pain after weight training

[chrisbainbridge]

I have been seeing a PT since April 2022 on most Tuesday mornings.  Initially I found that My legs were so sore that I could do no further real leg training for about 4 days.
Even this year I find that I am unable to train or cycle for several days.  As an example, I did an hour with the PT on Tuesday morning and had scheduled an FTP for today.  I did the warmup but my legs jus would not go into zone 4/5 without significant pain and stiffness.

Is this level of pain normal and I just need to man up or is it probably diminishing my overall trying as I suspect.



I think I know what the answer is but your thoughts would be appreciated.

[quixoticgeek]

I have been seeing a PT since April 2022 on most Tuesday mornings.  Initially I found that My legs were so sore that I could do no further real leg training for about 4 days.
Even this year I find that I am unable to train or cycle for several days.  As an example, I did an hour with the PT on Tuesday morning and had scheduled an FTP for today.  I did the warmup but my legs jus would not go into zone 4/5 without significant pain and stiffness.

Is this level of pain normal and I just need to man up or is it probably diminishing my overall trying as I suspect.

I think I know what the answer is but your thoughts would be appreciated.

Are we talking DOMS here? Or something more substantial?

In theory postworkout DOMS should reduce in severity as you get stronger, unless you are always increasing the intensity of your workout.

4 days does seem quite a lot. That's quite a work out!

J

[rafletcher]

No, that level of pain is not normal. I can accept DOMS for 4 days in certain situations - I had that, but that was after the first gym session in about 3 years! After a year of weekly sessions plus cycling I'd expect much less.

[T42]

When I first started riding with a club and doing cols in the Vosges I needed 4 days to recover. My usual schedule was Sunday 100k + cols and Thursday 40k coffee trog.  Usually I would hardly be able to walk on Mondays, still feel stiff on Tuesdays then pee like a world champ on Wednesday night.  As I got fitter I kept to the same cycle but the stiffness and pain receded.

4 days seemed to be the magic number, though.

[Marco Stefano]

Video by Cam Nicholls on this that you might find useful (backing off reps at required RPE to enable HIIT sessions the next day):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ0k7M58zTU

[chrisbainbridge]

Thanks. That all seems to back up my own views. I think I am being pushed harder than my body a cope with given I am looking for functional power for cycling not body building.

[sojournermike]

Thanks. That all seems to back up my own views. I think I am being pushed harder than my body a cope with given I am looking for functional power for cycling not body building.

Yep - your PT isn't giving you what you need! Unless there's something else amiss you should be able to do useful strength training and maintain useful endurance training. 4 days of DOMS, particularly given you've been at this for nearly a year, suggests far more intensity/volume than is appropriate.

[chrisbainbridge]

Thank you for the sense check. Part of the problem was that I enjoyed the sessions and pushing myself and I have got stronger.

He was off for a few weeks with illness and I had started to feel that I had gained more with less pain working on my own.
Email written cancelling future classes.

[mrcharly-YHT]

You are the second person I've heard of who suffered from overtraining under a PT's direction.

My son paid for a PT for running.

He shared his schedule with me and I was appalled. It doubled his current weekly distance immediately, and added in weight training. There were no really 'easy' days, and no allowance for the subject (my son) doing an exhausting job.

Inside of 2 weeks he had tendon injuries and gave up running.

[chrisbainbridge]

Interestingly there was no real feedback at the next week. He never asked how I had felt and I just accepted it until I didn’t.
Good learning point.