Exercise (some help!!)

---

I just stated exercising at home yesterday. Im using 10 pound weights and when I was done, of course, I felt the burn and pain. My question is do I have to stretch my arms before I start lifting weights? My arms hurt now and I was wondering is this normal?? And if not, how do I make sure that this doesn't happen when I want to exercise later? Do I have to stop exercising for a while?

you should try posting in the health and fitness section of the fourums, you will find better results

yeah, you should definitely stretch before working out, so your muscles can get warmed up for the workout, and you should stretch even more after working out to help relax your muscles. it's normal to feel pain or sourness in your arms after an workout, particularly if you haven't been excericising regularly. after a workout you should take the next day off so your muscles can heal

Stretching prevents injury.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought i was in the fitness one but then I saw that I was in teen life & health! oops

Stretching won't warm up your arms, but it will lessen tension in the muscle fibers. I personally find that stretching after a workout is more effective than stretching beforehand. Also, it's not good to do stretches that overstrain your muscles. You should feel a stretch, it should be slightly uncomfortable, but by no means should it cause pain. If your muscles are sore after a workout, there's nothing stretching can do for that. That's a sign that you've just caused some damage to your muscles, which stimulates growth when they heal. That's a good thing and the whole purpose of lifting weights. If you're feeling pain in the joints or not in the muscles, then you should be cautious about the exercises that cause that strain and probably do a good job of stretching that area before and after a workout. EDIT: Stretching should be done after you've warmed up a little and raised your heart rate rather than as soon as you get to the fitness center.

I thought i was the only one who lifted 10 poundweights, i started at that and now im onto 20's, anyways keep working at it, and yes pleeeeease strech out your arms.

I think I will start with the 20 pound weights next month!!!