8 Simple Ways to Reduce Muscle Soreness After Exercise
Do you get really sore muscles after working out? Maybe not immediately, but the next day or that day after that? If so, this article is for you.
Read on or click the thumbnail below to watch the video
Firstly, why does this happen? Why do your muscles feel so sore after a workout? And why only sometimes and not all of the time?
This post exercise muscle discomfort is called DOMS, which stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness and it commonly occurs between 24 and 72 hours after exercise. DOMS is a process of tear and repair, during your workout you will have torn some muscle fibres, these tears are on a microscopic level but are actually essential to the growth and development of your muscle and strength gains. Protein plays a vital role here, coming to rebuild and repair the muscle fibres, increasing the size of the muscle in the process.
So while DOMS can be uncomfortable, it’s a necessary process to grow your muscles and increase your strength.
But there are things that you can do to reduce the severity of DOMS; here are my 8 tips to reduce your post exercise muscle soreness
Warm Up
Hands up anyone who’s ever skipped a warm up *raises hand* Yes, it would save so much time to skip your warm up and it may sound obvious but by warming up you are preparing your muscles for what’s to come. An effective warm up will have you rehearsing the movements that you’ll be doing during the workout so it primes your muscles for the workout. I have a great 5 minute warm up, click here to take a look!
2. Rehearse the movement
Similar to warming up, when you start the workout be sure not to jump straight in with the heavy weights or full explosive movements but rehearse them first wither by using lighter weights or a regressed option of the exercise, this again, primes the muscles for what’s to come but still adds plenty of value to your workout.
3. Hydrate
Did you know that your body is made up of 55-60% water and your muscles are made up of over 70% water? When you’re working out, you are losing water as well as salts and your muscles are depleting their supply of glycogen (stored glucose, also known as sugar) so to be able to replenish and repair your muscles you’ll need to replace not only the lost water but the sugar and salts too. Electrolyte drinks are a fantastic way to top up your lost salts and sugars as well as helping you hydrate as they deliver measured amounts that are easily absorbed into your body. If you don’t have any electrolytes, try drinking some milk, it’s natural levels of electrolytes, carbs & protein make it super effective as a rehydration choice.
4. Post Exercise Massage: Foam Roll
Use a foam roller, massage gun or even a tennis ball to help to increase the blood supply into your fatigued muscles and help them to heal faster. Work on your muscles methodically, applying pressure to any areas that are sore for 20-30 seconds. Investing in yourself and getting the occasional sports massage also helps as a preventative measure to make sure that the muscles don’t become knotted and sore over time.
5. Warm Bath with Epsom salts
This is my favourite way to recover, run a warm bath and add a good handful of Epsom salts into the running water. Add your favourite bubble bath to help you relax and enjoy the feeling of recovery! The warm water & salts help increase circulation which increases blood flow while the Epsom salts also help to draw out the toxins that have built up in the muscles.
6. Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Easier said than done, but getting some good quality sleep is a sure way to help your recovery. Sleep is the time when your body does most of it’s repair and regeneration so getting a good few quality hours will really help your recovery. Entering into a deep sleep also reduces stress levels so the quality of your slumber really does matter too.
7. Active Recovery
What’s active recovery? Surely you’re active or you’re recovering?! Well active recovery is simply the process of keeping your body moving, think about effort on a scale of 1-10, where 1 is sleeping and 10 is sprinting, active recovery is around a 3-4, your heart rate is low, your effort level is low but you are mobile and using your muscles and body positively. Active recovery helps to flush out toxins from your muscles, increases blood flow and also helps keep your joints lubricated and supple meaning you feel less stiff too. Examples of active recovery include yoga, walking, swimming and cycling all done at a low intensity. I have a quick and easy Active Recovery video that’s worth a watch and I include in lots of my plans.
8. Whatever Works For You!
Do you have a special trick that helps you recover after a workout? Share it with me in the
comments! Some people swear by consuming additional protein to help with DOMS, I personally don’t find this but I know some who it seems to work for. So what are your thoughts? Don’t forget to check out my Active Recovery or 5 Min Warm Up videos.
Itís hard to find knowledgeable people for this subject, but you seem like you know what youíre talking about! Thanks
Itís difficult to find experienced people for this topic, but you seem like you know what youíre talking about! Thanks
Amazing! This blog looks exactly like my old one!
It’s on a completely different topic but it has pretty much the same
layout and design. Great choice of colors!