Strength training is making me too sore!

I paddle outrigger canoes three or four times a week as part of a racing club. I’d like to strength train as well, but it leaves me sore for days and I can’t go out on the water. I don’t want to miss time in the boat, so I’m not going to the gym, but I really liked lifting weights in the past. Is there any way I can actually do both? 

When strength training soreness is consistent and limits your other activities, your program is probably too intense. Volume (sets/reps) and weight (load) determine session intensity. Too much of either will overload your body. It’s common to be sore after a session or two when: 

• You’re new to lifting weights,
• You are getting back into weights after a long period away from strength training, or
• When you’re starting a new program, especially if there is a larger “power” component to it. (Power-focused exercises focus on moving heavy weight fast, like the Olympic lifts, or moving your body explosively, like plyometrics.) 

This doesn’t sound quite like you. I would look at adjusting your strength training volume, specifically by decreasing your sets and reps. When you use strength training to support another sport, you can get away with doing less in the gym. But you still want to make your time worthwhile. You’ll get plenty of muscular endurance training from your time on the water. A focus on heavier (but not maximal) strength training in the gym will provide you a better foundation for your sport-specific work.

Assuming no injury history that you work around, I’d probably be looking a a weights program including:

• Dynamic stretching as a warm up. For paddlers, working on improving thoracic extension especially will be very helpful for injury prevention and power in the stroke. 
• Lots of compound lifts (also called multi-joint exercises). These include squats, deadlifts, chin ups, rows, and pushups. Aim for two to three sets of six reps, choosing a weight that you can do for seven reps max, with good form.
• Anti-flexion/extension and anti-rotation exercises like planks or anti-rotation presses (also called a Pallof press). 

The other factor to consider here is that you are potentially under-recovered. Higher-demand exercises like heavy weights, eccentric movements, or power exercises create more muscle damage than endurance or strength-endurance exercises. Damage requires healing, and while we rarely think about it in that context, that is exactly what recovery time is for. Higher exercise demands mean higher recovery demands. You might need more sleep (most important) or more food (usually less of a concern for recreational athletes). You could also pursue more soft tissue support like massage or foam rolling. That said, your consistent soreness makes me think this is not really a recovery issue, it’s a training volume issue. 

Bottom line: Strength training soreness happens, but you shouldn’t be sore every time you lift weights. The benefits you get from a training session like that will be outweighed by your inability to do the things you enjoy. Better to back off the strength training intensity so you can lift, train, and live your life without wincing.