Tense back after exercise

[Dyneti]

Hello everyone,
I'm often dealing with a tense back/neck/shoulders the day after workouts. And for me this then often leads to a tension headdache sooner or later which really sucks. Does anyone know why this happens or has tips how to avoid this?

I have already identified that this mainly happens:
- after I take a break from exercise for a week or more
- after I do a more intense workout with my arms than usual, for ex it happened today after I worked out with weights yesterday for the first time in weeks.

It does not feel the same as the soreness from the workout itself. For ex now my but/legs are a bit sore from the squats but in a good way. My back just feels tense and awfull.
Doing Universal Warmup in the morning did help a bit, but after having a relaxed long breakfast my back already feels tense again.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts you can share!

 

[Fremen]

I would work on two levels. The first is to do specific stretching for the back and neck while also doing some exercises to strengthen the back.
These are some stretching workouts I use for the neck and shoulders:

Neck Mobility Workout

Neck Mobility is a Darebee home fitness workout that helps the neck muscles remain strong & supple.

darebee.com

Rotator Cuff Workout

2200+ free workouts: cardio, strength, HIIT and abs by DAREBEE

darebee.com

Since I started doing neck exercises regularly I have stopped having neck problems.
Same thing goes for my back, I've added strengthening exercises to my routine and specific stretching and I have some soreness but no pain.
If you don't know where to start, there is a specific program:

Back and Core Program

DAREBEE, darebee, fitness, workouts, visual workouts, fitness challenges, fitness motivation, exercise tips, fitness guides, fitness community

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and other resources:

Back Pain Relief Workouts Collection

Back Pain Relief Workouts Collection is a DAREBEE collection of workouts that target lower back pain and strengthen the parts of the body commonly associated with symptoms of pain in the lower back.

darebee.com

Lower Back Workouts Collection

DAREBEE, darebee, fitness, workouts, visual workouts, fitness challenges, fitness motivation, exercise tips, fitness guides, fitness community

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and to reinforce:

No-Equipment Back Workouts Collection

Darebee home-fitness, no-equipment back exercises collection for strong back muscles developed without equipment at home.

darebee.com

 

[Dyneti]

Thank you so much for your input @Fremen !

Stretching and strengthening do sound kind of obvious, now that you have pointed it out
My issues are always mostly in my upper back and neck, so I will sort through the links that you shared with that focus.

How regular is regular in your case? Do or did you stretch your back and neck daily? Or after every sizeable workout?

 

[Fremen]

How regular is regular in your case? Do or did you stretch your back and neck daily? Or after every sizeable workout?

In my experience, a little, but every day, works best, so I've selected exercises that I consider essential for my body's regular maintenance.
Every warmup I do every day includes exercises for the neck, shoulders, and back.
On days when the workout is heavier, I do a longer, more specific warmup followed by a longer, more specific stretch.
In the end, I realized that "wasting" a little more time in the warm up and cool down allowed me to recover better, be sore but not in pain and, above all, I avoided getting injured.
Now I basically look further ahead and consider it an investment to change things now that if neglected can cause me many more problems later on.

 

[Dyneti]

Thanks again @Fremen !
I've started working through your suggestions and also want to make some sort of plan or selfmade challenge for the next weeks.

My morning warmup already contains exercises like that
My warmup before workouts also usually contains things for those body parts
I dont stretch very much, because I dont need/want to get more flexible. But I realise stretching can be good for other things too! I will try to incorporate stretches after workouts going forward
Back and Core Programm looks perfect actually, I should start that! Need to make concrete plans though, since I'm already falling behind on my challenges this week....
One other doable option could be doing Universal Warmup or another short set of stretches every day either straight after work or before bed?

 

[Fremen]

I continue to try and experiment, to learn and also to avoid getting bored. Over time, I've realized that regular maintenance is just as important as actual training, and now I pay more attention to it. Everyone has to adapt it to their own tastes and lifestyle.