Can I still continue strength training if my arm hurts?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The core depends on the type of pain you have - if it is delayed onset muscle soreness that occurs 12 to 24 hours after training, you can completely reduce the weight and continue training.； However, if it is a sudden stabbing or pulling pain during training, or the pain is so severe that the movement of the arm is limited, do not touch it for even a moment.

I have been in the gym for four years, and I have encountered this situation dozens of times. I just finished my 100kg bench press PR last week. The next day, my triceps were so weak that I was shaking even when I lifted a thermos cup to drink water. When I woke up in the morning, I felt like my arms were hissing when I pressed them. I originally planned to lie down and rest for the day. Later, I went to the gym to warm up and did shoulder circles for five minutes, and pushed with an empty bar for about ten times. Most of the stiffness and soreness dissipated. I reduced it to 40kg that day and did a few sets of low-volume chest presses. When I went back in the evening, my arms were not so stiff. I recovered much faster than before after three days of hard rest.

Of course, not all pain can be endured. Last year, there was a young man in the gym who had just been practicing for three months. When he was practicing curling, he managed to grab a 20kg dumbbell. When he reached the third position, he let out a loud cry. At that time, his arms dropped and he could not move. He thought it was normal muscle soreness. , I insisted on continuing to practice the next day. As soon as I picked up the dumbbells, I was so painful that I broke into a cold sweat. I went to the hospital and took an MRI and found out that it was a partial tear of the biceps tendon. I had to rest for more than three months before I dared to touch the 1kg small dumbbell. If it hurt at that time, I would stop and apply ice to rest in time, which would not have taken so long.

Nowadays, many fitness enthusiasts think that as long as it hurts, they have to take a full rest. This is actually not wrong. If you have just practiced for a short time and can't tell whether you are sore or injured, it is definitely safer to take a full rest than to practice blindly. After all, the first thing to ensure when practicing fitness is not to get injured. But if you know the state of your body accurately, there is really no need to lie down completely for the kind of soreness that is relieved by activity. Low-intensity activation can help to recover faster - after all, delayed-onset soreness is essentially an inflammatory reaction after a small tear in the muscle. Proper blood supply is like sending a hot nutritious meal to the muscles that have stayed up all night, which is much more comfortable than letting it lie stiffly.

When you are really not sure, try raising your arm and turning it twice. If the pain is significantly relieved after moving for three to five minutes, then lower the weight and train. If the pain gets worse the more you move, and you still feel tingling and numbness, don't hesitate to rest quickly. If you are really worried, go to the hospital to take a X-ray. Don't risk your tendons and joints with the amount of training.