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!