Post workout soreness - Fitness Training in Bath

A few tips to ease the soreness in your muscles and get them ready for your next trip to the gym.

Working out and muscle soreness go together like peanut butter and jelly. Experiencing a bit of pain following a good workout is practically inevitable, and while you may want to skip the gym to get over the pain, there are better ways to overcome your soreness.

Wondering what they are? Read on to find out.

Stretch It Out

For many people, the idea of stretching is old fashioned, doing nothing but cutting back on the amount of time spent actually working out. However, if you want to beat soreness and avoid greater injury, stretching is a must. The best way to incorporate stretching into your exercise regimen is to do some light exercise first and then stretch out the muscles you will use during your routine.

But don't only stretch before you workout. You'll also want to stretch after a workout. Doing this will allow you to reap the benefits of reduced soreness, reduced risk of injury, and increased range of motion.

Apply Warmth, Cold, and Pressure

Another great way to beat muscle soreness is to apply heat and cold. If you find yourself dealing with regular soreness, toss some ice in a plastic bag and place the bag on the muscles bothering you most. You can also apply a heating pad, which will help bring additional blood to the site of your soreness and therefore bring some relief. Just be sure to not leave the heat or ice on your sore muscles for more than 15 minutes at a time.

When you want an even more enjoyable way to overcome exercise-induced soreness, beg your significant other for a massage or head to the office of a massage therapist. After a good massage, you'll feel better than you have in a long time and be ready to keep on your workout schedule.

Work It Again

Feeling sore can make you want to stay in bed, applying ice and heat and more ice and more heat. However, staying still at home is not going to help you beat your soreness. Actually, this will cause you to suffer soreness after every workout from here to eternity. To beat your muscle soreness, get back out there and get some more exercise. Once you've been exercising for a few minutes and get past your initial discomfort, the aches you felt will be a thing of the past.

For the best protection, you should work out all your various muscles on a regular basis. This way, you can go ahead and let all the muscles in your body grow sore and in the process get more accustomed to working out. In the end, this will result in less post-workout soreness.

Bringing the Pain

Wish you could altogether do away with muscle soreness after working out? Well...you can't. Because what you're dealing with after exercising is as natural and inescapable as death.

The pain you experience after a good workout is known as delayed onset muscle soreness, a.k.a. DOMS. True to its name, DOMS sets in a bit after you're done working out - between 24 and 48 hours later. Your DOMS shows up when you push your muscles beyond what they're used to, causing tiny tears in the muscles being worked out. But have no fear.

These tears are not dangerous for the long-term health and function of your muscles. Beyond some post-workout soreness, the tears should have no consequences.

In the event you experience pain immediately after a workout or your pain does not subside after a few days, you may have done more than push your muscles to cause DOMS. You may have suffered a more serious muscle trauma. If a few days of rest don't help you overcome the pain, contact your physician to prevent a more serious injury.