Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

I'm starting a very light body weight exercise routine. When I tried to sleep it felt like someone was driving their elbow in my trap muscle area in my upper back.

This kind of pain keeps me up at night, and keeps me only doing aerobic exercise. I tried two advil and that didn't work.

I'm thinking of doing some cat-cow stretches every day.

What do you recommend to make sure you can sleep? I always thought a hard days work would ensure a good nights rest - but this doesn't seem to be true.

You have a case of DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) which will have to gradually wear off as your muscles heal and recover. Rest is probably best although it's OK if you do gentle stretches that feel good to you.

Bodyweight exercise can be intense, depending on the workout (I'm thinking about Horizontal Conditioning, which can be challenging). You might do better lifting weights, starting with low weights and gradually increasing as your strength increases over time. I workout to exercise DVDs by Margaret Richard. Margaret Richard's workouts are no-dread for me and I like that she gives proper form pointers to keep safe and she works out in a slow/controlled manner.

I hope you can sleep better soon! I can't take ibuprofen (it eats my stomach up) but I'd probably try Tylenol at night.

Yeah - I had Tylenol PM tonight and was able to sleep.

I will rest a day and then do it again. I'll try every other day. It stinks that the body prevents you from gaining muscle this way - I wish you could tell your brain "no that wasn't too much strain - just get stronger and leaner". Thanks for the advice.