will hear about DOMS, delayed onset muscle soreness - and kicks in somewhere around 18-36 hours after an ass-kicking workout.

'normal' DOMS is that slight stiffness you're used to, a tightness when stretching.

but when you start after a long break, DOMS can be much more painful, as the muscles have been a little too lightly used, especially for us desk-workers who sit nearly 8 hours solid.

I would just cut back the number of leg sets for a couple weeks until the muscles 'break-in'. Any activity at this point is going to be enough stimulation to get the muscles built up.

eventually the DOMS from a normal workout will be a light stiffness that reminds you that you worked out yesterday.

big changes to a routine can also make DOMS worse after that session.

constant painful soreness means too much tissue damage, and is not good at all for your goals and gains.

the running is also going to delay recovery a bit, but you appear to have spaced out your leg days well enough IMO. don't forget to train chest/back/shoulders and arms

 

[bjonnyb]

If it's the same type of burning sensation you get when your foot starts to "wake up" after it has "fallen asleep", then what you're describing could be a slight nerve impingement. Don't be alarmed as if it is not causing you pain it is not really an issue. I would recommend paying a visit to your physician for a brief assessment to determine the actual cause. However, if for whatever reason that's not an option... Try these suggestions.

1) Make sure you're cooling down properly and stretching.
2-3 sets of 30 second stretches to the affected areas every day, especially after a workout. If I'm right, the problem should subside soon enough. If you've been training your glutes and legs a lot recently, you've probably developed some extra tension in your muscles which may have contributed.

2) Make sure you're getting adequate recovery! Depending on your level of fitness; having a big leg workout, then running 2 miles for 3 days straight, then doing some more resistance training without any days off seems like a lot. Try something like this and see if it makes a difference.

Day 1 - Resistance Training
Day 2 - 2 mile run
Day 3 - 2 mile run
Day 4 - Rest and recover!
Repeat cycle.....
OR
Day 1 - Resistance Training
Day 2 - 2 mile run
Day 3 - Rest and recover
Repeat cycle.....

You should not need to cancel your warmup run unless you experience these symptoms during the run. If the burning sensation ever turns into pain then the best course of action would be to make that visit to your physician. It never hurts to get the hurt checked out.

Hope that helps...

Jon