6 Ways to Manage Post-workout Muscle Soreness
Muscle soreness is just par for the course when it comes to strength training, right? Wrong! That "it hurts so good" feeling a day or two after a workout lets you know that you are working new muscles. But how much pain is too much muscle soreness? Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is caused by damage of the tissue from the eccentric (where the muscle is lengthened) load of a movement. This is most common when you begin an exercise program or do something outside of your usual routine.
I like to use it as a sign of how well your body is adapting to a current program, especially for beginners. Now that being said, everyone is different in how their body responds to training, and the way you warm up and recover after a workout can help decrease the effect of DOMS. I discuss this with my clients because it allows me to understand if we need to adjust the program and how to adjust it. This isn’t about the “no pain no gain” mentality. You can use DOMS as a tool and understand that when you damage the muscles and have soreness, you’ve changed something in your routine, you’ve challenged the muscles and increased the intensity in a way that has put stress on those working muscles. The goal is to minimize the DOMS effect, to adjust your program with progressive overload, to allow your body to adapt and change without a drastic increase, all while you work towards your goals.
To grow, and get stronger, adaptation is important before adding another factor to the routine. This will allow you to safely progress, help prevent injuries, and is also a way to help minimize your muscle soreness. You don’t need soreness to build strength and see progress, but it can happen when there is a change in the routine that your body must adjust to.
6 Ways to Manage Your Post-workout Muscle Soreness
1. A thorough warm-up
Warming up properly before a routine can help prep your body for the impact and/or load it is about to receive. A warm-up of 10-20minutes can help get your muscles ready. An example of the warm-up order may look like this:
Elevate the heart rate above resting to get your blood flowing and your muscles loose and warm with a cardio movement.
Dynamic Stretches/Movements - this will bring your joints through their range of motions before going through the main workout.
Sport-specific movements/mimicking exercises with lighter weight. If you are lifting heavy, always warm up with the same movement using body weight and then a lighter weight than the main lift. If you are doing cardio or HIIT go through similar motions to prepare your body, ie: marches, stride drills, bicycle crunches, etc.
2. A thorough cool down
At the end of a routine, once the muscles have been worked, It’s important to bring your heart rate back down to resting and to stretch the muscles that have just been worked. Taking 10-20minutes to cool down can have your body feeling good after a routine and will greatly benefit you. Here is an example of what a cool down may look like:
Lower the heart rate, by doing some light movements. This can be light core exercises or light cardio.
Dynamic Stretching
Static Stretching - This is when you hold a pose in order to lengthen the stretched muscle. After a workout is the best time to do this type of stretch.
3. Move your body the next day
The movement should be different from what made you sore. It doesn’t need to be high intensity, it can be light movements, but it’s important to move. Moving your muscles that have been worked the day before can help loosen them up.
4. Eat food!
Part of your recovery after a workout is to refuel and replenish your nutrition and calorie intake. For your muscles to rebuild and grow after a routine you need the right nourishment to help the process along. You need to replenish your carbs for energy, you need to eat your fats so your body can transport vitamins and nutrients to the muscles needed, and you need protein because they are the building blocks for muscles. Other nutrients like vitamins play different roles in the recovery process as well. So, remember to eat a variety of different foods to nourish your body properly.
5. Hydrate well
After training, you may lose water from sweating. It’s important to replenish that water and keep yourself hydrated because your muscles need water to help repair and grow. Water helps to transport nutrients to the muscles and remove toxins and waste from the body.
6. Adequate sleep
Allow yourself to sleep. Especially after an intense training day, a long run, or a heavy lifting day. Your body takes this time to repair, rebuild, and grow the muscles.
If you need help figuring out how to optimize your workout routine to build strength without excessive muscle soreness, sign up for a free 20-minute consultation with me to personalize a workout plan that fits your lifestyle! There is no obligation, just