Working Through the Uncomfortableness

This past Saturday, I decided to work out for the first time in a year. I haven't been completely sedentary, but I have grown soft and lazy. I jumped back into a workout program, and I took it rather easy. I wanted to slowly wake up my muscles, not destroy them. I knew that if I tried to lift too much, I'd either injure myself, or I'd be so sore I wouldn't want to work out again. So, I worked out smart, and I made sure my first new workout was enjoyable.

Despite dialing back the weight, the next morning I woke up and my quads were extremely sore. Not so sore I couldn't walk, but sore enough that the stairs made me mutter cuss words. As I hobbled around all day Sunday, I worried what Monday would bring. I'm always sorest on the second day, and sure enough Monday morning, I woke up even sorer.

I did my best to walk and stand and use my legs, but in the back of my mind I kept thinking about my next workout. It was scheduled for Monday, and I was going to do some more leg work.

Throughout the day I dreaded it. I started making excuses for myself. "I'm too sore, I need to take an extra day to heal up." But there is a difference between being sore and being injured. I wasn't injured. I wasn't at risk of making things worse, I was just sore because I haven't done squats or lunges in a year. So, I decided to head back down to the gym and do my second workout.

It wasn't fun, that's for sure, but it also wasn't terrible. Sure, the pain heightened as I lunged and squatted, but it was all tolerable. All the fear and dread I had built up was unfounded. I kept it light, repeating the same weight from the day before, and I made it through the workout. I did cut my two sets of lunges two reps shorter than the day before, but I kept good form and flexed all the way through.

This morning, I woke up expecting the worst. I figured I'd be hobbling around or at least feeling that lactic acid burn, but you know what? I feel great. My legs don't hurt at all. There is a very mild soreness, but it's nothing like the past two days, and today I stand proud that I went through with my second workout, and I'm wondering if working out actually helped this soreness go away.

I've been thinking about this today. How often in life do I avoid things because I'm sore from how they went before, or I'm afraid that I'll make the soreness worse? Does this fear dictate what I do and don't do on occasion? I think so.