Muscles overly sore after work/workout/exertion? Anyone experience this?

[CaliGuy]

Hi all, hope this finds you safe and well...

I've had stress disorder (anxiety/panic) on and off for years. Generally I'm living life and not worrying about much.

I've hit a rough patch lately with flare-up of old symptoms and new ones.

Wondering if anyone has experienced this..

Did a workout last Thursday when I thought I was in a good place to do so. I lifted fairly heavy but not out of line for me.

That night I had extreme fatigue, then leading to very brutal fatigue and soreness the next day.

Got a little better Saturday, did some yard work on Sunday with my hands... and now my limbs are completely sore. Even sore to the touch.
Hands were contracted and stiff, forearms sore to touch... stiff.

It's like an exaggerated response. I lift and workout fairly often... but it's like I've never done it in my life, or I lifted 10x what I usually do. (I didn't)

Has anyone had a stretch like this? Or experienced anything similar?

Just a nervous system acting bizarre maybe?

[Leon82]

Hey man,

I don’t lift but I run about 30km per week. Sometimes a long run will wipe me out, other times not. You been eating and recovering your muscles well ??

[ankietyjoe]

You need to go easy with anything stressful when you suffer with anxiety, and that includes exercise.

Deadlifts in particular put a big strain on your CNS, and can make you feel like utter crap for 2-3 days afterwards.

Probably best to favour reps over heavy weight for now, and stop before full fatigue.

[WiredIncorrectly]

Do you usually do heavy workouts? If not, don't do that again. If so, then you know what to expect. Heavy workouts = massive muscle stress which leads to something called DOMS a.k.a Delays Onset Muscle Sorness.

As Joe said it puts strain on your CNS. I've had anxiety as a result of a heavy session. I did a heavy session yesterday. I wasn't sore per say. Today I did lots of sawing and tonight my arms and shoulders feel very sore. No anxiety though.

Soreness and fatigue is part and parcel of heavy lifting. But, make sure you slowly work up to lifting heavy weights.

I don't know your situation or routine but a strong core is a must before you put heavy strain on muscles. Your core needs to support you while lifting. I see many people do curls for example and they're using their back to pull it up, or using momentum. If you can't lift it without bending it's too heavy. And that will lead to injury and increased soreness. Same with bench press. People arch their backs to try to push it. That's asking for a back injury. Ignore all of that if it doesn't apply.

As Joe suggested, I'd favor reps over heavy weight at this stage. Work on core exercises to strengthen the core muscles.

Well done on the exercise. It's one of the keys to conquering anxiety and improving overall confidence.