I have taken it easy and neglected my training and I went to a boxing class and circuit training yesterday. I was gassed; everything felt swollen this morning and I ache all over. Should I go again tonight or wait till next week? Do I need time to recover or can I safely hit it again tonight? I know my performance will be worse tonight because of the tight muscles etc but the warm up should help.
I would just wait a couple of days then go. I don't think you need to wait a week. Maybe do some stretching at home or recovery work.
Cold showers are your friend man. Especially in the beginning, cold showers can really speed up the healing process when it comes to DOMS IME. Just wait a few days, certainly you'll be fine before next week. EDIT: stretches and cool downs are good too.
What Chadderz said. Initially if you're suffering that much, it's probably not a good idea to go again the next night until you're feeling well enough to try.
There is already some great advice on aiding and shortening recovery time here u6s68, so I just wanted to add a quick thought on prevention... Although your mind will remember what you were capable of in years passed, when you used to Train (possibly) more regularly, your Body after such a prolonged period, will not - Be sure you are giving yourself enough time to regain your fitness, without trying to jump straight in to how things used to be. The Human Body can handle being tested, but it does not take kindly to being forced. Regards, Travess
Make sure you have a really thorough stretch straight after training. That will help you recover with a bit less pain! I've heard that icing is very effective too, although personally I've never tried it.
Drink lots of water, apply ice, use anti inflammatory gel and be sure to get some rest. Sometimes after a hard training session I take ibuprofen which helps with swelling. You can also get ibuprofen gel as well. If you have a bath you could also try bath crystals that help with muscle relaxation. Some people also use Epsom salts as magnesium is reported to help with muscle soreness (I haven't tried it myself). For after training I like to drink coconut water as its a great source of electrolytes, not to mention its delicious. Happy training.
Frodo's probably laughing her head off at the thought of you actually drinking the vile stuff! They were giving out free bottles of it after the Leeds half marathon, and I made the BIG mistake of drinking it. BLEUGHHH!
I make my own with Nesquik and an extra scoop of protein powder - it's much nicer than the off the shelf ones.