Prevent Muscle Soreness After Workouts
by She FIt on July 23, 2009
Muscle soreness is a great way of your body telling you how effective your workout was the day before, but it can also get in the way of everyday activities and make it harder to hit the gym on a daily basis. Here are some tips to prevent this:
Exercise
Yep, you heard me… exercise. When I wake up and can barely get out of bed due to my workout from day before, it can be so easy to skip out on the gym and use the soreness as an excuse. Exercise can actually help decrease muscle soreness though. Of course you want to give each muscle group a break so don’t workout the same group of muscles the next day.
Stretch
Make sure to save 15 minutes at the end of your workout to stretch. This will prevent lactic acid from building up in your muscles, which is a key factor in muscle soreness. Hold each position for at least 20 seconds and do not bounce.
Warm Water Bath / Show / Steam Room
15 minutes of this heat will draw your blood to your periphery, supplying muscles with the nutrients needed to repair. Once your body cools down, the blood is redirected, taking way all the waste product from your workout.
A Massage
Getting a loved one or a friend to massage those aching muscles will help to warm up them up and get the blood flowing to them faster. Therefore it creates the same affect as a warm water bath but it’s always nice to have an excuse for a massage… just don’t let your spouse find out ?
Time
DOMS- Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is that feeling of stiffness, swelling, strength loss, and pain 24-72 hours after your workout. This soreness will be different for everyone and not everyone will even experience this, but the more you workout and hit the gym the less time it takes to heal. Although be careful, if you notice the pain is just increasing and not improving, you might want to give it a break for a day.
Antioxidants
The whole point of weight lifting is to create microscopic tears within your muscles, causing your muscle to rebuild. When this occurs, oxygen radicals are released causing cellular damage. Vitamin C and E are great antioxidant defenders against free radical damage. Grapefruits, melons, berries, lemon juice, and oranges are great sources of vitamin C. Wheat germ oil, vegetable oil, nuts, dark green veggies, and whole grains are great sources of vitamin E. Eating this for a post-workout snack is a great way to prevent soreness!
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{ 9 comments }
oooh – i like that massage part!!!
Great tips!
Thanks for the comment on my blog. So funny that you wrote about muscle soreness b/c I have been walking around gimpy since Monday afternoon b/c I did a leg strength training workout and I haven’t done one in a while and my hamstrings are ON FIRE. They are finally much better today but I hate when that happens b/c then it is hard to do other exercises. I am tough though, I will make it.
thank you SO much for this post!!! I hate feeling sore after running so hopefully these will work!
Great tips. Thanks for sharing. I find it interesting how the more you exercise, the less it hurts. Like I once heard someone say, just get out there and do it, the pain only lasts for a short time, but the benefits can last a lifetime.
I especially like the first tip! I’m always the most sore 48 hours after, and a good workout always helps. I find I’m always more sore when I’m inactive after a tough workout – especially after 8 hours of sitting in the office!
Now I have a good excuse to get a massage. I’ll just have to sell the husband on it.
The hardest part is just getting to the gym when I am sore!
once again an awesome post!
I love when my boyfriend gives me massages.. I always beg him to massage my legs because they get so stiff! Oh and Epsom salt baths help too!
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