Muscle stiffness - When should I go to my next class?

[TheSmokey]

Heyas,

The run-up: I just turned 30 and do pretty much no physical activity;
walk the dogs twice a week, mow the lawn once a week, that's about it.
I decided to make a change in my life, starting with physical activity
and diet. So, I joined a jiu jitsu class. My first class was Tuesday
night, 45 minutes. I got out and was nearly dead on my feet. I was
having a hard time keeping up, but of course, vanity came into play and
I didn't want to slow down even though several parts of my body were
begging me to.

Long story short. Wednesday wasn't so bad, some muscle stiffness, but
not nearly as much as I was expecting. But Thursday morning, hoo boy.
Standing up is a bit of an effort. Once I take a few steps, I stop
looking like Herman munster and actually feel a bit better. Major
muscle stiffness.

So my next class is tonight, Thursday. Question is, should I go, or
should I let my muscles relax a bit more and go to Saturday's scheduled
class? Thanks for any help and advice, hope I hear from someone soon
:-)

Allen

[Neil Gatenby]

Post by TheSmokey
I joined a jiu jitsu class. My first class was Tuesday
night, 45 minutes. I got out and was nearly dead on my feet.
Long story short. Wednesday wasn't so bad, some muscle stiffness, but
not nearly as much as I was expecting. But Thursday morning, hoo boy.
Standing up is a bit of an effort. Once I take a few steps, I stop
looking like Herman munster and actually feel a bit better. Major
muscle stiffness.
So my next class is tonight, Thursday. Question is, should I go, or
should I let my muscles relax a bit more and go to Saturday's scheduled
class? Thanks for any help and advice, hope I hear from someone soon

Don't know. I would suspect Saturday, for now. The reason I'm writing is
to say ...
1) Make sure you are warmed up and stretched before you train (even if that
means you arrive before the start time and do it yourself)

2) Make sure you are warmed down, after each lesson - loosening and
stretching, rather than exerting

The warm down will help stiffness a lot

HTH
Neil

[suzee]

Post by TheSmokey
Heyas,
The run-up: I just turned 30 and do pretty much no physical activity;
walk the dogs twice a week, mow the lawn once a week, that's about it.
I decided to make a change in my life, starting with physical activity
and diet. So, I joined a jiu jitsu class. My first class was Tuesday
night, 45 minutes. I got out and was nearly dead on my feet. I was
having a hard time keeping up, but of course, vanity came into play and
I didn't want to slow down even though several parts of my body were
begging me to.
Long story short. Wednesday wasn't so bad, some muscle stiffness, but
not nearly as much as I was expecting. But Thursday morning, hoo boy.
Standing up is a bit of an effort. Once I take a few steps, I stop
looking like Herman munster and actually feel a bit better. Major
muscle stiffness.
So my next class is tonight, Thursday. Question is, should I go, or
should I let my muscles relax a bit more and go to Saturday's scheduled
class? Thanks for any help and advice, hope I hear from someone soon
:-)

The muscles need a 48 hour rest before using them again in the same way,
whether it's a workout or activity. Stretching beforehand can help as well.

sue

[David Vitkus]

Post by TheSmokey
Heyas,
The run-up: I just turned 30 and do pretty much no physical activity;
walk the dogs twice a week, mow the lawn once a week, that's about it.
I decided to make a change in my life, starting with physical activity
and diet. So, I joined a jiu jitsu class. My first class was Tuesday
night, 45 minutes. I got out and was nearly dead on my feet. I was
having a hard time keeping up, but of course, vanity came into play and
I didn't want to slow down even though several parts of my body were
begging me to.
Long story short. Wednesday wasn't so bad, some muscle stiffness, but
not nearly as much as I was expecting. But Thursday morning, hoo boy.
Standing up is a bit of an effort. Once I take a few steps, I stop
looking like Herman munster and actually feel a bit better. Major
muscle stiffness.
So my next class is tonight, Thursday. Question is, should I go, or
should I let my muscles relax a bit more and go to Saturday's scheduled
class? Thanks for any help and advice, hope I hear from someone soon
:-)
Allen

As a 30+ practitioner, I find that I need to keep moving at home between
classes. Warm up doing your techniques in slow motion and work up until
your warm. Follow up with stretching. Drink lots of water to help the
lactic acid flush out.

You may find that getting to the dojo early and warming up this way is
helpful. There's studies out there that suggest that cold stretching is
not very effective before a work out. I don't know if this is true for
everyone, but it seems to be so for me.

Good luck,