Dealing With Muscle Soreness

The sore muscles you feel the next day after a strenuous workout is delayed onset muscle soreness. It is thought that muscle soreness is caused by tiny tears in the muscle tissue. The soreness usually goes away in a couple of days. Once you experience muscle soreness, apply ice to the affected area. Take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain reliever if necessary. Muscle soreness may develop after trying a new exercise or increasing the intensity of your workout. The good news is that once your muscles repair and adjust to the new exercise or the increased intensity of your workout, you should not experience muscle soreness again when doing the same exercise. You may not be able to completely prevent muscle soreness, but there are some things you can do that may help reduce soreness and heal more quickly. 

Stretching your muscles prior to working out may help reduce delay onset muscle soreness. Stretch your arms, legs and back before working out to get your muscles ready for more intense exercise. Some fitness experts claim that stretching prior to working out has little or no effect to prevent or lessen muscle soreness; however, stretching is good for your muscles and joints. Stretching should also be a regular part of your fitness routine. 

Do not do the same exercise routine on consecutive days. Give your muscles 24 hours to heal. For example, if you lift weights on Monday, skip lifting weights on Tuesday and do some aerobic exercise instead. Lift weights again on Wednesday. Your muscles should be healed and ready to tackle weights again after a day of rest. 

Gradually increase the intensity of your workout to help reduce the level of muscle soreness. If you’ve been doing biceps curls with 5 pound dumbbells, don’t suddenly move to 10 pound weights. Add weight gradually, 1 or 2 pounds at a time, to give your muscles time to adapt and strengthen. Keep moving. If you develop muscle soreness, try light exercise to increase blood flow.