forearm soreness

ok so ive done some searching around MP and could realy find what i was looking for. but the problem that i am having is that i just had a SCS comp this past saturday and my forearms are still sore. i stretch and warmed up at the comp and stretch and heated after and have been heating and stretching since but it seems like my forearms are at a standstill. and i have another comp this sunday and want to sneak in some training before hand. does anyone have any tips or pointers to help me recover faster.

shouldnt you ice your body parts post workout?

also you could probably do some REALLY light climbing and it should flush out your foreams

hydration should help too

Philip Lutz wrote:shouldnt you ice your body parts post workout? also you could probably do some REALLY light climbing and it should flush out your foreams hydration should help too

+1

Philip Lutz wrote:shouldnt you ice your body parts post workout?

Yes. Heat before, ice after, but heat won't prevent soreness, it's used to loosen up tight spots before working out.

The best way to prevent soreness is to be properly prepared for the event, but to get rid of it icing immediately after is the best, and the next day(s) you can do low intensity climbing that gets you a mild pump.

I'm glad this hasn't degraded into the conversation that it so obviously could go to.

You should avoid heat for the first 48-72 hours, using ice only. Soreness is a result of the microscopic tearing of the muscle. The body treats this as it does any other injury with swelling and inflammation that create the pain and soreness. Rest, ice, and ibuprofen (or other inflammatory) is the fastest way to heal. Ice helps to restrict blood flow to the tissue and decrease inflammation, while heat is better to promote blood flow and regeneration once the initial injury has healed after 48- 72 hours. Using heat initially will only promote inflammation. You will probably benefit more by allowing the muscle to rebuild itself before stressing it again. The muscle will regenerate stronger if given enough time, restressing to soon can result in injury and actually weakening of the muscle. Light climbing after a day or two would be more beneficial than hard bouldering training session since your next comp is so close.

if I've had forearm soreness that lasts for more than about 2 days, (especially if it gets worse with increased circulation and easy workouts) I treat it as a minor injury and really try to rest it, ice it and let it heal.

other than that,
+1 for hydration before and after a harsh workout
+1 for ice for just about any injury.

Dude if you're still sore, be stoked you got such a good work out in. Let it heal, and come back stronger.

I feel very strongly about not climbing when my forearms are sore at all. I find that I make no physical gains if I come back before they are completely not sore anymore. Sure I might get further on a problem, but it is just because of figuring out beta. The exception for me is trips... I climb all the time on trips to maximize time on rock, but I cut down on the intensity of each day.

ALSO... Nutrition nutrition nutrition. Junk food and empty carbs do nothing but weigh me down. Complete proteins. And lots of them. From real food. It's cliche and said too much, but my recovery time almost cuts in half when I get the right fuel (as opposed to my normal carb-centric diet). I have this theory that fats help too, but its completely anecdotal.

Im primarily talking about strength not endurance... I don't work stamina too often, and it's possible that things could be different....

A few things will help:

Antioxidants in/with your preworkout meal.
Do some easy warm-down and stretching of the affected bodyparts for ~15min to push blood.
Ice immediately after your done, preferably in a ice-bath submersion.
Drink a recovery drink with (besides the std simple carbs and protein)a signifcant amount of caffeine and anti-oxidants while you're icing.

Read the following and apply what you can keeping in mind it was written for the triathlon crowd:

alancouzens.blogspot.com/20…