I’m sore.

Sometimes recovery from weightlifting and high impact exercise causes soreness. However, as I’ve gotten older I’ve found that this becomes a whole body experience! Ever had the flu and experienced the characteristic body aches? Yes, it’s like that. The result is different, though. I’ll become better, not worse.

When rebuilding my body I must give time for recovery. Working out hard every day is for teenagers and early twenty-somethings, and even they need recovery. Rest is every bit as important as exercise. Muscles don’t become stronger (or larger) until they’ve had time to rebuild after a workout.

So, after a day filled with exercise I took the next day off. During the rest day I ate high protein foods to help muscles rebuild. I avoided high carbohydrate foods and was careful not to overeat. It would be easy to justify eating whatever I want on a day like this; after all, I burned so many calories the day before. That, my friends, is how you fail a weight loss program. It is far easier to gain weight (for most of us) than it is to lose it. On the other hand, eating too little, particularly not enough protein, will interfere with recovery, and–ironically–slow down my metablolism and make it more difficult to achieve a sustainable weight loss.

The following are things I’ve learned after coming back to training as an over 40 adult. 1) The need to stretch and warm up before each workout. 2) For weightlifting: take the first month to focus on lighter weight and higher repetitions. 3) Good form for each exercise is very important. It is easy to pull a muscle, or stretch or tear a tendons or ligaments, and the first three principles will help me to avoid injuries. 4) Moderate my expectations. I’ve been in great shape in the past. I’ve been faster, stronger and had more stamina. It can be disappointing to find that I’m not there any longer (not yet!). As a result, I may push too hard and hurt myself, or give up because I can’t do what I used to. Meet yourself where you are, and keep moving forward. All of this applies to younger people too, with the understanding that their bodies may respond more quickly and take less time to heal.

I jumped back in this morning with some light weightlifting. I’ll practice my karate’ several times today also. All the while I’m being careful to meet myself where I am, as opposed to expecting my body to be where it was four years ago when I was in top condition. I will challenge myself, but I won’t push so hard that I sustain an injury or two, or three…

I weighed this morning and I’ve lost several pounds already. More importantly, I’ve lost nearly a percentage poin of bodyfat. My goal is to get below 10% bodyfat by the end of this year. That means a total loss of around 16 lbs. I’m on target. I’ll keep moving forward.