Should I workout when sore?

[rhetoric]

This has probably been answered somewhere in the forum but the search function isn't working for me right now for some reason...sorry if this is repetitive.

I had stopped weight training for about 6 months and had concentrated on losing weight. I'm now ready to start weight training again. My first workout session was Monday (today being Thursday). I'm just doing a beginner's workout of Upper body Monday/Thursday, Lower body Tuesday/Friday.

So I've had 2 days off from Upper body and am supposed to workout today. But my chest & arms are still REALLY sore today. Looking back at Monday, I probably over did it a little. I should have started off a bit slower...but it's too late now.

I've worked out a lot when being a little sore in the past...but this is beyond a little sore. I thought I would be better by this morning, but it's not.

So being this sore after 2 days rest, should I go ahead and do my workout today? Or should I wait? If I wait, should I wait until next Monday?

[Bouncer]

you mean workout the same muscles that are really sore? no, you shouldnt.

[Scrumhalf]

Yeah, give it a few extra days until the soreness diminishes. You'll find that pretty rapidly, we won't be as sore - in fact, I would wager that after your next workout for that bodypart, you'll be back to a normal 24-48 hr soreness period.

This is what you get for not working out for 6 months, so don't let that happen again! :noo: :)

Seriously, weight training should ALWAYS be a component of any weight loss program. That's the only way to retain muscle mass while focusing on FAT loss, not necessarily WEIGHT loss. If you lose a bunch of muscle mass during the process, then that's a form of weight loss that you DON'T want.

[rhetoric]

Yeah, I appreciate it. Btw...sorry for not posting in the Beginner's forum. Just realized that.

I've been reading a lot the past couple weeks and came to that realization regarding fat loss vs. weight loss. This is what inspired me to get back into weight training. I still have about 10-15 lbs of fat I'd like to lose so I'm trying to find that balance of calories that works for me where I can lose the fat but retain the muscle.

Thanks for the advice regarding the soreness Bouncer & Scrum. I got a lot of results from Google but I don't trust 99% of what people say on random Q&A sites. Good to hear from some guys who know what they're talking about here. Thanks!

[dna9488]

as Bouncer and Scrumhalf stated above, no, don't workout sore muscles. It it again hard after they have fully recovered