Hi all,

After a several month-long hiatus from any conscious or intentional exercise (I know, I know), I've been getting back into it the last couple of weeks.

Some background info: I am normally VERY sore when I first begin a weight program (I go pretty hard, even to start). For 3-4 days after a workout. Then, after the first few workouts, I barely hurt at all following even a very challenging workout. So I know this pain is gonna pass, and I won't have any more problems by next week. Not a problem.

My question is this: after my first Pilates workout in MONTHS, using the same challenging format as I was before I stopped working out, my quads and glutes are a tad sore (not a whole lot, but it's noticable when I flex), and I'm scheduled for a lower body workout tonight. Should I skip it?

Normally I would probably just skip it, but that's what got me into this wretched shape in the first place. Mostly, I just want to get myself in the habit of working out as opposed to sitting on my rapidly expanding posterior.

I guess I could do most of the workout and just avoid doing exercises that hurt, but usually once I've started a workout the adrenaline gets in the way of pain, so I'm not sure how much pain I'd feel. It isn't much to begin with.

See, I'm justifying the workout because the soreness in my legs and butt is probably just from lactic acid and unaccustomed usage, rather than actual damage. The abs, on the other hand, are screaming at me, so I know they're hurting from damage as well.

Am I just being stupid? Should I take it easy? Any thoughts?

BTW, it may be too late by the time anyone replies (the workout is scheduled for 8pm), but I'd love input for future use, at least. Right now I'm leaning toward a modified workout. My calves and hams seem fine. I'll check back later, though.

Thanks in advance for any advice and/or suggestions!

If you did pilates yesterday and are very sore, skip LBWO today, if you did pilates day or so ago, I'd say grit your teeth and work through the pain. That's my opinion.

Thanks, DarkLotus. The Pilates was yesterday, so you're probably right, I could've waited, but I went ahead and did my workout without a couple of exercises. The only thing I absolutely couldn't do was quad curls, because the hard flex hurt more than I thought was okay to workout with. Funny, I could do squats without any discomfort, maybe because pushing was fine, but pulling wasn't.

I was just worried about overcoming the inertia that develops from inactivity. The fact that I did the workout at all shows me that I probably have gotten through the hardest part.

Just thought I should update, in case anyone else comes across this situation.

This morning I woke up with NO pain at all in my lower body. Abs still screaming at me, but actually my legs and butt feel better than they did before the workout. Tired, but not sore. Very surprising.

It is probably largely due to the amount of deep stretching and massage I did on my lower body last night. Usually, I'm not a very diligent stretcher, but last night I was particularly worried about how my legs would take the workout, so I even ran a hot bath and did some stretching in there, too.

It also indicates to me that I was probably right that there was no actual damage from the Pilates workout, just general soreness. Otherwise, I think it would hurt just to walk today, and it doesn't.

I almost never ache after Pilates, which makes me worried that I'm not doing it all-out, lol.

Personally I think it's a good thing that you went ahead with your workout. If you weren't that sore, you were probably good to go. And the Pilates people do say that it's fine to work out the next day after a class, because it's not intended to tax the muscles.

It's nice to meet another Pilates person.