Soreness... What's normal?

[MaryA]

Dd has recently switched from a YMCA team (7.5 hours a week) to a private team (13-15 hours a week). It has been about a month since the switch. She is happy and thriving... loving the new gym and all it has to offer. But she's sore a lot. Not always the same place... some days she complains about her thighs, others her lower back, others her chest, etc. so I'm not worried that it's an injury. I've never been involved in a sport like this so I don't know... what's normal? Is soreness just a constant state for a gymnast? Will she reach a point where she's less sore? Is there anything beyond ibuprophen and hot baths that can be done? Many thanks!

 

[gymgal]

I think it depends on what level skills she is working on and how much conditioning she is doing. dd went from about 45min of conditioning each practice to about 90min. this summer - and that didn't include stretching. She was really hurting after each practice. We got to the point where she took an ibuprofen before each practice. But in time, she got used to it. I think the body adjusts. She still complains sometimes when they start something new or increases reps of an old exercise but she seems to get used to them faster.

we found the meds before practice to really help. and warm whirlpool baths after.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

hurrah! she is being trained!! yes, it will subside and taper off near the end of the cycle they have her on now only to increase again when pre season cycle starts. it's all perfectly normal. don't be concerned unless she can't get up in the morning or can't fall asleep at night. congrats to your daughter.

 

[AmandaLynn]

hurrah! she is being trained!! yes, it will subside and taper off near the end of the cycle they have her on now only to increase again when pre season cycle starts. it's all perfectly normal. don't be concerned unless she can't get up in the morning or can't fall asleep at night. congrats to your daughter.

Yes, that. Gymnastics is a very physically demanding sport, and if she's not used to working hard, there will be a LOT of muscle soreness at first. It will taper off as she gets sed to her training regimine, but as dunno stated, it will come and go for the entirety of her career. The soreness means that she's actually working the muscles and that they are getting stronger.

 

[bogwoppit]

She will adapt, it is totally normal when a gymnast ups her hours and conditions more.

My girls never trained for more than 12 hours a week, and in a relaxed gym. When they would go to gym camp each summer, where about 30 hours of gym were the norm, they could hardly move by the third day. Oddly enough they went back for years.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

as Geoff said...that chalk is addicting.

 

[stargazer]

I'm stiff and sore for a good two days after each practice, and it's been that way for years! I just try to stretch as much as possible after practice and take a warm bath if there's time when I get home. I like it though, it means I'm getting stronger
I think I'm addicted to physical activity - either that or its the chalk

 

[BlairBob]

give her more time to adapt. she has doubled her training frequency and probably conditioning and training a lot harder

make sure she is eating enough and hydrating enough.

massage and other recovery techniques are a good idea. epsom salt or ice baths, hot tub, massage, etc.

actually another recovery technique is to flush the body with blood. generally we do this with recovery jogging. a fast pace is not necessary but basically you want bloodflow to allow the body to recover faster by flushing the tissues with blood.

 

[Gymnaststar13]

The chalk is starting to smell like sugar to me.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Soreness is totally normal. If she is having that sort of jump in training hours then if she wasn't sore, thats when you should be worried.

Especially as you say it is in different places all the time. If she frequently complains about soreness in the same place it can be an issue. But if its always different places in the body it is the result of normal training.

She will reach a point where she is not sore all the time, as her body gets more and more used to the different things she is doing now.