Is it possible to break an abdominal muscle? Wait! Are you laughing? Stop it! This is serious bidness…
Last Wednesday I went to the gym with a friend. We did about 30 mins of cardio (running on a treadmill, my favorite thing in the whole world…NOT!!!) When I got to my thirty minutes, of running in place in pure HEAT (WHY IS IT SO HOT IN GYMS) I was ready to jump off that damned torture device. She decided to move to 30 more minutes on the elliptical, so I headed for weightlifting. Started on the legs. I did the usual machines, though all the machines in her gym are souped up versions, I guess to justify the $90 a month membership fee. Then headed downstairs to work on arms and abs. Actually, I don’t really do much in the way of abs at a gym, as I work on abs everyday. But today decided to try the incline bench. 3 sets of 15 sit-ups on about a 45 degree incline. Actually wasn’t that hard…so I moved on and started arms.
They had these machines, I think they were called “Rock-Its” or something like that. They really didn’t feel to be working much but I thought it was super cool that as I worked, the machine moved. So I kept doing it, trying to go faster and faster. It was sooooo fun and reminded me of a ride at an amusement park. When I realized that I was having way too much fun and was doing virtually no work, I moved to working on my pecs and triceps. This, as usual, hurt.
Anyway, my friend finally came downstairs and asked me to help her with ab work. I totally stole some exercises with the ball from my sessions with my trainer. However, I hadn’t done some of that stuff in a while, so there’s a good possibility I didn’t do it right and even though I felt NOTHING while I was working with her, the next day my abs were SCREAMING! Actually, first it started in my chest that night. Any of you that have had kids know what it feels like when I say the soreness “felt like my milk was coming in”. For those that don’t know, trust me, it hurt like HELL!
The, next day, I went to class and tried to do my ab workout and stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn’t do ONE crunch. My students were looking at me in sheer disbelief. Very embarrassing when you are requesting your students to do 48 crunches and you can’t do one. Now one might say, “sounds like to got a good workout.” However, the fact that 4 days later, I still can’t sit up without rolling on my side…probably NOT so good! It literally feels like I’ve had a c-section. And even though, I don’t know what that feels like, I’m sure this is how it’d feel. Needless to say, I’ve gotten very little exercise since. Tried to convince myself to get up on Saturday and go running. Then realized that I rely a lot on my core when I run and I just didn’t feel the need to experience that pain. Tomorrow, I’m supposed to go to spinning…and am afraid, I might die.
Has anyone ever experienced this? And, more importantly, what do I do to make it better?
I want my mommy, NOW!!!!
Tags: hurt, running, sore abs, story about running
share the exercises you you did! i need my abs to hurt. need to firm up the tummy. bad. it’s the part of me i hate the most.
Oh Becelisa, I would share them but that’d be super irresponsible of me considering, they injured my gut really bad.
My tip that I’ll pass on to you, that was passed on to me soon after I had my little one. ALWAYS, I don’t care WHAT you are doing, washing dishes, driving, punishing kids, eating ice cream, ALWAYS make sure your abs are contracted. That alone will NOT give you strong abs but I feel like it DOES help to develop them over time.
You will also need to do strengthening work…I find new ways to do crunches, making sure if I am on my back that I’m always engaging my entire core (lower back and abs). The most difficult exercises for me are crunches while one leg is straight in the air and the other is just above the ground. Then alternate. But making sure your lower back is pressed firmly on the ground…very tough! Also, mountain climbers with sliders…arghhhhhh! That one sort of makes me want to vomit…but it works!
Hope this helps!!!
You probably totally over worked your abs and actually, you are going to think I’m nuts when I say this, but the best thing to do is do some more crunches! Use one of the big balls and stretch with that first, then do some more crunches – minus the medicine ball. Abs, as I’m sure you know, are the only muscles you can work everyday. And, as I’m sure you know, often times it is the 2nd or 3rd day after a good muscle/ab session that it feels the worst! Hop back on that bandwagon and ride through the pain – after a few dozen it should be a lot easier
lol. i looooove that soreness. never had it for 4 days though… sure hope it’s easing up by now!