So here are my questions first, if you care, the background info is below.
I started back lifting lightly last week, as well as starting a keto-esque diet, keeping carbs in the 40-50 range. My recovery times are incredibly long. I enjoy muscle soreness, but this is beyond that. I’m having muscle and tendon pain that’s pretty vicious. Is this due to the keto diet? Just being older? Or?
I’ve been just working through the soreness, but I’m not so sure that is the healthiest way to go about it.
Any guidance is welcome! I’m open to everything, just want to shed this flab, and regain a decent amount of strength asap.
The boring, about me stuff:
Due to life changes, I stopped lifting about 4years ago. Going back to school full time while working, while having my 4th and 5th child was enough for me without spending hours in the gym, and I’m kind of an all or nothing kind of guy. And the results of continuing to love food, while missing that physical activity, has left me with the figure of a whale. When I go to the beach, they try to push me back into the ocean. I’m currently 36 y/o, 5’8, 265lbs. I lifted all my life up till 2014. I’ve gone from deadlifting 565, squatting 455 and benching 405 @240lbs (not setting records, but fairly strong) to just being fat. My waist now is lost somewhere in this mass of flab.
Define lightly.
How many days a week are you lifting amd resting?
You said you were all or nothing, so did you jump back into this full throttle or ease back into it?
I’ve been going 6 days/week, but I’ve been using pretty light weight on everything (prob 50% of max). I’ve also been keeping my weight training to only about 30-45 minutes, with another 30-45 doing cardio of some kind. I split my workouts to pushing one day, pulling the next, and then legs, then repeat. And the second workout of the week, I change things. So like monday, I’ll start with bench, and then do primarily chest stuff. Thursday, I start with bench again, but then focus on delts & tris.
The good news is, I’m down almost 20lbs in just under 3 weeks of dieting, and 2 weeks back in the gym. And i think I’m going to ditch the keto diet, and go to a regular fat guy diet. Still low carbs, but more than the 40 I’ve been getting.
Congrats on the weight loss! That much that fast might not have been the optimal way, but… shit happens. I don’t believe the whole keto craze is for everyone. Sounds like a good call to go lowish carbs and just reduce total calories.
Basic stuff, eat less, move more.
Maybe find a lifting program that YOU like and just be consistent.
It is no fun if you are in pain. If you don’t feel like lifting, chances are it won’t last long.
5/3/1 is good for starting light and 4 days a week. Use the other 2 for cardio or just walking.
Tendon and ligament don’t have much stretch in them. If they did not move much they may have "shorten"and need to get use to more movement and load progressively.
A lot of the initial weight loss in keto is water. I say this not to rain on your parade, but rather to forewarn you re the water-based weight gain that might be in store for you as your muscles revert to pre-keto glycogen levels (a process that inevitably pulls a lot of water aboard).
At almost 56, you’ll forgive me chuckling at the notion your recent extended DOMS is secondary to “just being older.” I suspect the truth of the matter is related to the fact that you just started back lifting a week or so ago. In that sense, you’re like a newbie, and thus at risk for soreness. But you’re worse than a newbie in that, by dint of your lifting history, you’re able to lift far more weight than a true newbie could. Put it all together, and you have a set-up for crippling DOMS. Ease back into lifting; the hyper-DOMS will pass.
The guidance I would offer is this: Lift in whatever manner you enjoy the most, as doing so increases the likelihood you’ll stick with it. Also, don’t try to out-exercise your diet, because unless you’re competing in the Tour de France, it can’t be done. Instead, get the eating thing dialed in.
I appreciate the replies guys. I’m sure a lot of my weight loss was water, but I do tend lose and gain quickly.
So, I took a few days off, to let everything heal up. It’s funny, about the “worse than a newbie” comment. I agree. I didn’t think I was, until my tricep tendon swelled up to twice its normal size (my elbow was hot to the touch) and I couldn’t walk from the soreness.
Moving forward, I’m going to keep eating relativity clean, logging all my food (which is a big help to me) and I’m going to lengthen my warm up substantially. We’ll see how it goes!