Injured Vs. Sore

When you start a new workout regimen, it's inevitable that you will get sore and if you do not, you're probably not challenging yourself. I understand, no one likes being sore. It is not fun barely being able to lift your arms over your head to blow dry your hair or avoiding using the restroom because you're not sure if you'll be able to get up after you sit down. However, when you challenge your body and take your workout to the next level, you may feel the effects later. Sometimes it's a few days later. This is called Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness or DOMS. I'm currently experiencing that right now due to an 18 minute AMRAP from hell. My triceps are currently broken I think.

Here's the thing though, don't mistake being sore for being injured. There's a huge difference. It's okay to push through soreness and continue to workout. In fact, it's actually helpful to exercise when you're sore. Skipping a workout because you're sore is not a valid excuse. No, maybe it won't be your best workout, but you can push through it. Just suck it up and do it!

It's important to know your body and be able to tell when you're injured. Many times it's more of a sharp pain in a specific area, while soreness is a general ache spread over a larger area. If you're injured, you may have to modify or avoid doing certain movements altogether until the injury heals.

The main point of this post is to not mistake muscle soreness for an injury. It's okay to be sore and it will happen. Deal with it and don't use it as an excuse to skip a workout. If you're never sore, then either you're a super human freak or you need to challenge yourself more during your workouts. I'm assuming it's the latter. So, shake off your soreness and get moving!