Increasing Soreness After Exercise?

VtKen

VtKen

New Member
Location
Lake Elmore, Vermont
Greetings, wondering if others experience more soreness after exercise as they get into their 60s. I'm 61 and have been an avid cyclist and cross country skier for the past 30 years. I've seen obvious decline in my speed over that time which I assume is pretty normal. What I find to be more difficult is the soreness in the evening after a good workout. I'll typically skate ski or mountain bike (depending on the season) around 10 miles and feel great while I'm out there but in the evening after sitting for an hour I find that I'm very stiff and sore when I get up. I'm usually fine and recovered by the next morning. Just curious if this is just normal aging or if there is something else going on. Thanks!
 

I no longer do anything strenuous, but I make sure to stretch after exercise. I've skipped the stretches once or twice, and felt sore after.

When I was younger and went for long bike rides, etc., I didn't have to bother with stretches. So I guess age does have something to do with it.
 
CeeCee said:
When I was going to physical therapy my therapist always asked if I was sore the next day. I’d tell her yes.
She said that’s normal but shouldn’t last more than a day..from the exercises she had me do.
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This is a different sort of pain or stiffness than sore muscles after exercising. I get that too if I do something I'm not doing regularly like cutting firewood or snowblowing. That does usually last a day or so.
 
Geezer Garage said:
Are you stretching before and after? Increased soreness is just one of the many benefits of the "Golden years". In my seventies I've
come to understand Jack Lalane's "pain is my buddy point of view".
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Not so much. I have a morning core stretch routine that I do every day, mostly for my back but I don't stretch after exercise. I'll give that a try.
 
NorthernLight said:
I no longer do anything strenuous, but I make sure to stretch after exercise. I've skipped the stretches once or twice, and felt sore after.

When I was younger and went for long bike rides, etc., I didn't have to bother with stretches. So I guess age does have something to do with it.
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I'm going to try stretching afterwards. Going for a ski today and I'll see if it makes a difference.
 
Well, yes. I remember playing full court basketball with some teens about 8 years ago (age 56). Played for over an hour with hardly a break. I felt like Superman out there. But about an hour after getting home, I could scarcely move. Had to sleep in the chair. Heck, I could barely get out of the chair! It was like I was just in a major auto accident or something. Old age, and I think if I tried the same stunt now, I might have to be carried home or to the hospital! Could a guy in his 60's play basketball? Assuming his back and knees could take it, he could, if he slowly worked up to it.

As I have aged, I found the sudden heavy exercise of any kind does not go well. Rather, I am now doing regular strength excercises 3 times a week for my upper body and walk/run for the legs. Need to condition the body so I can do things like my never ending shoveling. So the answer as we age is not less exercise, but more to condition and maintain our muscles.
 
Michael Z said:
Well, yes. I remember playing full court basketball with some teens about 8 years ago (age 56). Played for over an hour with hardly a break. I felt like Superman out there. But about an hour after getting home, I could scarcely move. Had to sleep in the chair. Heck, I could barely get out of the chair! It was like I was just in a major auto accident or something. Old age, and I think if I tried the same stunt now, I might have to be carried home or to the hospital! Could a guy in his 60's play basketball? Assuming his back and knees could take it, he could, if he slowly worked up to it.

As I have aged, I found the sudden heavy exercise of any kind does not go well. Rather, I am now doing regular strength excercises 3 times a week for my upper body and walk/run for the legs. Need to condition the body so I can do things like my never ending shoveling. So the answer as we age is not less exercise, but more to condition and maintain our muscles.
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I agree Michael, I used to just cycle. Now I have added rowing and skate skiing along with my daily core exercises. I'm sure adding some weight training would be beneficial too if could find the time. Exercise allows me to keep doing the things I need to do to live here like snowblowing our 1/4 mile road and cutting our firewood. Things I used to take for granted.
 
While my wife and I were down in AZ recently, and we went bowling, and played two games. The next day we both had sore left leg and hip. Who'd a thunk it. I agree that if you go slowly and build up to it you can do pretty much anything you want to, within reason.
 
Just wanted to say Welcome to you, @VtKen
This is the first of your posts that I myself, have seen.
You got some good replies and ideas in the posts, too.
 
As we age everything in our body starts breaking down and our recovery takes longer.

I have exercised almost all of my life (now 62) and yes I get sore, but I'm also guilty of not letting my body recover. It's a different kind of soreness though, not the painful kind of sore that happens when you get back into exercise after a layoff, but more of a tired, stiff feeling.

Stretching every day helps me, sometimes I stretch twice a day.
 
I have always enjoyed hiking and walking long distances usually results in sore muscles. I find that soaking in a hot bath helps to avoid this. There is something called lactic acid, which builds up in the muscles and causes the soreness. Stretching and winding down slowly helps the body to disperse it.
 
VtKen said:
Greetings, wondering if others experience more soreness after exercise as they get into their 60s. I'm 61 and have been an avid cyclist and cross country skier for the past 30 years. I've seen obvious decline in my speed over that time which I assume is pretty normal. What I find to be more difficult is the soreness in the evening after a good workout. I'll typically skate ski or mountain bike (depending on the season) around 10 miles and feel great while I'm out there but in the evening after sitting for an hour I find that I'm very stiff and sore when I get up. I'm usually fine and recovered by the next morning. Just curious if this is just normal aging or if there is something else going on. Thanks!
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The soreness is normal, but you should tell your Dr about it and ask to be checked to make sure there isn't something else going on. If there is, it's probably just normal wear causing inflammation in your joints and surrounding tissues. Also, either talk to your doc about vitamins and minerals that will support your bones and muscles, or do the research online.

My guess is, it's time to adjust your exercise routine. Make sure you warm up really well and then do some low-impact exercises before doing the full-on stuff. Yoga is an excellent example. Spend plenty of time on your warm-up to low-impact routine, at least an hour, and then hydrate really well. You want plenty of fluid available for your joints and muscles.

And, at 61, cool-down exercises are just as important as warm-ups. They will help minimize the inflammation that's causing your soreness.
 
I am a runner and this after having the same problem, I changed to running every other day. Made a huge difference. I run longer on the days I run, but the extra day in between keeps soreness away.
 


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