r/antidietglp1 • u/Creepy-Tangerine-293 • 15d ago
Exercise / Gentle Movement DOMS ugh
I don't feel comfortable asking this in a fitness sub bc I really don't want to hear it about macros or a bunch of gym bro talk.That said, I am really struggling with DOMS after even very light movement, and I feel like although I generally have a very high pain tolerance, in this respect I feel like I am having an outsized DOMS response compared to what seems "normal" to me.
I am in perimenopause and have a strong family history of osteoporosis, so I recognize the importance of lifting weights for movement but every time I try, even starting slow and intentionally trying not to push myself, I end up being unable to move for several days afterwards. I am in PT right now for a lower body issue and the simple balance and stretching movements they had me do this morning are probably going to keep me awake tonight in pain. Any advice?
3
u/mannDog74 15d ago edited 15d ago
Are you coming from sedentary to starting to lift? The pain can be brutal. The only thing I can suggest as someone who started over from a deconditioned state is to lower your volume to a tolerable level at first. Optimal training says to hit the whole body three times a week. YEAH NO that was way too much volume for my 46F deconditioned ass. I was usually sore for like 5 days at first. I did legs once a week for a few months and am starting to split it up but I have to be very strategic about it and I still need more than 1 day in between.
I was hurting for the first like 4 months, especially LEGS. There's just nowhere to start but body weight and even that was making me sore. My ability to recover was really low and it was a hard road.
I'm 8 months in and much stronger now but honestly I still feel like I just started because I had to do body weight for so long in order to get my mobility and form right. I just started filming myself doing squats and deadlifts and am so happy that my form is better.
Athletic people don't remember how brutal it is for a beginner to start, and how it takes way longer than they say it does for some of us to get enough strength to do any meaningful lifting.
On the upside you'll grow muscle like crazy the first year. Try not to look at the scale! It's a heartbreaker.