The Sorest I’ve Ever Been

It might be a day or two before I can do this again. Credit: ~ggvic~, Flickr

It’s a good thing typing doesn’t take a lot of upper-body strength, otherwise I probably wouldn’t be writing this post right now. I’m on day two of my delayed onset muscle soreness from a workout I did on Friday (more on that next week in my Workout I Did. Such a tease!). Day two soreness is always the worst for me, so by tomorrow I should be able to lift my arms again, and maybe my triceps won’t feel like they’re about to fall off anymore.

I like hurting so good, though, as long as it’s not real pain (because that’s a whole different beast and never any good). My method for surviving tough workouts or post-workout soreness is to compare it to something worse. If I’m struggling through a painful workout, I think, “Well, it’s not childbirth.” That always helps. And if I’m super sore like I am now, I think, “Well, at least it’s not Post-Nike Butt Soreness.”

What is Post-Nike Butt Soreness? It was a soreness like no other that I experienced in the early days of FBG when I went to visit the Nike campus in Portland, Ore. We did an awesome workout at their workout facilities, and during the workout, I was totally fine. Pumped up on Nike adrenaline and excitement. I just remember lunges. And side lunges. Forward lunges. Backward lunges. Lunges at every angle. I mean, so many lunges, you guys.

The next day as I was leaving Portland, I was sore. My buns were barking, and I gingerly settled into the cab to the airport. But the next day? I could barely move. I was like a 90-year-old lady, limping around, trying to function like a normal human. It was impossible. Standing up hurt. Sitting down hurt. Existing hurt. But it was also kind of hilarious. Days two and three were the worst, but I remember it took me a full week to recover all function in my glutes. And how did I respond? By doing a few more lunges to ensure that I didn’t feel that kind of pain from lunges again any time soon!

So no matter how sore I am, I can always, always look back to that Nike experience and know that I survived it. It always makes my current pain pale in comparison!

What’s the sorest you’ve ever been? Can you pinpoint that one exercise session that had you moaning for days afterwards? —Erin